My husband travels a lot on business. I love this about his job because it gives me a chance to see places I never would been able to visit otherwise. I would not have considered Riga, Latvia as a place to see… you should. when you take my advice and it to your Europe itinerary, do go ahead and book your room at Reval’s Hotel Latvija… and no, that is not a typo. While English speakers spell it Latvia, it in fact has a J in there.
The Hotel Latvija is a short 2-minute stroll from Riga’s Old Town district, where you will find all manner of restored historical building, shopping, restaurants, river cruises… just about anything you could want from an ancient European city. You won’t be spending a lot of time in this hotel since there is so much to see in the city, but I’ll tell you about it anyway.
You pull up to a 26-floor high-rise with a really cool sculpture out front. It looks ritzy at first view. The lobby continues that plush theme with spit-polished everything. The desk staff is very helpful, and they do speak English, as well as a dozen other languages. Our room had 2 beds, and ran 99EU. I believe the current conversion rate is around 77 bucks to 100EU if that helps you at all. So far so good.
Many old European hotels are not equipped with elevators, but the Hotel Latvija is. It has to, with so many floors. Our room was on the 4th floor with a nice view of everything. It was small and cramped, make no mistake, but then that is the norm over here. The thought is that you are not really going to be sitting in your room much while on vacation or business, so the oomph is centered to the rest of the place, like the most excellent restaurant, rather than the rooms.
Now, the room pictures at their website make things look a bit more spacious. don’t be fooled by camera angle. I cannot emphasize enough that this is not a room to sprawl in. It is a room to sleep in. Period. Having said that, the place is very clean, and the beds are comfortable.
The bathroom has no tub, but does have a shower with adequate hot water and water pressure. the amenities are of course of the standard European variety, meaning they are in dispensers attached to the wall. Lars liked them just fine… I used my own that I always bring with me. Look, I’m a spoiled American,
The elaborate breakfast buffet is included in the price of the room. I will warn you now, you will not be able to resist this display of decadence. I mean to tell you they had everything imaginable on that buffet. Fruits, pastries that will add 10 pounds to your hip with a mere glance, eggs in every form, cereals, bacon, sausage, hams, gravies… Geeze Louise. I am not a morning person and I just flat do not do breakfast… I did breakfast here.
Dinner finds yet another amazing buffet, but for about the equivalent of 15US dollars. It is worth it. Again with the amazing selection of food from everywhere around Europe. Good luck deciding on what to eat. There is just so much to choose from, and it is all excellent.
After you have spent the day playing tourist in Old Town and filled your belly to bursting at the buffet, do wander up to the 26th floor. Here you will find the Sky Bar. Oh man. What a view! you can see all of Riga from this bar, and then some. Just miles and miles of impressive view. The staff is right on top of your every need while you relax and ogle the sights.
So. Forget that small room. Most hotels over here are like that anyway. Where Hotel Latvija shines is in the ‘everything else’ department, and boy does it shine. The Reval Group did a good job with this location. Five high stars. Do book here with confidence.
