Hello all. I have spent a little time in Kharkov both in the center and in the residential sections. My first visit to Kharkov was spent in the Kharkov Hotel. It was a very nice place. If you are from the US especially and don't know Russian, you will struggle with any hotel. I also visit the Mir Hotel. I was very frightened there. But it has the only Western Union office open on Sunday.
Kharkov Hotel is strategically placed. It is very near Liberty/Freedom Square. There is usually something happening there if it is only a small bazaar. I found some very attractive girls handing out coupons for Tide there. I couldn't help but be amused by how the Ukrainians exectute something so prototypically American.(to all Ukrainians reading this, I am not insulting you... it is more a comment about us than you) As you walk across Freedom/Liberty Square from the hotel there is a very nice park. On the other side of the park is the main Symphony hall. Funny thing I just remembered. I asked several Ukrianians which direction we were traveling either by foot or by automobile and none knew or would tell me. In the US we are much more congizant of N,S,E,W.
Anyway, I spent some time with my fiance'/wife in her apartment in the north east section of the city. This is where the seemingly endless buildings of pizza boxes stacked 20 or 30 stories high are located. Most Ukrainians seems to prefer these sections. They are located near or have more 'nature' surrounding them. I found them quite and peacful on the inside. Unlike the movies we see in the US, they are not noisey and crammed full of people. The one I lived in with my fiance'/wife was in disrepair. But the remodelling business is huge there and I visited the apartments of several of my fiance'/wife's friends and they had all done very nice remodelling jobs on them. Also, most of these apartments are 'owned' as opposed to rented. I'm thinking Home Depot or Lowe's could make a killing in these cities.
The only problem with staying in the residential regions is that all your business will be in the city center. So you will be riding the tram, metro, autobus, or taxi all the time.
Here's the really interesting thing. You can rent apartments for significantly less money than you can stay in a Hotel. In my estimation this is the best deal. First, the hotels, even the best ones like the Kharkov Hotel, are not fully air conditioned. And if they have air conditioned rooms, they charge a premium for them. Second, they don't speak English in the hotels. They may advertise that they do, but even so, they will frown upon it. You can tell that they are offended to have to speak the language of their customers. We as the paragons of customer service find this strange and maybe offensive too. But you are in their country. Remember, "While in Rome....."... So, if you are going to need a translator in the apartment you will need one in the hotel too. No difference. Makes it really hard to order Scrambled Eggs and Toast for breakfast. Hint: Just say Omellette. I did this at a cafe' one morning after struggling with them for 15 minutes. Finally I heard "omellette?" from the cook to the waitress... I exclaimed "YES"!!! and we had a meeting of the minds... The omellette was good, but eh "Hot Dog" I recieved in place of sausage or bacon was just that, as Hot Dog. I can only imagine....
Anyway, just some stream of consciousness about accomodations in Kharkov and some recommended choices. If you want to speak to someone I know personally there who can hook you up, go to http://apartments.inkharkov.com/ I think he has some nice places at good rates. Don't forget to negotiate.
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taken from Kharkov forum
http://www.inkharkov.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15
