One of Moscow's Seven Sisters landmarks created by Stalin to define Soviet neoclassical style of the communist movement; Radisson Royal Moscow looks equal parts wedding cake and fairy tale castle renovated with a museum's precision to become one of the city's top hotels. Americans shouldn't judge this hotel just because it's a Radisson, the chain offers and array of East European luxury hotels that are truly best in class as long as you do your homework.

Formerly the Hotel Ukraina, a 3 year refurbishment is first seen through thousand-pound double doors that revolve with motorized help into an opulent marble lobby with Russian fresco emblazoned on a copula above a double staircase paraded in white Grecian columns. At times you feel like your in Dubai, sometime a cruise ship and other in Stalin's dream of communist heaven where today endless amenities from restaurant to bars and massive spa with sauna regiment presides.

High-end restaurant choices include an outpost of Tatler Café and Supper Buffet that include Red Caviar and Veuve Clicquot that can upstage any ever seen before. Before the hotel closed its basement bar was famous for it's negotiable dates and flashy locals that didn't mind wearing two gold watches on a single hand. Today, the bar is now part of the lobby more about business travel with 31st Troubadour Karaoke Bar that opens at 8pm and should not to be missed. 

The Room:

While Stalin aimed to show Americans that he could build high-rises with the best of them, The Royal attempts a 6-star luxury aesthetic that registers somewhere above 4-star on the actual hotel Richter scale. The hotel lacks the location of the Ritz and Kempinski or the history of the National and Metropol where the Lenin and Trotsky learned how to luxuriate back in 1917. The upper levels of the hotel are private apartments favored by business associates of Russian oligarchs and corporate clients the use the hotel as a base while in Moscow. Rooms still fit the visual eccentricity of the building’s facade with opulent but modern furnishings accented in hand cut crystal chandeliers and swag drapes that reveal views of the Moscow River. Executive rooms on the 11th and 12th floors feature access to a private concierge lounge in a gilded space with all day drink and meal presentations.