Essentially this is a yellow brick apartment block which now has pretensions to housing a four star hotel. The glitzy facade has been glued on to the outside of the building and space has been carved out of the brick for an imposing front door. Inside you would hardly know it was the same building: The renovation job is quite amazing. The foyer is classy and replete with chandeliers and a lobby bar. The hallways are wide and decorated in a stately manner.
Standard rooms at the Arbat Hotel cost $270 for single or $320 for double while the renovated rooms are $340 and $390 respectively. If you book through one of the online reservation services, you may get a better deal, starting from $190 / night. The standard rooms are decent, the only major difference being that they have no carpeting. You pay mainly for the location at this hotel although it does have some extra perks such as satellite and cable TV, four conference halls, a restaurant and a sushi bar. The business center is small and the prices to use it are high. Buffet breakfast is included in the room price and all major credit cards are accepted except Maestro.