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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