The hotel itself is impressive. With its monumental exterior
it towers over the city, giving guests staying on the upper floors a great view
of a city allegedly consisting exclusively of apartment buildings. Since the
city originally was founded as a residential area for the nearby nuclear power
plant, it offered a good opportunity for soviet urban planners to demonstrate
what a works paradise should look like. And in such a paradise there was of course
no need for any such bourgeoisie nonsense as individual houses.
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| From the upper floors you have an excellent view of the workers paradise |
There was however a need for a monumental hotel, and this
collectively owned marble was designed to show visitors just how much could be
achieved when everyone worked together. And how this could be shared. The
common areas of the hotel, such as the lounges, the restaurant and the
reception area were all probably rather spectacular in their prime.
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| Are you one of those people who always complain that hotels never provide you with enough coffe cups, and that they never display them lavishly in ridiculously oversized glas cabinets? Well, in that case the Aukstaitija is the hotel for you. |
One previous visitor has described the hotel as resembling a
furniture warehouse, and after visiting myself, I do see his point. The hotel
in general and the rooms in particular, are rather lavishly furnished. Mostly
with quite large and luxurious furniture, and to such an extent that one almost
can suspect that the interiors were done by the same decorator that did Saddam
Hussein`s palaces. Take this modest coffee table from my humble room for
instance:
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| One of the more decent hotel interiors I have encountered in Lithuania. |
The rooms themselves are also lavishly spaceous, at least the one I stayed in. A large bedroom with a bed that could easily have accommodated even two of the most overweight tourists imaginable, a separate kitchen and dining room for five people, and a (by Lithuanian standards) quite spacious bathroom. There was even a balcony, but that one was mostly for people who either know no fear of heights, people who have a strong belief in the craftsmanship of soviet masons, or people who do not fear death at all. Such as smokers.
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| When hotel beds are so large that they even seem too big for two People, it can sometimes make you wonder...if you are using the correctly? |
I basically only have one objection to this hotel – the breakfast
menu, or rather the interpretations of that menu by the kitchen staff. They
will give you such options as “continental breakfast” and “English breakfast”,
and even if you feel that you have a good understanding of what these terms
mean – I still suggest that you ask. The answer might surprise you. In my opinion,
they would be better off just naming their three breakfast options just “Nr.1,
Nr.2 and Nr.3”. That would by the way also be in better keeping with the soviet
traditions.
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| And of course, no classic walnut interior is complete without a boom-box |
Seeing as how the city is rather young it has few
attractions, but since Lithuania is a small country there is always something
interesting in the area. Many people view nature as the main reason to visit
this part of the country, while others find the city itself interesting enough.
However, whether you are staying for long or just passing through – this hotel
is the place to stay. After all…where else?
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| If you want to seek urban solitude and find inner urban peace - this is the place to go. Particularly off season. |
