Turgenev Hotel

Provincial hotels can be a bit of a hit and miss in Russia. There are some real dives out there, but every once and a while you trip across a real gem. The Turgenev is one of them, albeit with a bit of rococo decor. We were at Yasnaya Polyana, Tolstoy's estate, a couple years earlier, and drove all the way back to Moscow rather than frequent the hotels nearby. If we had known about the Turgenev we probably would have driven into Tula and made a weekend of it. It has a great central location within easy walking distance of the Kremlin and other sights, a helpful staff, comfortable rooms and a good restaurant. One point of advice. When you check in, they offer you a selection of three different breakfasts. There was a whole list of food underneath each of the three choices, and we figured in the morning we would pick among them. Instead we got ALL OF THEM. A croissant and oatmeal and yoghurt and fresh fruit and pancakes and after that I was in a food coma and don't remember what else. All tasty, but each dish would have made for a breakfast in itself. Would suggest an edit.