Baikalskye Terema Hotel

It's so odd, I was recommended this hotel by a travel agent in Irkutsk and when I looked online was horrified by the awful reviews. So much so that we almost cancelled the booking and looked elsewhere. I'm do glad we didn't as this was one of the best hotel stays we've had in our three-month travels. We were collected for free at the ferry arrivals by the girl on duty and couldn't believe what a cosy, homely little spot this was. Clearly they have taken on all the bad reviews and in the last couple of months had a complete renovation. The room was immaculately clean and had recently had new carpets put in and the beds were spotless and dust-free. The bathroom had underfloor heating, a spotless sink and power shower and little packets of soap and shower gel. Best of all was the banya – the onsite sauna and plunge pool house – which you can privately hire for an hour for up to six people for around $40 I think? We had it to ourselves and spent a good hour dashing back and forth from the sauna where you get branches to massage each other, into the icy plunge pool which is filled with water from the lake. The restaurant was great and we tried the local omul fish with onions and lemon and garlic and had a hearty plate of beef fillet and chips which was just what we wanted after a long day travelling around the lake. The wifi only works in the lobby, but if you want to get on wifi up in Lake Baikal then you're a bit weird as it's not really the place to be distracted by an iPhone or emails. The only downside was the the rooms weren't exactly soundproof and a rowdy group was chatting just below our room when we went to bed but it wasn't a big deal and we slept pretty quickly, particularly after having the banya pre-bedtime. I feel awful that Terema has such bad reviews as they have obviously gone out of their way to overhaul the place and it really is lovely now. Give them a chance and stay here, you really won't regret it.