Soviet Hotel Review #2 Hotel Cosmos, Moscow

Join me on a tour of the Hotel Cosmos. Built for the 1980 Olympic games it's staff have been servicing tourists ever since.

[@michaelhaakenson8067]

Stayed there in 1985. Room looks just like I remember except we didn’t have the catalog of services.

[@thelastcommander8765]

Are you russian? Remember ColdWar?

[@torbygjordet2533]

Stayed there in 1986.

[@AlexGW]

What a little dash of Capitalism can do for your services comrade ;)

[@bessamemucho]

Stayed in Cosmos in 1989. My room had about the same view and same decor.

[@gregphelps4963]

Stayed there in '89, I'm assuming they finally have electricity 24/7.

[@dhowe1001]

There used to be a campground next to the hotel. I camped there in 1982 with a couple of American friends. I don’t recall any prostitutes but we did meet some local teenagers at the nightclub who offered to trade a Soviet flag for some of our clothing. They followed us back to our tent to execute the trade but the police showed up. The locals ran off and we were cowering in our tent while the policemen circled our tent for a half hour shouting. We were terrified since black market activity was illegal. After a while we got some sleep. The next morning when I opened up the tent there was a police officer sitting on our camp table. He didn’t look at us or say a word. Just sat there. We quietly packed up our Lada sedan and got the hell out of there. After two days on a train we crossed the iron curtain into Austria. What a huge relief. We were smart asses back in those days

[@baldandbankrupt]

Amazing story! Thanks for sharing Dave

[@dhowe1001]

I love your vlog. Bringing back some fond memories

[@Chris66Mas]

We left the group and were invited to the nearby apartment of locals. We spent most of the night around kitchen table (classic with the floral plastic coated table cloth), laundry hanging above, being offered ham, bread and vodka and witnessed the most hilarious politics discussion between the hosts, completely drunk, of course. All very innocent, ahem!! Why can’t we have these kind of discussions in England?

[@leredditcommander8208]

Dude i was not even born, could you just show up in 1982 at the CCCP border and get in? In my country the soviet union was like today north korea, no one knew anything about what was inside, although we had socialist tendencies, but because we are so close to the US, we got slapped every time we tried to make contact, hint: trostky was assassinated here

[@zzzpal8837]

@Mr " execute the trade " - that is the funny part. LMAO.

[@loveaodai100]

Another great video. In 2002 I had the good fortune of staying at the enormous Russia Hotel overlooking Red Square. I have wonderful memories of that place and sadly it has since been demolished. For those who are used to five star international luxury I share a different type of luxury regarding some aspects of those days ways which I think you (Bald and Bankrupt) will understand. Everything serviced at the Russia Hotel was rather relaxed... slow moving... when the staff got the necessary energy level the need was serviced. Compare this with international standard five star service of today in Russia or elsewhere where the personnel must be at constant attention always on the lookout for a rogue speck of dust all the time exuding the aura of stress whereas the old style exuded the aura of being relaxed. Yes... being relaxed is true luxury!

[@spacechimp3199]

As someone who works in a hotel, I have no idea what the hell you mean.

[@loveaodai100]

@@spacechimp3199 fair question. Not to mean that a poorly run hotel is more relaxful than a proper five star hotel. But here is the point… in places where most hotels were run by the state there was less incentive for impeccable levels of appearance or service. The Russia Hotel and other hotels I have stayed at in similar environments were clean and proper and best of all quite safe. But the staff were more relaxed and casual about things than at private luxury hotels. Assuming you were not in extreme rush… their relaxed attitude seemed to make me relaxed. In a proper 5 star hotel where everything is supposed to be kept impeccable… staff at attention and constantly on the lookout for something out of place or looking to satisfy quickly any guest need puts the person in a less relaxed possibly even stressful state which may be sensed by some people. Anyway… as a hotel worker/ owner I hope this makes at least some sense.

[@jammadamma]

Grundig actually is a well known German quality brand...

[@clansman89]

Used to be

[@goku445]

Ok boomer

[@jammadamma]

@@goku445 People who call people boomers online, are usually boomers. Ok boomer.

[@goku445]

@@jammadamma you got me there.

[@stevenwebb3634]

They're no Telefunken

[@random_citizen9191]

That phone has fallen into the toilet more times than the political climate of that country.

