Enigma: A Tale of Two Visits
When we first arrived at Enigma Hotel in Khabarovsk, we were impressed by the décor, the comfy and firm beds, and the eclectic breakfast buffet that included deep fried broccoli, chicken nuggets and fresh strawberries along with other more traditional breakfast foods. The hotel is conveniently located about a block away from the Railroad station in Khabarovsk, which is an easy walk as long as your suitcase has wheels. The front desk person was helpful and pleasant. Overall, it was a good first impression.
Our second visit was a little different. The hotel still had the décor and comfy beds, but we had to ask for another set of towels, and the soap and shampoo dispensers were missing from our bathroom. We had soap bars and mini-hotel shampoos, but the dispensers had made things easier the first time around. These were minor things, and the hotel’s location next to the train station was still a huge plus, saving about 200 rubles ($3) on taxi fare.
The restaurant and breakfast buffet were an entirely different matter. We decided after our 10+ hours of flying to eat at the hotel, so that we could get to bed early. We were warned that there were two banquets in the hotel that evening, so it would take longer to prepare the food, and we would need to sit in the outside area. Neither of those were issues: we just wanted to relax, and the weather was temperate and beautiful.
The waitress took our order but brought out the wrong items. I had ordered the pumpkin risotto, she served me seafood risotto. There was no pumpkin. The scones we ordered were really mini tortillas folded in a triangular shape and stuffed with cheese and tomatoes. The four of them were tiny, but we weren’t expecting them to be huge. We were expecting them to be scones, however. At least the French fries were served hot.
Breakfast the next day looked like it was the leftovers from the banquet. Cold and old pizza, mini-arancini, not exactly warm French fries and other unlikely items dominated the buffet with only eggs, cereal, and ham representing the breakfast food groups. While the effort not to waste food should be applauded, I don’t really want to eat them when I am staying at a hotel.
The hotel’s location is amazing if you need to get to the train station, but you’ll have to wonder which version of service and food you will get. And which is the real Enigma.
Our second visit was a little different. The hotel still had the décor and comfy beds, but we had to ask for another set of towels, and the soap and shampoo dispensers were missing from our bathroom. We had soap bars and mini-hotel shampoos, but the dispensers had made things easier the first time around. These were minor things, and the hotel’s location next to the train station was still a huge plus, saving about 200 rubles ($3) on taxi fare.
The restaurant and breakfast buffet were an entirely different matter. We decided after our 10+ hours of flying to eat at the hotel, so that we could get to bed early. We were warned that there were two banquets in the hotel that evening, so it would take longer to prepare the food, and we would need to sit in the outside area. Neither of those were issues: we just wanted to relax, and the weather was temperate and beautiful.
The waitress took our order but brought out the wrong items. I had ordered the pumpkin risotto, she served me seafood risotto. There was no pumpkin. The scones we ordered were really mini tortillas folded in a triangular shape and stuffed with cheese and tomatoes. The four of them were tiny, but we weren’t expecting them to be huge. We were expecting them to be scones, however. At least the French fries were served hot.
Breakfast the next day looked like it was the leftovers from the banquet. Cold and old pizza, mini-arancini, not exactly warm French fries and other unlikely items dominated the buffet with only eggs, cereal, and ham representing the breakfast food groups. While the effort not to waste food should be applauded, I don’t really want to eat them when I am staying at a hotel.
The hotel’s location is amazing if you need to get to the train station, but you’ll have to wonder which version of service and food you will get. And which is the real Enigma.