Due to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, many local hotels are not available on Chinese booking platforms. This hotel is the best one that can be booked. The location is great. A few hundred meters east of the hotel is Kirov Square and the famous churches. A few hundred meters west is a bridge across the Angara River, and across the bridge is the railway station. Take a bus from the bus stop in front of the hotel to the airport and major attractions in the city.
The hotel is basically equivalent to the domestic four-star standard, with decent facilities, great hot water, especially the huge heating, and can only be cooled by the cold air of the air conditioner at the same time. The hotel breakfast is very rich and the service is also very good. The front desk staff is responsive. My mobile phone cannot use the local Yandex, so every time I go out, I ask the front desk girl to help me get a taxi. The waiters are all very good in English, and communication is barrier-free. There is even a girl who can speak a few words of not-so-standard Chinese.
It should be noted that due to sanctions, our credit cards, including UnionPay cards, cannot be used in Russia, and it is also difficult to exchange rubles in China, so it is recommended to bring some US dollars to a bank here for exchange, or find local Chinese to exchange. Anyway, I didn't find any currency exchange windows at the Irkutsk airport or on the streets in the city. It was a weekend when I arrived, and the banks were closed. If I hadn't met a Chinese tour guide who exchanged some rubles for emergency, I would have almost missed out on food.
Original TextTranslation provided by Google