A Comfortable But Overpriced Stay at the Ibis Dynamo Hotel

We spent one night at the Ibis Dynamo Hotel with my partner, and it was a super convenient location, close to CSKA Metro, Petrovsky Park, and Dynamo. There's a huge shopping mall, Avis Park, nearby, where you can grab a bite to eat and even pick up some essentials at the massive Auchan supermarket. The hotel's full address is Moscow, Leningradsky Prospekt, building 37, block 8.

The hotel itself is brand new, modern, and minimalist, with 9 floors and a design that resembles a 'P' shape. They must have worked fast to get it up and running, because my partner booked it in advance on the official website. One weird thing that happened was when they asked us for temporary registration, which is pretty standard in Russia, even if you don't have one. I mean, you're allowed to go 90 days without registering, and your place of residence can change every couple of months - it's not just about changing your address, but also your region. A valid Russian passport is all you need for check-in, regardless of what's listed as your permanent address or if it's blank. Even when opening a debit card, you can specify your actual place of residence instead of dealing with temporary registration if your address might change soon. Other hotels have done the same, or just not asked at all.

The cost of the Standard room with a double bed is 3500 rubles. The room is on the 6th floor, and from the window, you can see the skyscrapers under construction, as well as the other wing of the hotel. But at night, almost no windows were lit up in it, while the high-rise building looked cool, all lit up. The room is small, and I got an association with a compartment in a train. If I compare it with the same Izmailovo, then there was a separate corridor. Here we enter and immediately the room, and immediately the bed. By the way, the bed is really cool: comfortable, full-sized double, with a beige headboard, and above it - a black glass insert, like a board with lines drawn on it with chalk. The bedding is snow-white, 2 pillows of comfortable size, and a single blanket for two. The window is small, initially closed with gray curtains tightly. Opposite the bed on the wall is a TV, to the left is a mirror with a small cabinet above it. One of the things I love about this room is the full-length wardrobe and hanging space for my upper clothing. It's got a shelf, hanging storage units instead of drawers, and a power outlet, light switch, and wall-mounted light above them. Plus, there's a single stool and a clothes rack closer to the window.

Next to the window, there's a desk that's perfect for working on my laptop or having breakfast while gazing out the window. It's got two glass cups with handles, a jug, and a landline phone. On the left, there's a cozy nook that's like a mini closet without the doors: it's got a tray, a safe, a black mini-bar with blue backlighting, and two pairs of disposable slippers. On top, you'll see a second blanket, neatly packaged in a transparent bag – it's a great touch to show the staff whether it's been used or not. The air conditioning system is also a breeze to set up and works like a charm.

One of the things that really stood out to me was the bathroom. It's located on the corner to the left of the bed, and it's a real stylish space. The walls are a nice grey color, and there's plenty of lighting - there are lamps on the big mirror above the sink, as well as two small spotlights on the ceiling, one above the shower and one above the sink. There are three white towels in the bathroom, and three more are packed up in a bag on the shelf in the room. There's a hair dryer, liquid soap dispenser on the wall next to the sink, and in the shower. Between the sink and the shower, there's a toilet - it's even a bit higher up than I'm used to. It's clean and tidy, but the cold tile floor is a bit of a pain, so I ended up wearing slippers. There's a white bin, sanitary bags, but no disposable shampoo and conditioner sets. There's no kettle in the room, but there is a cooler by the lifts on the floor. The room has two transparent cups with handles - they're a great touch - and two glasses in the bathroom. The Wi-Fi worked really well, and it was easy to connect - all I had to do was enter my details into the pop-up form on my phone's browser.

Room number and last name in Latin letters.

I was impressed by the magnetic key, which is made of wood, not plastic. It's great to see some care for the environment. There are a few elevators to get to your floor - first, you need to insert the card-key and then press the button. The corridors have that weird carpet flooring, so it's pretty quiet. The walls are a dull gray. Some people in the reviews complained about the noisy construction nearby, but during our stay, it was actually pretty peaceful - maybe just a few distant knocks around midnight and early morning.

Final Verdict: all in all, it's a clean, quiet, and comfortable place. No one disturbed me. The front desk staff were friendly and welcoming, but I think the price is way too high. The room itself is a bit small, and the amenities are pretty basic. And to top it all off, the check-in process was a nightmare, with ridiculous requirements for passports and Moscow registration.