[@gameone7717]

😂

[@floydlooney6837]

The towel on the floor was a nice aesthetic touch

[@cheguevara8410]

I lost it when you pointed out the middle aged prostitutes.

[@baldandbankrupt]

Pervert 😉

[@cheguevara8410]

hanselxy *sense

[@michelg2257]

hasn"t changed in 10 years since i stayed there

[@davidburrow5895]

I stayed at the KOCMOC back in 1984, when it was the U.S.S.R. considered it the height of luxury. The radio still worked at that time, and there was no in-room television. They appear to have renovated the bathrooms since then as well, but otherwise the room looks almost identical to the one I stayed in back then. In the Soviet era each floor had a "key lady" or klochavaya to whom guests had to turn in their keys each time they left. It was no secret that she reported directly to the KGB and made it her business to know everything about all the guests. The rooms were bugged (we actually found a microphone hidden behind a mirror), and luggage was searched while guests were out. On the other hand, there were definitely no hookers in the hotel in those days.

[@zeekeecolls4055]

There was hookers when i was there in 2003.

[@HeadstudiosAu]

"Be careful of the freelancers they don't all have their chlamydia certificates." Lol dude I'm dying at your channel.

[@curiousnomadic]

@nick labian certificates are important you know.

[@spencerhowell9287]

Pmsl 😆

[@MrAcook61798]

I doubt it

[@Pinkielover]

actually i know the one sitting down , best fk i ever had , but she only takes visa and bc

[@mikhailv67tv]

He stated with the experience of a Moscow traveller.

[@marcgarrett5427]

I was in the USSR December 1985/January 1986. Visited Leningrad, Volgograd, Kiev, and Moscow. I don't remember the names of the hotels we stayed at, BUT I remember sitting in a bar one night talking to a girl for about 2 hours. Gorgeous girl wearing an Italian designer dress. Several of us were heading back to party in one of the rooms and I asked her if she wanted to go. She asked me if I would pay. Now, I was more than a little lit at this point and was oblivious to what i had just been asked. I asked her, "For what?" She said, "For walk". I asked why I would pay for a walk. She then said, "For love". Then it hit me. I politely declined and apologized for wasting her time. Later on, talking to a lady I met who was from the US also, she clued me in on a few things. The working girls usually traveled in pairs. They all wore the same government issue stockings although prostitution was officially illegal. And you could pay for the girl at the bar with cash, travelers cheques, or credit cards. One of the other guys on the trip with us spent several nights with different girls he met who I'm assuming were free lancers themselves because he traded them cassette tapes and cartons of cigarettes. I had brought some jeans and other clothes to trade or sell. I sold them for rubles but without a receipt for exchanging American money to begin with, I could only spend them. I remember the hotels had restaurants on different floors. It seemed the higher up you went, the better the restaurant. I definitely enjoyed eating at the better restaurants instead of what most on the tour ate. I had some kind of steak several times and a cheese and mushroom dish that was delicious. No fridge in room so I opened a window and hung a bag outside to keep things cold. We had a great time and I always wanted to go back. I imagine it is quite different now. Your comments about the prostitutes made me think about that.

[@PaulV.]

For a cheap 3* hotel looks pretty nice. Better than most I have seen in Europe.

[@zeekeecolls4055]

I think it was 4star in 2003.

[@richierich6231]

Some of the best TVs. Grundig

[@user-mi4yc7pr3x]

No. Allview are the best

[@borisbritva7453]

The largest hotel in the World at the time. Still great value for the price.

[@mcrand7887]

Grundig is a German electronic brand it was popular in 1998-99 for its futuristic looks and designs.

[@HandsomeMoose]

These Russian/Soviet hotels all look the same. I stayed at hotel Russia just over 15 years ago. Even there and then, it looked as if time had stood still since it was built. A huge hotel which is now unfortunately demolished. The view towards the Red Square was fantastic. Great trip.

[@Snowman13230]

It was a monstrosity, great that it is gone. There's a nice park there now overlooking the Kremlin

[@antonemilit2178]

Bru, Grundig is German. They make great stuff.

[@artillerymetal1150]

It's Turkish now

[@alexfresel6198]

I prefer Belaruski Vityaz

[@mihailstoyanov9462]

After 30 yes Grundig still working

[@andrewclark8630]

@@mihailstoyanov9462 I hope it's woodgrain finish is as resplendent as ever.

