Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
INTERNET & E
MAIL
Travelers have any number of ways to
check e-mail and access the Internet on
the road. Of course, using your own lap-
top, PDA (personal digital assistant), or
electronic organizer with a modem gives
you the most flexibility. If you don't have a
computer, you can still access your e-mail
and your office computer from cybercafes.
Without Your Own
Computer
In Moscow and St. Petersburg, cybercafes
are concentrated around the tourist attrac-
tions such as the Kremlin and Nevsky
Prospekt. Russian
public libraries
often
offer Internet access free or for a small
charge. Avoid
hotel business centers
unless you're willing to pay exorbitant
rates. For a listing of cybercafes around the
world, see www.cybercaptive.com and
www.cybercafe.com. For specific sugges-
tions, see “Fast Facts: Moscow” and “Fast
Facts: St. Petersburg” in chapter 18.
More and more hotels, resorts, airports,
cafes, and retailers are going
Wi-Fi
(wire-
less fidelity), becoming “hotspots” that
79
offer free high-speed Wi-Fi access or
charge a small fee for usage. Most laptops
sold today have built-in wireless capability.
To find public Wi-Fi hotspots at your
destination, go to
www.jiwire.com
; its
Hotspot Finder holds the world's largest
directory of public wireless hotspots. The
site www.waytorussia.net/Practicalities/
Business/Internet.html lists spots in Mos-
cow and St. Petersburg with Wi-Fi access.
For dial-up access, most business-class
hotels throughout the world offer data-
ports for laptop modems, and a few thou-
sand hotels in Europe now offer free
high-speed Internet access.
Wherever you go, bring a
connection
kit
of the right power and phone adapters,
a spare phone cord, and a spare Ethernet
network cable—or find out whether your
hotel supplies them to guests.
Electric current
in Russia is 220 volts
(as opposed to 110 volts in the U.S.), and
older hotels will require a five-pronged
Russian phone adapter, available in Rus-
sian hardware stores or from hotel staff.
Newer hotels will have standard phone
jacks.
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12
TIPS ON ACCOMMODATIONS
Hotel options in Russia have come a long
way from the days of the state agency
Intourist's monopoly on serving foreign-
ers, but the country still has far too few
mid-range hotel rooms to satisfy demand.
Luxury chains were quick to recognize this
new market and opened several top-class
hotels in the 1990s, some opting for reno-
vating elegant old hotels while others
started from scratch. The most active
chains in the luxury market are Marriott,
InterContinental, Radisson, Sheraton, and
Renaissance (now part of the Marriott
chain). Holiday Inn (now part of the
InterContinental hotel group) and Best
Western have also entered the scene with
somewhat cheaper offerings.
Even the highest-end locations some-
times offer deep discounts through online
or traditional travel agencies or their own
websites, up to 60% off the official or
“rack” rate. It definitely pays to shop
around. Most package tours rely on well-
established Soviet-era hotels, usually enor-
mous, architecturally bleak buildings
offering the key services tourists need but
with limited enthusiasm. The good news is
that several of these hotels are renovating
one floor at a time, and the increased price
for the new rooms is usually well worth
the fresh plumbing and improved service.
The best Russian hotel development in
recent years is the flowering of the “mini-
hotel” market in St. Petersburg. Dozens of
