Hotel Garden Palace - Riga, Latvia     

My daughter took me to Riga as a present and we chose the Garden Palace cos of its location, knowing nothing of the city. We must have taken 20 photos between the efficient reception and our room. We were quite gobsmacked with the ornate mirrors and display cabinets at every turn. There was a little lobby outside our room which had an elegant chaise longue, a beautuful gilt clock and other treasures. I felt we should have been wearing long dresses to match the feel of the place! Having said that, our room was a bit disappointing. It was long and narrow with 2 single beds facing each other along the length - a strange arrangement! However everything was spotless, the bathroom was adequate and the mini bar surprisingly cheap. We were hardly in our room at all, anyway, as there was so much to see. We did the walking tour next morning, had lunch in a place that sold filled pancakes ( we had no idea what was in them until we bit into them !), then went by bus ( so cheap!!) to the ethnographic outdoor museum ( like a country park but with old buildings including a pub/ tearoom!), back in time to visit a few shops, then out to dinner at a lovely Russian restaurant. The service was a bit slow and when my daughter commented on this, the elegant waiter shrugged and said, what did we expect? Could we not see how busy they were?! We just about fell about laughing as it was obviously a culture thing.and not meant to be rude as such. the next day we visited the huge market then headed to Jurmala. This was great. The weather was freezing but sunny. We joined hundreds of Latvians out for their Sunday stroll - along the beach then back to eat lunch at one of the many outdoor restaurants. Our flight wasn't until about 10pm and the hotel kept all our bags, then ordered us a taxi. I'm hoping to persuade my husband to make a return visit with me. You couldn't get a better position than the Garden Palace . This time I'm hoping we'll get a bigger room! At least I know he'll enjoy the plentiful breakfast which was available. Try the porridge with a dollop of jam or honey. Yum!!

Das Hotel ist schön und gut Renoviert. Zimmer sauber und ordentlich. Sauna muss für jede Person und Stunde EXTRA bezahlt werden. Sehr Atstadtzentrumsnah. Beim Frühstück sollte man früh dran sein, sonst könnten die Lieblingsspeisen weg sein. Hier gibt es Lob, jedoch ist das Personal nicht so freundlich, wie man es gewohnt ist oder sein könnte, ist wohl aber typisch für das Land. Muß man sich erst daran gewöhnen, dass niemand grüßt oder lächelt oder...