[@normiron736]

Stayed in the Hotel Orlyonok on a school trip in 1987, this room just took me right back. Can still taste the Vodka that as a 15 yr old i could buy at the souvenir shop with no i.d, lol!

[@trancemadmaz]

I stayed there back in 2006. My Belgian mate was urinating from the 28th floor at around 7 in the morning and was wasted. He nearly fell off the window but luckily I grabbed him howerver as I did, he continued pissing and it was all over the walls and our French mate who passed out on the bed. Great memories :)

[@rutter1ify]

😂😂😂👍

[@thelastcommander8765]

So your russian?

[@Alexander_l322]

Hahaha awesome! I'm glad you all lived to tell the tail

[@2011joser]

After our destination flights were canceled due to weather a few years ago, we were booked into Sam’s Town casino in Las Vegas. It was equivalent to this. No remodel since the 80’s , basically like staying at grandma’s well worn house.

[@terje2005]

Grundig still sell TVs in Norway.

[@yussufsaid4196]

Hahaha Carl berner plass

[@davetom1743]

Is it still with the soviet quality?

[@tarbyonlineful]

Owned by a Turkish concern now I believe. Originally German

[@riccardop28]

They were very popular in Italy too. German TV sets from the 70ies and 80ies.

[@goku445]

CRTs?

[@PindarMOD]

I remember this very well. Stayed there in May 1991. It hasn't changed at all. The food was ghastly. Slices of cucumber and a lump of fat.

[@DarkPsy]

Hey, the TV is quality, Grundig is a German manufacturer! :D

[@ludara8697]

now Turkish

[@DarkPsy]

@@ludara8697 You are right, I checked it and they really went bankrupt in the late 90s and early 2000s, despite the fact that they made billions per year in the early 90s. Sold for 80 million to a turkish manufacturer in Istanbul. Quite shocking to me as a German since television was invented here in Germany. (But then again, I don't watch TV since like 2005 anymore.)

[@dekartmagomedov]

grundig never die.

[@DarkPsy]

@@StevenKeery Try Paul Nipkow.

[@andrewclark8630]

Does that mean it's good?

[@contrarymary7638]

I stayed at the hotel summer 1981 when there was a heatwave I remember the lift was really quick one of the quickest lifts ever apparently that took you up the 25 floors. I was 20 at the time and went with three other girlfriends the bar was lovely we ordered vodka find out we've been overcharged and the manager there was a bottle of vodka 3 which we drank every drop that night! We had caviar Russian of course the best The waitresses in the restaurant were after our clothing we were really into high fashion they would be dealing in the black market of course And I do remember an old lady sitting in the large bath toilet rooms in the hotel - her job was to cut the toilet paper into squares with a double edged razor and wait for it the biggest and newest hotel in Russia 1981 were using if anyone's old enough to remember the 'tracing paper' style of toilet paper which was used in schools in the uk in the 1960s She came up to me I was wearing a crucifix took the crucifix in her hand and after checking that no one was looking kissed it I remember thinking communism like most ideologies a contradictory l saw poor people on the streets of Moscow and the big black limousines driving around Red Square they could afford hardback books for free spouting communism and yet there were the poor people all around No ideology is perfect but the free hardback books made it sound like a fairytale We all went to Kiev as it was known then to Yalta by the Black Sea and up to Moscow for the last few days it was a fantastic holiday and I'd love to go back sometime I'm glad I went when it was the old Russia I'm sure it's changed now - that's Russia - not the hotel by the looks of it :)

[@Vonlan1909]

That's fucking untrue, there were no poor people in the USSR that wouldt make sence.

[@luisromanlegionaire]

Lots of poor people now in the West, as always the West caught up and surpassed the Soviets.

[@javierbriones2110]

Hey! In 1973 one hundred Chileans were sent to the USSR on the 4th of September, all these people were 19/25 years old and traveled looking after learning about the soviet skills for agriculture and machinering usage. They all spent the first night on the Hotel Cosmos and later on they traveled toward Krasnodar, but their trip and dreams collapsed with the Chilean coup d'etat of September 11th 1973! All these people never came back to Chile and 93 of them went to absolute oblivion!

[@azb1488]

I actually watched a documentary about that and they even interviewed some of those students. Very interesting.

