AirInn – the Vilnius airport hotel

What the hell happened to my favorite hotel?!? You leave your favorite hotel unattended for only a year or two, and some inconsiderate capitalists come and ruin it completely. I was recently back to my old “home away from home” in Lithuania – The Skrydis hotel. Only to discover that everything had changed, and in my opinion not to the better. All the details that made staying at this hotel an experience in itself were gone.

One thing that at least hasn`t changed is the short distance to the airport

The old name was gone and replaced with “AirInn”. Some made-up western word devoid of meaning. Why not also call it AirOut? At least that way they could have kept the two counters they had at the time when two hotels shared the same building (a somewhat typical Lithuanian phenomenon). Anyway, the national and for foreigners somewhat misplaced name “Skrydis” was better.

The Airinn lounge today - like any other hotel

The receptionist was gone. This soviet-style older woman with her reassuring uniform and lacking understanding of English nicely reminded visitors that they were indeed in Eastern Europe. Her replacements, the tanned young women with their fluent English, almost make you feel at home, and this to me is not really a big point when I go on holiday. If I had wanted to feel at home, I would have stayed at home. After all, I was already there to begin with.

They even installed a lavish fish tank

The breakfast chef, if I can call him that, was gone. My reluctance to call him a chef is connected to the fact that I somewhat doubt whether he had any formal training at all. And since I am uncertain, I might as well call him a chef. This cheeky young man would jokingly point at me with his knife before taking my order and say “I know you”, before going back to flirting with the bored waitresses and composing a breakfast plate that could insult even a fasting monk. The kitchen staff they have today probably wouldn`t even dream of any such unexpected indiscretions. They seemed mostly preoccupied with preparing food.  

And can you imagine - free Internet access. Back in the good old days we had to fight for our Internet access 

The soviet elevators were gone. These timeless contraptions that were built to last a lifetime, at a time when obesity and intimacy issues must have been rather uncommon, used to be standard in most Lithuanian hotels but are now getting rarer and rarer as the hotels become gradually more westernized. Even this hotel got rid of its old elevator with its indestructible imitated wooden panels and the narrow doorway, which clearly sends the message that: “If you are too fat to squeeze through here, you should probably take the stairs anyway”. Now they have some boring German elevator that takes you to the second floor without reminding you that you are a mere mortal creature whose life can end at any time. I guess that`s what passes for progress these days. Next time I go back I wouldn`t be surprised if the elevator even plays music.

Ever wondered wheter you really pressed the button or not?
This was not an issue in soviet elevators

And last but not least – the low prices are gone. I used to be able to stay in this hotel for 100 Litas, but now they charge virtually the same as western hotels. This is probably due to the fact that the hotel has turned into some kind of wannabe western hotel, but that does not really justify me paying more for a lesser experience. That being said, I still strongly recommend this hotel because of its unbeatable location and the fact that traffic in Vilnius can be a real bitch in the morning. But there is no longer as much of a reason to enjoy your stay as there used to be.

Some highlights from the Vilnius airport hotel, from the time when it was the best hotel deal in the city

What is wrong with you people? Why can`t you leave your cultural heritage alone?