Exploring Moscow's Top Luxury Hotels

MOSCOW (TheStreet) -- When Mikhail Gorbachev announced his Perestroika reforms in the summer of 1987 he probably didn't envision his Red Square to be surrounded by western-owned hotels.

There's even more on the way with the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group planting roots in 2011 and Shangri-La Hotels in 2013. There's also been development on the former Rossiya Hotel in Red Square, picking up the pieces after Foster + Partners relinquished design control over a planned development that will include four luxury hotels, residences and a 2,500-seat theater.

Moscow hasn't been immune to the global financial crisis. Its three-star properties have seen room rates decrease by 39%.

Many of Russia's top hotels are remodeled luxury palaces from the state-sponsored building booms of the early and mid-20th century. One of the city's most famous palaces is the Hotel National, now part of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide(symbol). The Hotel National was built in 1903 under the rule of Nicholas II and was the home of foreign dignitaries and bourgeoisie elite before the 1917 revolution, when it became the residence of Vladimir Lenin. The property became a hotel again in the 1930s, when it added museum-quality paintings and artifacts from the palaces of former czars.

Today the Hotel National is one of Moscow's top business hotels. Its guest rooms were remodeled last year, updating the 19th century décor with 21st century technology such as Internet access and plasma TVs. Anyone with an aversion to gold should be prepared for a lot of Baroque pieces and red carpet, but with some of the best preserved Art Nouveau architecture you'll ever see. A second renovation has started that will focus on the hotel's spa operated by Guerlain, which is one of the more affordable hotel spas in Moscow, and its restaurant. Chef Andre Martin dazzles guests with an American-influenced menu served inside a dining room with panoramic views of the Kremlin and Red Square.

Those looking for a more playful address while in Moscow should book the Spa Hotel Pokrovka by Mamaison Hotels and Resorts. Not to be confused with U.K.-based Malmaison, this luxury boutique chain is managed by Eastern European Orco Property Group, which balances Russian luxury with whimsical western design. Inside the lobby, guests find stark white columns, couture drapery and ornate marble floors.