A five-star hotel is the highest category of hospitality.It promises guests service available whenever it is needed. Four stars provide comfort and a good room. The fifth star is awarded to a hotel that offers a level of comfort beyond simply good: breakfast lasting all morning, dinner in your room at three in the morning, a suit pressed two hours before a meeting, a concierge who takes the organization of your day off your hands, and staff who speak to you in your language. The Corinthia St Petersburg Hotel at 57 Nevsky Prospekt operates in the highest category. In this article, we explain and show by our own example what makes up a five-star level.
Who awards hotels their stars
There is no single global star system, but almost everywhere the category is confirmed by an independent party. Most European countries operate under the common Hotelstars Union system: 21 countries and more than two hundred assessment criteria. In France, the category is awarded by the government agency Atout France, inspectors arrive without warning, and the awarded category is valid for five years. In the United Kingdom, an inspector books a room and stays at the hotel as an ordinary guest. In the USA, there is no government system, and independent ratings serve as a benchmark: AAA “diamonds” and Forbes Travel Guide stars, whose inspectors stay at the hotel anonymously and assign around seventy percent of the rating to service rather than interiors. Since 2024, the Michelin Guide has also introduced its own “keys” for hotels.
In Russia, the category is not assigned by the hotel itself. Its information is checked, then experts from an accredited organization conduct an on-site inspection: they check the building and elevators, rooms and bathrooms, kitchen, service operations, and staff training. The hotel is entered into the state register, and booking services are required to display this information. You cannot claim a star for yourself: fines are provided for this.
Requirements are revised: for example, since 2025, a five-star hotel has been required to have a spa. So five stars on the facade mean that the hotel has passed an inspection.
What a five-star hotel room should be like
The category sets a minimum floor area. A double room in a five-star hotel starts at 16 m² excluding the bathroom, a “junior suite” and “studio” at 25 m², and a suite at 35 m² and must have two rooms, a bedroom and a living room. A safe, minibar, drinking water, bathrobe, hairdryer, blackout curtains, bathroom of at least 3.8 m²: in the highest category, all of this is standard.
This is where the character of the hotel begins. The Corinthia St Petersburg Hotel has 388 rooms in sixteen categories: the Standard occupies 25 m², Deluxe 27 m², Grand Deluxe 31 m². Suites start at 45 m² and go up to the 270 m² Royal Suite. In the Deluxe category and suites, you will find the signature “Corinthia” bed, in the executive categories — a marble bathroom, and in the Executive Junior Suite, a Nespresso coffee machine as well. Some rooms overlook the courtyard, sheltered from the noise of the avenue, while the windows of the Grand Deluxe and Nevsky Suite offer views of Nevsky Prospekt, and some rooms in the “Suite with a View of St Petersburg” category have a balcony.
What the Fifth Star Brings to Everyday Service
The difference between categories is made up of details that are repeated every day.
While you are having dinner or walking through the evening city, your room is being prepared for the night: the lights are dimmed, the bed is turned down, and everything is put in order. Towels in a five-star hotel are changed daily without reminders, and bed linen is changed at your request as well. Express laundry and ironing take no more than two hours, so your suit will be back with you before your evening meeting after a flight. In the morning, we will wake you with a call if you ask. Your luggage will be carried to your room and back to the car, while the reception desk and concierge service operate around the clock: theatre tickets, a restaurant table, an excursion and a car for the time you need — we will take care of it at any hour of the day or night.
Some requirements you will never see. In a five-star hotel, service routes do not cross guest routes: you will not encounter a laundry cart in the elevator. And everyone who interacts with guests, from the porter to the reservations department, speaks a foreign language, whereas in four-star hotels this requirement applies only to management.
What Time Is Breakfast and Can You Have Dinner at Night
A restaurant and bar are mandatory for the highest category, breakfast lasts at least three hours, and room service operates around the clock. In practice, this means that the hotel's schedule adapts to yours.
We serve breakfast from 7:00 to 10:30 on weekdays and from 7:00 to 11:00 on weekends: you will have time both before an early meeting and after a long evening. During the day and evening, our restaurant and lobby bar are at your service, while a late dinner after your flight can be delivered directly to your room at any hour.
What Is There in the Hotel Besides Rooms
A spa is among the mandatory requirements for five stars, as is a gym, along with facilities for business meetings equipped for presentations.
At Corinthia St Petersburg, you can enjoy spa and massage and a fitness centre open around the clock, so a morning workout before a meeting and a treatment after a long day depend only on your schedule. The hotel's business facilities include 17 transformable conference rooms with a total capacity of up to 1,000 people, private meeting rooms, an Art Deco-style banquet hall and an executive lounge for Executive and suite guests, open daily from 12:00 to 21:00. The hotel has been named Russia's Leading Conference Hotel seven times and Russia's Leading Business Hotel four times by the World Travel Awards.
What the Hotel Adds of Its Own
No rating requires a hotel to offer guests a choice of pillows. That is precisely why such things appear: they do not raise the category, but they noticeably change the evening and morning.
Good sleep away from home is a fragile thing. At home, you sleep on your own pillow for years without thinking about it, but when travelling, an unfamiliar height and firmness can throw everything off: your neck gets stiff, you wake up at four in the morning, and the next day's meeting feels harder. That is where the pillow menu came from — a short list of several options: a soft down pillow, a supportive hypoallergenic one, a latex pillow, a high one for those who sleep on their side, a flat one for sleeping on your back, and a narrow neck roll. The guest chooses what they are used to sleeping on at home, and the pillow is brought to the room by evening.
It is details like these that create a difference impossible to put into a standard: a blanket brought to your room when a chill comes off the Neva, an umbrella at the desk on a rainy morning, ginger tea if you return chilled to the bone. If another pillow would be more comfortable for you, tell us, and we will bring it to your room.
The five-star level is made up of commitments that the hotel fulfils every day. Book a room on our official website, where the best price guarantee applies.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is a five-star hotel different from a four-star hotel? By the range of mandatory services and the availability of service at any hour. In five-star hotels, a spa, 24-hour room service, breakfast lasting at least three hours, evening turndown service and daily towel changes are mandatory. Rooms are more spacious, and all employees who interact with guests speak a foreign language.
Who awards hotels their stars? An independent accredited organisation. Experts check the documents, visit the hotel, inspect rooms and common areas, and assess the work of the services. After that, the hotel is entered into the state register, where its category can be verified.
How long does breakfast last at a five-star hotel? At least three hours. At Corinthia St Petersburg, we serve breakfast from 7:00 to 10:30 on weekdays and from 7:00 to 11:00 on weekends.
What is evening turndown service? It is a visit from the housekeeper before bedtime: the room is tidied, the bed is turned down and the lights are dimmed while you are having dinner or out for a walk. This service is mandatory for the highest category.
Is a spa mandatory in a five-star hotel? Yes, since 2025, a spa has been included in the requirements for the highest category. At Corinthia St Petersburg, you can book spa treatments and massages, while the fitness centre is open around the clock.
Can you choose a pillow at a hotel? Yes, many hotels in the highest category offer a pillow menu: down, hypoallergenic, latex, high pillows for side sleepers and flat pillows for back sleepers. No standard requires this, hotels offer the choice themselves. Tell us which pillow is comfortable for you, and we will bring it to your room.
Which room is considered a suite? A room in the highest category of at least 35 m², where the bedroom and living room are separated. Suites at Corinthia St Petersburg start at 45 m², while the most spacious one, the Royal Suite, occupies 270 m².
