New project, new city. After my first couple of days in Riga, it feels good to be at a place where I can feel like home. As always, there are upsides and downsides – I’ve tried two different hotels so far, and this one is almost perfect.

About the location: Although I haven’t seen much of Riga – I’m here for work, mainly, but I’ll eventually do some sightseeing – I feel it’s located right where the action is happening. Like you might have probably guessed from its name, it’s situated directly at the heart of the town. In just a couple of minutes you’re at the historic old town. I got lost yesterday, it’s a maze… and amazing. I didn’t really have anything in mind when it came to Riga, but I have to admit, I am positively surprised and can recommend it. Summertime is really hot, the heat wave in Europe doesn’t stop before the Baltic Sea and Latvians are sweating at around 30°C. So am I, every day I’m in the office. Yesterday, they brought portable A/C’s, so we should be fine going forward. 🙂

The hotel itself is stylish, everything is kept in elegantly dark colors. The artwork isn’t probably to everyone’s taste, but it totally fits and creates a great, avantgarde atmosphere. Latvia’s only Pullman is built into a historic building and was newly opened only 2016, so you can expect everything to be in excellent condition. Unlike other hotels, this one isn’t the typical tourist stop and I’m glad I don’t get overrun by sightseeing crowds at breakfast, that are shortly afterwards carried away by their tour guides.

I could really enjoy breakfast if it wasn’t for the hour ahead… This is the one thing that really bothers me, because I’m not a fan of getting up early and now I’m sentenced to adjust to it every week and my colleagues would also start another hour early. The upside is, I am finished an hour early which allows me to enjoy the rooftop terrace – all for myself! There seems to be hardly anyone in the late afternoon, at least during week days.

Theoretically, sleeping is not an issue. The Pullman even has a dedicated “Pillow Menu”, offering a variety of different pillows to choose from. I’ve not seen that anywhere else, at least not at Marriott hotels.

If you’re into sports, you can find some decent equipment and machines. They even have a pool and a sauna. While I see the case for the sauna, the pool is really useless and already overcrowded with just two people in it. The spa facilities at Radisson Latvija can’t be beaten, I guess.

I’ll add a number of pictures soon, so stay tuned!