Vanity Fair March 2014
I was very pleased to discover Victoria Mather – an infamously discerning travel writer – gave a glowing report of the Four Seasons St Petersburg in this month’s issue of Vanity Fair. Mather alludes to the difficulties of working and attaining quality service in Russia, and especially in the “notoriously difficult St Petersburg”.
But by labelling the hotel the best in Russia, she illustrates how, as a country, we are working – and succeeding – to combat the stereotypes that plague international opinion.
The Four Seasons might be the ‘best in class’, but the Four Seasons St Petersburg is just one example of a branded hotel in Russia, exceeding high international standards for service.* My bet is that with increasing international investment, we will see a growing trend of similar quality across the hotel market.
As I stated in a previous blog post on VIYM’s investment in the Four Seasons: feci quod potui faciant meliora potentes…
*At a later date I will discuss in detail the importance of increasing the number of branded hotels in Russia.
Andrey Yakunin 