[@Thomas-tc7hp]

“Agriculture and machinering usage” more like guerrilla and ak47s usage lol

[@anindrapratama]

the same fate also hit Indonesians sent to the Eastern Bloc to study after 1965, some never return too

[@aleksandra7508]

The telephone next to the toilet in case you run out of toilet paper 🧻

[@Stragalia]

Valid reason in this day and age

[@zeekeecolls4055]

The breakfast menu was enormous, they had anything you want.

[@pepperprovasnik]

Better bathroom than any I ever had living in Paris. The room is even bigger than any apartment i had so hey, I'm impressed

[@MyName1992]

I love the arm gestures, showing off the finer points of the room 😂

[@dumans85]

Grundig was one of the most popular companies from germany. But in the early 2000 the company was bankrupt.

[@PyroDREW.]

I actually got a nice little massage and and a decent handy J at this exact hotel I felt like jello afterwards I will definitely be visiting again!!

[@dsanalysis5013]

That tap in the bathroom was a pretty cool feat of Soviet engineering.

[@donlove3741]

I was a B girl there in 1980. Svetlana yankoff

[@mihailstoyanov9462]

I was there 1990...unbelievable it is the same as it was that time

[@roxr2OF1]

I was there in 2019 and it was really atmospheric. Building even now looks modern-styled.

[@Анастасияпокров]

Pretty hotel, like how it's been left like that since the 80s

[@KurwaRomek]

They could shoot a remake of the Shining in these corridors

[@James-sz5bi]

They made the Russian movie Daywatch in those corridors - which actually has a lot in common with the Shining.

[@simonfranc9422]

I stayed in this hotel a few years ago, on the 25th floor, I had a beautiful view of the VDNK

[@zeekeecolls4055]

I was on the twenty third floor.

[@kepi7055]

You spent the whole dollar on this one. I really like the pre-caved in mattresses.

[@alexsciortino7113]

So funny how at the end you were looking at the catalogue and apparently were fascinated by what you saw lol

[@lightyagami9761]

I do remember the old grundig tv brand. In fact I got one back home and it still works!

[@tommarinan4056]

I lived at that hotel in 1992 for a short time while I worked in the casino. The room is very much as I remembered it then.

[@EagleOne2537]

Actually I've been in may Hotels in Uk that look more outdated than the Cosmos... and they were not cheap.

[@effie-Toronto]

Really nice hotel

[@georgegonzalez2476]

Grundig used to make amazing long and shortwave and FM radios. All the components were rather special. They could make an AM/FM radio with like 4 tubes, nobody else could do that.

[@NorthSea_1981]

Yes, they were a decent German brand

[@masroorehsan4038]

Grundig & Moulinex were pretty rad in those days

[@danielclooney6248]

This is so interesting. I stayed there when it was relatively new. It seemed nice then but now looks really raggedy. Thanks for showing this. I've always been curious how it held up.

[@baldandbankrupt]

When were you there? 80s? I'm jealous to be honest

[@danielclooney6248]

@@baldandbankrupt yes, it was pre-glasnost. I and another college student did go out on our own with no guides. Had to turn our key in to the woman that was the floor keeper for our floor in the hotel. Had trouble finding a bakery and I had the address written down. No one wanted to direct me even police. I finally found it and bought bread to take home. Loved their soups and ice cream. Flew Aeroflot from Helsinki to Moscow (Soviet version of the B727, Then a smaller version on to St Petersburg. Flew Finnair St Petersburg to Helsinki, everyone clapped when we lifted off from St Petersburg.

[@baseacse]

Hey Bald, love the channel Have you ever considered doing a tour of England? You might think it's quite normal but I assure you the rest of us would love to see the best of the country through a Englishman's eyes. Even a small tour of Brighton or something the next time you're back would be really cool

[@nj7588]

Anybody here thinking that the phone had to had fallen into the toilet before at least once?

[@unclej3423]

Your commentary makes these worth watching, as I was bored to death by Harald's european vlogs 😀

[@yzmey42113]

That is not a regular hotel in Russia. It's just an old Soviet (anti-Russian) style museum hotel, and not a real hotel, perhaps a tourist attraction. Hotels in Russia are no different than in Europe or US, they are modern looking. And of course they also have a rating system (3 stars, 4 stars etc).

