Hotel Gutenbergs - Riga, Latvia     

We stayed for 3 nights in August 2007 on the third leg of our Baltic tour. The hotel is in a great location just a few metres from the Dome. We found the hotel staff to be generally very good. It is still family-run and any requests were promptly an efficiently handled. Our room was full of character and met our expectations. We had the benefit of a portable air-conditioning unit and this kept the room temperature just right. We were aware that others were not so fortunate and found their rooms too hot. The hotel is upgrading some rooms over the winter period and this can only be positive. The original features in some rooms is both a positive (ambience etc) and a negative (awkward beams and small windows) and so anyone looking for a standard box will be disappointed. We loved the features of our room and this added to our experience. Breakfast is the usual buffet-style arrangement. We were disappointed with the attitude of the staff in this area. They did not restock and were mulish when we asked for their help. So if you are that way inclined it's an early start to ensure you are in the line for basics such as croissants! We complained and it was noticeable that a family member was supervising the next day when things did get better. The roof terrace restaurant/bar is a pleasant way to spend time looking out across the Riga skyline. We would definitely stay at the hotel again.

Delighted at the choice of Hotel, location superb and rooms fine. The problems all start when you venture out to meet the locals! Our experience was awfull. Never felt welcome at any point and the people you should trust the most were the most ignorant (police). A country I will never visit in my life again.