Alla Menschikova and the Rodina Grand Hotel and Spa

I met with Alla Menschikova this week at the Rodina Grand Hotel and Spa.  Alla is the Director of Sales, Marketing, Public Relations and Advertising at the Rodina and she generously agreed to speak to me about her career path and the hotel.

Alla, whose name means resurrection in Old Greek, was born in the Siberian city of Tomsk, where her father served in the military.  Later she lived in Moscow, where she attended Moscow State University of Commerce and studied Hotel Management.  Alla's work career started even earlier, in hotel reception in Moscow at, the Katerina Hotel where she quickly worked her way up the ladder into management.  So, she is well-versed in the operational side of hotels.  Later, after finishing University, Alla worked in hotel consultancy for several firms, including Jones Lang La Salle Hotels.  She visited a number of hotel sites in Russia and Ukraine in order to develop the information necessary for hotel feasibility studies, which she wrote.  

After working in consultancy for 4 1/2 years, she decided to reenter hotel management and took a position with the Rodina because she admired the hotel and liked the people working there.  It is easy to see why Alla was drawn to work at the hotel.  The Rodina, with its sweeping driveway and dramatic facade, sits in central Sochi, just a few minutes from the seaport and off Vinogradnaya Ulitsa. The hotel really is a grand facility and the quality of service and the understated elegance of the rooms reminds me of that other grand Russian Hotel, the Grand Europa in Saint Petersburg. The rooms range from 45 square meters for a standard room to 65 for a junior suite and up to 160 for a deluxe suite.  There are views of the tree-filled grounds and Black Sea and the hotel has one of the best quality restaurants in Sochi, the Black Magnolia, which features Mediterranean cuisine and an extensive wine list of well-known French and Italian wines.  The Rodina's spa is one of the largest in Europe, with facial and body treatments, including Thai massage.  There are also sauna and steam rooms.   The outdoor pool area is spectacular and suitable for parties.  There is a conference room for 90 attendees and the Rodina is spacious enough with its restaurants, bars and terraces to accommodate weddings and corporate events simultaneously.  Alla and I spoke about the appeal of the Rodina in the hustle and bustle that is pre-Olympic Sochi.  The hotel is clearly an "oasis" of calm and relaxation that can only be created by very good service.

 

Alla told me that "all guests are equally important" and that she derives great satisfaction from exceeding the expectations of guests who have come a long distance to relax at the Black Sea's best resort.  A philosophy of the hotel is that all employees add value and I have heard stories of all staff, including maids and groundskeepers going to whatever lengths necessary to assure that each detail, no matter how small, is seen to for guests of the hotel.

The Rodina is the preferred destination in Sochi for many of Russia's entertainers and leaders in politics and business. Despite this, there are surprisingly attractive winter rates available and the restaurants are open to diners who are not guests of the hotel.  

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