[@ReeseL4D]

I stayed at Hotel Cosmos in 2002. The room looks exactly the same. LoL There are some fine ladies in the lobby. I'm sure the prices have changed since I was there.

[@sdorr]

Another gem of a review! keep up the great work, guy!

[@dominikgerhart5919]

Good tour, wants me to stay there after the mess is over. :-) Grundig, who knows Grundig? I do. Grundig used to be from my hometown Fürth (Germany) and was a big tech company. Manufacturing high quality tv sets for example, and video recorders. They had a better system, video 2000, than VHS, but unfortunatelly, that did not work out.

[@stephanievegter5438]

🇿🇦♥️. Stayed at Cosmos a few years ago. ☺️

[@__themisanthrope__]

Ngl, Grundig is one strong brand. We still have it in our grandparent's place and it still works

[@luisantolafrancis519]

Grundig was avery hi end tv set made in west germany .. horribly complex and expensive to repair all components were in house made and no parts available from standard manufacture fit in the old grundig .. by the 80s a great tv. The hotel looks as it should proper soviet hi class ..

[@PikapikapikaaChu]

I like his videos and a lot of the time he is always very polite (and knowledable on what he says) but when he called those women middle aged prosititutes I actually feel like he is being a bit of a child (I can think of other words but that one will do for on here) the place is horrible yes i agree but there is no need for that. I actually thought he was very mature and respectable - clearly not. *Edit - even if they are ladies of the night; he has no idea why they might be doing that.. and it is not really his place to comment.

[@aguy6641]

Soviets really build some amazing buildings in their heyday.

[@Sukhumvit246]

First time I visited Russia was for a champions league football match about 10 years ago. 5 of us booked into hotel cosmos for a week, what a experience for a 17 year old English teenager who had never been to Russia 😂😂

[@iMadrid11]

The soviet hotel building facade looks like the inspiration for the Wynn hotel in Las Vegas.

[@jayman3294]

Love your hotel reviews. Lol keep them coming.

[@baldandbankrupt]

Cheers

[@IrishPartizan]

Not a patch on the Hotel Circus in Gomel. That place has a character all of its own.

[@kathyscoppettuolo7168]

I stayed here in 1994. Rooms still look the same. Only new things are the TV and the bedspread. Old bedspreads had an oval cutout in the center. Why, who knows.

[@ARFilms2]

I am the UK and went there in March, 1991s and not surprised to say it has not changed a bit. Still as grotty, we did unfortunately find the phone did work as we got several phone calls as soon we arrived from the local prositutes. We did escape them by going to the bar downstairs only to find it was basically a knocking sho,p that sold a wide variety of wines, beers spirits and a unique selection of more prostitutes. The breakfast here was, well, like nothing I had ever had, and after a few mouthfulls one really didn't feel that hungry any more. The evening meal was good, honestly, couldn't complain - a three course meal, with drinks for around £1.35, for the two of us. Glad to see they have not destroyed it by any modernisation and that they have kept the unique ambiance of character of the place and that anything not working, is probably still not working. Thanks for sharing your experience there.

[@AgtX999]

I remember Grundig TV sets in England.

[@ferretman6790]

Me:stays at hotel This video: OH MY GOSH ITS A SOVIET ERA WALL STAIN!!!

[@alexeicccp]

This thing is an architectural masterpiece.. An 80s soviet museum "hotel of course".. so wonderful

[@mariescott9853]

Had the privilege to stay at the gargantuan Hotel Rossiya in the late 1970s, where it was impossible to not get lost trying to find your room and a Soviet woman on each floor was guaranteed to yell at you. Sadly, I heard it has been torn down.

[@5thdawg917]

This is awesome. I've never travelled anymore, but you're showing me all the places I've wanted to see. I'm kid compared to you in my mid 20s. Reading other people's comments about them being there and you showing us the footage takes me back to see things before I was born.

[@EdisonBryan]

Have you managed to travel yet?

[@frydemwingz]

Not gonna lie, those actually are sweet chairs.

[@mtek334]

I stayed in this hotel on a trip to Moscow and St. Petersburg. It was very conveniently situation, the breakfasts were great, there was a currency exchange machine in the lobby but my room - overlooking the front of the hotel had a full sized domestic fridge in the room - dated it was even more than that. But I loved it and I slept well and the metro stop was just a few minutes away

[@rajkirannatarajan9276]

That hotel lobby is A+ in spite of those rooms lol.

