Reviews of Grand Palace Hotel, Riga, Latvia

We decided to go somewhere we'd...

Overall Rating:

8/10

Board Basis:

Bed & Breakfast

Date of Holiday:

Aug 2007

Tour Operator:

Booked Independently

Submitted By:

starmerd

Comments:

We decided to go somewhere we'd never been before, as we were celebrating our Ruby Anniversary. It's a pretty short flight to Riga (just about 2 hours) and the beauty of it is that you are very near to the city when you land. It actually took us about 15 mins by taxi to get to our hotel.



The Grand Palace was a beautiful hotel, with charming staff. Our room was delightful - very spacious, quiet and spotless - as was virtually all of Riga. The dining room had mirrors all around it, with a large crystal chandelier in the centre - it looked as though there were thousands of them reflected.



Breakfast was spectacular. There were so many dishes; all of them decorated with fresh flower heads, chosen to go with that particular dish - something very new for us.



What did we do? Wandered around finding most of the recommended places: The Blackhead's House - no, not politically incorrect at all - just the name of a particular guild, (well worth a look - hardly costs anything), went into the Museum of Occupation - a revelation to both of us - we had no idea of the length of time Latvia had been occupied by both Russia and Germany.



We did a bus tour (not recommended, as you can walk it easily) visited the Three Brothers Houses, saw the Powder Tower, the Freedom Monument, Clock Tower, the Amber Museum, the Art Deco area (worth a good look) went on a boat trip (not very exciting - wouldn't do it again), saw the Cat House, wandered around the narrow back streets (all cobbled) and sat in various squares people watching. We found all the food we had was of good quality, while drinks, coffees, and snacks were about two thirds the price of home.



Two restaurants we visited were exceptional. The first, Nostaljia, was quite different with a Russian theme. If you went upstairs, your seating was all soft armchairs and sofas. The food was lovely, and the prices very reasonable. The second, Carpe Diem, was a delight; possibly our best meal ever - and it was on our Ruby Wedding Day.



Service was excellent with very polite staff. It was a Saturday night, and they had live music (a wonderful jazz group, but quite muted). Everywhere was spotless. An unforgettable end to our break. The only word of warning about Latvia is: Look out for the taxi drivers - they WILL rip you off, and there is very little you can do about it. It should cost you about 7 lats to get from the airport to the centre. Once you get there, it is pretty compact, so walk if you are able. Red taxis are supposed to be the most reliable. Overall, both of us would highly, I would think.



I recommend the holiday, but you wouldn't want more than four nights there.