I just found out my fiance has an interview on February 14.

I'm not looking for a $500/night hotel, so the most recent thread on this isn't for me . The last thread on hotel recommendations was in September, and the recommendations were kind of thin. Any ideas besides Moscow Rick and gotorussia?

Thanks!

Search old threads, not much will have changed. Sat's advice is probably the best - if either of you speak and read Russian you can find something for ~$50/night easily. Travel by metro will be involved.

Staying with friends is always a good plan - even if you aren't that close, a friend of a friend will often let you crash at their place. (Be nice, buy them dinner someplace nice!)

Apartments are really better for stays longer than a day or two. (There is a lot of hassle getting keys, etc).

This question comes up a lot here. Moscow isn't cheap. We are talking about 1-3 days. Trying to save $200 probably isn't worth your time.

On the nice, but cheap end, the Hotel Ukrania is $138/night when you are looking, on expedia.com. I'm sure you could get the same price with them on the phone, and settle the bill directly (by fax).

Congrats on Interview date. Here is a site I was considering using on my last trip to Moscow in September. They seem to have quite a collection of apartments and prices on par with some of the hotels. I rented an apartment in my fiancee's town as we debated whether to stay in Moscow or go to her town (Voronezh) so I did not use them. It is worth the look just for the privacy factor an apartment gives you. good luck
Frank

http://www.apartmentres.com/en/apartments/moscow/?page=1

This isn't a new idea, but we were very happy with the apartment we rented from gotorussia.com near the embassy. In fact, it is called the Embassy apartment if you look it up. We had no hassles, and everything went smoothly. I have heard a few bad stories, but we had no issues. The nice thing is you can deal with them here in the USA as they are in Atlanta as far as setting up the transaction.

Other then that, I hear lots of people say it is best to have your Russian better half book an apartment as she has access to the 'non' tourist prices. Anyway, good luck with whatever you do.

Don't forget to rule out the nearby Moscow subburbs. Travel between 15 to 60 minutes by commuter train is requried. But you can really get the price down if you live out in those areas.
Try http://www.irr.ru/
Or just some classified searches on sites like:
http://www.rambler.ru/
http://yandex.ru/

I always use gotorussia.com...apartments and visa's....never had a problem and been doing this for three years.
They pick my fiance and daughter up at the train station, bring her and daughter to SVO 2 to meet me, carry us to the apartment, carry us to the train station the next evening, meet us at the train station and carry us back to the apartment, carry us to SVO 2 the next morning for my flight back to Atlanta. I've never had a problem with them and they're always on time and as promised.

bruc

We stayed at hotel Delta Gamma when I was there. When my wife went for her interview, she just stayed at a friend's flat.

Good luck!
AKDiver

HI,
WE USED HOTEL "VOSTOK" FOR ABOUT $ 50.00 A NITE.
NEEDED SOME RENOVATIONS, BUT IT HAS INTERNET ACCESS, ETC...
BUT IT IS A WAY FROM THE EMBASSY.
AND YES, LET YOUR FIANCEE MAKE THE RESERVATIONS, TO KEEP PRICING AT HAND.
SIE ME (US)

Last time i wa in Moscow April, i stayed at Gozzilla, not far from red square. Roomms were clean, ok. Had internet access for free, communitybathrooms but really nice. 64 US a night

Check out Olesya's services at:

http://www.russiangirlfriday.com

She has flats available (through other websites as well) or can find you a cheap reservation somewhere. Or, if you're only staying for a day or two, she'll let you stay at her flat for something like $30/night. (That's how much she charged Elena... it may be more for the two of you.)

Send her an e-mail, let her know what you're looking for and what your needs are. She'll at least point you in the right direction.