[@felixlipski3956]

"Hasn't worked since 1991" Good analogy for the whole country

[@antonv.]

nice hotel

[@oberstul1941]

The room looks actually decent.

[@drjohnson98]

The room is very similar, but larger by about a third, to one that I stayed in in the old Intourist Hotel that stood on Tverskaya Ulitsa just off of Red Square in the late Soviet days (1990). Cosmos actually doesn't look bad, I've stayed in (much) worse in various parts of Russia. And for 50 bucks close the the Center and on a metro with VDNKh Park across the street, not a bad deal.

[@nikolasxray7]

my friend you took me back 11 years ago , been there in cosmos hotel , amazing !

[@richacello339]

When I stayed there, you had to track down the KGB chamber maid for TP. And the nightclub, where those East German girls really knock you out. Good times in Moscow.

[@akshaylal8077]

And I thought you are bankrupt

[@sobieskireborn7361]

Never too bankrupt for a special night with Ludmila

[@lessthanpinochet]

@@sobieskireborn7361 hell yeah

[@brittanybonnie1478]

@@sobieskireborn7361 if a man cant spoil himself with expensive hotel rooms here and there ..then what is the point of life

[@brittanybonnie1478]

@jesus jones well thats better then jp morgan chase basically owning your country...like they own these here united states

[@nancymccourry9649]

Nice hand gestures

[@timt7353]

Hahaha a great playlist, one of the best 😂 too many quotes to mention, maybe just the telephone by the toilet towards the end, I’m still laughing now trying to type

[@ALFAGOMMA]

Stayed at this hotel in December 1984. It was one of the best hotels available at the time, from memory built with the assistance of Swedish design/materials though plenty of things did not work properly during our stay. I suspect that local tradies or technicians deliberately sabotaged things so that they could meet westerners and trade with them.

[@erics533]

I love these... I have stayed at some finest hotels in Kyrgyzstan. The best, everyone knows it, they are the greatest! Just don't mind the stuffed animals that are 80 years old and falling apart... its part of the decor. lol

[@singhhomeland]

HI! I'm continuously watching your Russian series.

[@hassanmaqsood8450]

Video was short and sweet. Had be pissing my pants. Bro, you are savage!

[@malcolmhardwick4258]

I remember Grundig. Most stereos and TVs in the 80s had Grundig parts inside ☺

[@Joshua89]

Just booked this hotel for my trip to Moscow! They should give you commission for promoting it

[@peterdammeliusosterode3424]

Det där var vad jag kallar subtil ironi😂

[@carloapelian429]

I was in this hotel 2 years ago the radio still isnt functioning since 1981 😂😂😂😂😂

[@Mambo.Canibal]

Dude I wish you had longer hotel reviews

[@parthkapoor96]

HAHAH! SOVIET HOTEL REVIEW SERIES IS THE BEST.

[@sunnyta619]

I stayed there in 1990. We had a tele that barely worked. I remember drunk tourists pissing in the lobby and hookers all over the place.

[@tanyakulova4718]

Still more safe than England

[@rutter1ify]

😝😝😰

[@beeverywhere9003]

Tanya Kulova more many safe than london

[@valerija.legasov548]

Whoow, that is amazing hotel! TV Grundig is pretty cool! Greetings from Czechia, stay safe and be healthy!

[@b.w.9244]

Stayed there in 1980!

[@trex70]

I remember Grundig Tvs from my Childhood also Radios

[@catrinaraketa3215]

"In case you want to send the girl up to your room you don't have to go down to Solaris club!" When I heard this comment, I laughed myself sick. This is so true. Especially the freelancers and middle aged prostitutes. I can confirm that this is an accurate description of the country and the culture as a Russian person. Thanks for your quality content and keep it up!

[@kraftmayo]

I wanna go to the Cosmos Hotel in Moscow now hahaha watching from Canada. 😂😂

[@thejasonbischoff]

Catrina Raketa what’s your Instagram?

[@LAKingssince]

Reminds me of staying at a Best Western

[@acajudi100]

Thank you for your honesty. I love it.

[@PipinhoSnow]

Its very nice :)

[@MrGrumpygit488]

Just like a Travelodge!