Barentsburg: Hotel Barentsburg

The hotel in Barents­burg was ope­ned in 1989, a reflec­tion of Michail Gorbatschow’s poli­tics which ope­ned the coun­try to the west. Visi­tors from wes­tern count­ries were sud­den­ly wel­co­me guests in Barents­burg – at least in theo­ry; initi­al­ly, tou­rists might have been able to stay in Barents­burg, but they could not expect much in terms of ser­vice.

The decis­i­on to open a hotel was cer­tain­ly made easier by the deve­lo­p­ment of coal mining and popu­la­ti­on, which both went down in tho­se years. Accom­mo­da­ti­on was accor­din­gly easi­ly available, and the hotel could be instal­led in a house that was form­er­ly used house local inha­bi­tants.

Initi­al­ly, visi­tor num­bers were quite limi­t­ed. In 2009, a pro­cess of reno­va­ti­on was star­ted that over some years led to sub­stan­ti­al upgrading. Even though some of the ori­gi­nal Rus­si­an charme was lost in the pro­cess: nowa­days, visi­tors can com­for­ta­b­ly stay in the hotel and enjoy good food. The­re are good wire­less inter­net and tou­ristic offers. But the times are gone whe­re you could spend a night for pea­nuts.

Hotel Barents­burg – pan­ora­ma

Hard to miss in the sou­thern part of Barents­burg: the hotel is situa­ted in a lar­ge for­mer resi­den­ti­al buil­ding.

The ent­rance area.

The­re is a good sel­ec­tion of bever­a­ges available in the bar, of cour­se also inclu­ding the beers from the local bre­wery Krac­nij Med­wed. At times, they even had the best hot cho­co­la­te in Spits­ber­gen! But it was so good that it was quick­ly sold out.

The restau­rant: good food a lá car­te.

Today, the sou­ve­nir shop in the hotel is not the only one in Barents­burg any­mo­re, it is actual­ly the smal­lest one.

Ent­rance area and recep­ti­on. Plea­se take your shoes off here. This is quite com­mon in public buil­dings in Spits­ber­gen.

Long cor­ri­dors … this is whe­re miners and other employees lived into the 1980s.

The rooms in the Hotel Barents­burg are modern and com­for­ta­ble. At the same time, they have lost quite a bit of their ori­gi­nal Rus­si­an charme. As with many hotels in the world, you can wake up the­re and you can’t see whe­re on the pla­net you are.

For boo­king etc, cont­act Goarc­ti­ca.

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