Sarah Jane Black / 13 June 2025 / Categories: City, Hotels & Travel

The Most Fabulous Budget Hotel In Moscow Artel

You might feel like a dissident but it’s a magic hotel

I felt absolutely compelled to write this review as finding this hotel online would probably never happen unless you already knew about it. Even when we returned we struggled to find out anything about it. You can book through Zen Hotels. And the address Teatralnyy pr-d, 3, Moskva, Russia, 107031. It’s the perfect location for anyone seeking to explore Moscow close to everything and if you’ve ever tried to go anywhere by car inside the ring you’ll understand what I mean, it can take 30 minutes to travel a distance it would take 5 minutes to walk.

We absolutely adored the experience at “artel” a place like no other where we enjoyed a weeks stay and hope someday to return when all the problems have been sorted out and travel to Russia opens up again for Europeans.

I cannot describe really the culture shock being transported into another time. It was close to minus 30 when we arrived and were grateful to be welcomed into warmth of the old building we struggled to find up a back street and completely disguised as any kind of hotel from the street. It was an absolute adventure.

The very best thing about Artel was the location, close to the Kremlin and Red Square, the historic Bolshoi Ballet and wonderful luxury shopping in walking distance across the street.

The reception desk is on the top floor and no porter so be prepared to hike your luggage up three flights of stairs. It’s a funny set up with a restaurant and super high end fashion store on the ground floor, neither connected to the hotel and a cocktail bar on the middle floor where we enjoyed drinks a couple of nights and had a brilliant experience sharing drinks and stories with a world renowned conductor from Germany and several members of his orchestra. We stayed up very late this particular evening.

The hotel is like nothing I have ever experienced before but it was inexpensive for Moscow so highly recommend this hotel for anyone in search of a fantastic location and an absolutely Russian experience. No one spoke any English so make sure you have mastered the translation app on your phone. It’s tricky in Russia because of the Cyrillic type and different alphabet as all the signs menus etc are completely illegible for anyone not familiar with reading Russian.

It has 26 rooms all decorated with original art murals so whilst the accommodation is basic by western standards to say the least, a mattress and cushions on the floor is what you get and a couple of lamps that looked like they were from the 1950’s also on the floor it was clean and certainly adequate.

We’d booked in on a bed and breakfast basis and the breakfast was delivered promptly at 6.30am. When we saw the tray for the first time we did feel a bit like prisoners of war, it was a bowl of porridge each, well we think that’s what it was. It was very funny and like I said an experience.

It wasn’t an issue, the restaurant downstairs were very friendly and accommodating, and luxury mall in walking distance just across the road provided fresh mint teas and delicious coffee and cakes every day we were there. The one thing that was noteworthy despite the Baltic temperatures outside it was always toasty warm once you stepped inside.

There are loads of luxury 5 star hotels in Moscow to pick from but if you love finding something amazing, off the beaten track for considerably less money I’d recommend anyone staying here and being transported to another world and time. We certainly felt it was the kind of place that held one or two secrets. If only the walls could talk.