Review: Grand Palace Hotel Riga

This is an outrageously priced property considering the price range in the Baltics. Riga has good hotels, for instance some of the Accor properties there.

I don't like being tied to a chain and my preferred hotels tend to be high quality independent luxury properties. To that end, it's nice to see you do a review of an LHW property. When searching for hotels in a new destination, my go-to is to avoid the chains but look at what LHW, Preferred LUX/LEGEND, Relais et Chateaux and other smaller luxury hotel consortiums (ie. Auberge, Belmond,Capella, Dorchester Collection, Montage, Oetker Collection, Rocco Forte et al.) are offering. I've had a lot of great experiences especially with Preferred LEGEND.

Given how empty the restaurant was for dinner, I'm guessing the reservation was required so that they prep some food for you. I wouldn't be surprised if the kitchen was closed on nights with no reservations.

I was in Riga for a couple of days late last year, and I have to agree with Ika - although there is a relative lack of chain properties there (Radisson Blu excluded), there are enough inexpensive options there that spending nearly EUR200 at the Grand Palace seems excessive to me.

My wife and I stayed in a suite at one of the Wellton properties near the Central Market (on the edge of Old Town), which was not only convenient to transit and Old Town, it cost half the price. Sure, the Wellton Riga Hotel isn't as fancy, but not everything in life has to be fancy.

This was vastly more interesting as a review than the usual chain hotels. Thank you. More like this please.

As to the hotel itself, personally I dislike those rooms up under Mansard / Gambrel roofs and as a Virtuoso upgrade very disappointing but otherwise it looks like a decent hotel especially if the food was great.

Your hotel quality and the price you paid for the hotel just doesn't make any sense. Plus I am sure you are already Gold or Platinum member with Radisson Hotel. Radisson has the best views of the city and is far more economical than the hotel you chose.

Riga is a beautiful city. However, they don't get as many cruises as Tallinn does.

Stayed there last year when the Kempinski was not open yet... took a tour of the new hotel and I would totally stay at the Kempinski next time I visit

There seem to be a severe lack of power outlets in the room.

I’m generally a Marriott/Starwood and Hyatt loyalist, and there were no brands belonging to those groups in Tallinn.

So I decided to look at what independent hotels there might be in Riga, and came across Grand Palace Hotel Riga, which is the only Virtuoso property in the city.

I think you mean Riga in the first sentence?