The Wall Street Journal writes about a $35,000 hotel room at the Four Seasons Hotel New York.

For $35,000, you do receive butler service, almost free room service by from the hotel’s restaurants (including one by Joël Robuchon), and a waterfall.

I stayed at a Marriott in Moscow once that included butler service. It was one of the most awkward conversations ever. After greeting me and showing me to my room, he called a few minutes later to ask if I needed any help unpacking my bags. I wasn’t even sure what to say and therefore told him that I didn’t need any help. How much do you even tip a butler that unpacks your bag? What about drawing you a hot bubble bath?

Lonely Planet is giving away their IPhone Europe Guide books for free until April 22nd.

The cities included are:

Amsterdam
Barcelona
Berlin
Budapest
Copenhagen
Istanbul
London
Moscow
Munich
Paris
Rome
Stockholm
Vienna

These are usually $10-$15 a piece.

This is perfect for my trip tomorrow to Budapest and Rome.

I admit it, I love Holiday Inn.

I love the ability to earn points with Priority Club through Holiday Inn and then redeem them at Intercontinental Hotels. I was able to take my first dream trip to Bora Bora (staying in an over the water bungalow as a Royal Ambassador) for 10 days by using the points I accumulated through Priority Club. When you mix in the occasional promotion as well, it’s a great program.

There’s also the economic side of it as well. During my trips to Russia, I stayed at the Marriotts like every good American businessman should. Paying $700 a night at the Marriott Aurora and Grand and $500 a night at the Marriott Renaissance seemed perfectly normal.

Then I discovered the Holiday Inn Lesnaya just down the street from the Marriott Grand. At $250-$300 a night, by Moscow standards it’s a steal. It’s the perfect business hotel, close to the Belarusskaya subway station.

Not only do you get the benefit of accumulating Priority Club points by staying at Holiday Inn, there’s a financial benefit as well. I trumpeted the fact that I was saving the company money by staying at the Holiday Inn over the Marriott. I talked it up so much that I convinced others to switch over, while collecting 5000 Priority Club bonuses for the referral.

In summary, it’s good for the company and good for my Priority Club account balance. Everyone’s a winner!

The second day in Russia was one of lots of meetings. After our meetings, we decided to meet up for lunch in downtown Moscow. 3 hours later, we had made it through the stand still traffic.

When it was time to go the airport, I noticed that there is a new express train to the airport from the Belarusskaya subway station. I’m all about the trains as you get to avoid the gnarly traffic jams.

I left the hotel at 6:45 PM to take the express train. The signs to the train weren’t exactly clear, but I was able to make the 7:20 train. I got off the train, only to realize that I would have to take a bus to terminal C. I navigated my way down to the bus and took it to terminal C. I ended up arriving at 9:30 PM for my 11:30 PM flight. So much for added speed from the express train.

There was absolutely nothing to do in the airport terminal. There was two restaurants and no plugs anywhere to charge my laptop. I ate a “burrito” and got on the plane at 11:30 PM. 8 hours later I was in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

So, last Sunday I headed out for my International trip. It’s been some time since I’ve been in Europe. Europe is a great destination because it’s such a great experience with each different country.

I started off heading to Moscow, Russia. We went direct to JFK and then to Moscow. The passport line is alway so long when you arrive. They are seriously grumpy as well. They pretty much don’t say a word. Someone was there to pick me up and I whisked away to the office.

We went and ate at the cafeteria in the buildilng. I ended up eating some pork dish that really wasn’t that good. But it was better than the borsch soup.

My travels to Russia

I never, ever, thought I would travel to Russia. Russia is a gigantic country. The first time I flew there, it was the dead of winter and as cold as anything I had ever been to. The first time I stayed there, I stayed at the Marriott Royal Aurora hotel. The hotel is gorgeous – but we paid a premium. Over $600 a night – and it came with butler service. Having never had a butler, I was a bit taken aback when he called to my room to ask if I wanted help unpacking my bags. Er, no thanks. The restaurant was fantastic, but once again, we were paying a serious premium.

They use “currency units” at the hotel instead of rubles. What this means is that the exchange rate may be 30 rubles / $1 – but the hotel uses 36 rubles to one currency unit. You end up paying much more for everything.

You can’t beat the proximity to the Red Square, but taking a taxi anywhere was a nightmare given the location.

The second time I stayed in Moscow, I stayed instead at the Marriott Renaissance Hotel. The price was $450 a night, but the hotel is in the middle of nowhere (at least by walking distance). It does have three different restaurants on location which was very nice. However, they had no air conditioning, just a fan!!

The next time I stayed in Moscow, I found my favorite hotel by far. It’s the Holiday Inn Lesnaya. I got rooms at $250 a night or less. The hotel is brand new, and situated just off the main Tverskaya boulevard and right by the Belaruskaya subway station. There are plenty of top notch restaurants within walking distance of the Holiday Inn Lesnaya. I would highly recommend this hotel if you’re planning on staying in Moscow. Be sure and book well in advance as hotel space is at a premium for a good quality Western hotel.