International Hotel Sayen

Our entire experience was wonderful - the staff happily accommodated our requests for a rollaway bed and a cot (which were set up before our arrival), organised our transfers and organised our day tour to Lake Baikal with a fantastic guide and driver given we had limited time in Irkutsk. We had a lovely dinner in the restaurant on the seventh floor and the breakfast (included) was also fantastic and waiting for us at our nominated time. I would highly recommend this hotel.

I needed to check out before the normal breakfast hours and assumed I would not be able to have the included breakfast. Instead, they delivered exactly what I wanted, when I wanted it and didn't charge for the delivery. Hooray for Sayen.

Nice hotel, usually overpriced compared to alternatives but not this time. When I got there and realised it was basically empty not such a surprise. Pros: Nice big room. Nice shower. Smack in the middle of the "downtown" area. Nice breakfast. Everything else, e.g. staff helpfulness, no more than I expect from such a business hotel. Cons: - Crazy A/C system - what's wrong with a dial? - Crazy lighting system - what's wrong with a switch? - Crazy curtain system - I am quite capable of drawing the curtains by hand, the electronic system *opens* the curtains everytime I come into the room, even at 2am! - Desk chair is awful, just a regular chair - much to low, no back support, impossible to spend more than ten minutes working. - No English news channel on TV - no, China TV's English language service is not "English news", even CNN would be better! Can't believe there is no cable package offering BBC News. - Way overpriced restaurant - not really a surprise.

We had a family room which was lovely an large and they had a gift for the kids. Good breakfast.

We loved Japan when we were there, so this was a great surprise when we booked last minute due to our other place not working out. Amazing breakfast too.

Really liked staying here. Typical Japanese-style hotel, but in Siberia :). Personnel is friendly, food is good (the way they serve breakfast - is high level). Just seem a little pricy (as well as Courtyard Mariott) for this region, but how do I know.

Our room was very comfortable and clean and quiet. The staff was very friendly and helpful - going out of their way to help us print boarding passes for our return flight. The breakfast was great (the best oatmeal I've ever had) with a good selection. Handy location for walking to several places we wanted to go. We ran out of time to visit the Kyoto restaurant on site, but did go to the "American" hamburger restaurant on site. Not quite American, but good food. I would stay at the Sayen anytime. If we had known there was no hotel shuttle from the airport, we would have planned on taking a taxi ahead of time. The hotel arranged for a reputable taxi as we left.

High tech rooms - so much so that small things can go wrong and they did. Great breakfasts! Great location, great customer service!

When staying at a hotel of this category/price range I feel it is a reasonable expectation that the basic amenities work properly. This hotel feel short in this area. The air conditioner did not lower room temperature or humidity at all. Unfortunately it was quite late before I thought to do anything about it and ended up just putting up with a very uncomfortable night. To make things worse it was not possible to open the window as it opened directly on the fire escape.

This hotel is in a great location. At the Karl Marx Street there are many restaurants, cafes, cinemas and stores. Extremely comfortable room. All the staff is very friendly and helpful. For sure this is the best hotel in Irkutsk.