11 Best Hotels in Side Trips from Moscow, Russia

Just steps from the kremlin, this 18th-century, two-story historic mansion-turned-hotel has all the amenities you could ask for from a provincial hotel, especially the clean, spacious rooms cheerfully decorated in pastel colors. Restaurant Rasstegai, on the ground floor, serves hearty Russian meals.

If you've ever wanted to stay overnight in a kremlin, here's your chance: these wooden-walled rooms of varying sizes are built over the food stores, or pogreba. Although a bit Soviet in style and presentation, the lodgings have all the basic amenities and you can wander the grounds of the kremlin at night, though you shouldn't be too loud.

Here you have a choice of cozy accommodations in the historical center of the city, near the Lavra, in a number of character-filled houses spread across nice grounds. Amenities include room service and a sauna and Russian bath complex, and some of the rooms have fireplaces. The Sobranie restaurant features highly praised international cuisine and great views of the Lavra.

A Soviet-era lodging in the town center offers clean and light rooms with nice furniture and decent bathrooms, and a bit of a surprise bonus: a staff that prides itself on service. Bar Rita serves Russian food and flavored vodkas that are worth sampling; try pertsovka (hot pepper) or zubrovka (bison grass).

These rooms are basic but streamlined, clean, and decently equipped, and they aren't far from the city center, near the railway station. The restaurant serves basic Russian fare with little luster.

These cozy rooms in a rambling apartment are some of the best accommodations in the city, filled with nice old wooden furnishings and colorful fabrics; some are tucked under the eaves. The staff is very friendly and the hotel offers trips in horsedrawn carts or—in winter—sleighs. There are also two minivans for hire. A nice in-house restaurant serves all day and rates include a credit toward meals.

The most luxurious accommodations in town are reasonably large, nicely furnished, air-conditioned, and have such amenities as satellite television and Internet access. Plus, they're just five minutes by foot from the Transfiguration monastery and steps from Shinnik soccer stadium. The Sobinov restaurant serves Continental cuisine.

Located in the historic part of town (a pleasant 10-minute walk to the kremlin), the rooms here are simple, but have great views of the nearby churches. The hotel offers tours, horseback riding, and snowmobile trips around the town, plus bus trips to other towns in the Golden Ring.

Tastefully decorated rooms done in restful shades of beige and pink are in a recently renovated 19th-century building, next to the Golden Gates. The quietest rooms face into the yard.

Clean and spacious rooms enjoy a superb, picturesque location in the historic center of town and a number of them look on to the Trubezh River, the old city ramparts, and the Cathedral of the Transfiguration. The friendly staff makes sure all your questions are answered.

Plain but adequate rooms have the advantage of being near the monastery and overlook the Kotorosl River and the historic town center. The hotel restaurant, Znamensky, serves European cuisine in a pleasant setting and is a nice plus.