Hotel history
“Shelfort” hotel is located in the historical centre of Saint Petersburg, close to the beautiful spot of the Northern Capital - the Spit of Vasilievsky Island. Rostral Columns, Kunstkamera and The Menshikov Palace - just a 15 minute walk from our hotel. In the beginning the building №26, where “Shelfort” hotel is located now, belonged to a lieutenant-colonel Mr. Borozdin. And from the year 1764 it belonged to a titular adviser Mr. A. Turchaninov and his daughter. By the year 1800 a two-storied wooden mansion was already built on the 3rd line of Vasilievsky Island and in its yard there was a two-storied stone wing with a little garden behind.
In the years 1900-1901 by request of the owner in that time - merchant P. Prochorov - the architects G.G. von Goli and G.D. Grimm built a four-storied apartment house in art nouveau style that stood out among the nearby buildings by its original facade work and its gothic roof. The facade made of red brick combined with natural stones, iron-shod bars on the windows and balconies brackets are especially stunning in this composition.
It is not the only project the architects worked on together. Later, they also created the project for the Khram Voskreseniya Khristova which is located next to the Varshavsky Station. The Khram was built by a Religious Society in the years 1904-1908. Expensive apartments of the new building 26 were rented by: a shadow counsel I.R. Vasilevsky - one of the biggest officials of Saint Petersburg–Moscow Railway; L.L. Kenig - a merchant in the First Guild, the owner of a paper company; E.L. Bonstedt - a merchant and the head of Sampsonievsky Paper and Textile Factory.
A fashionable facade and luxurious apartments were of a great advertising for the companies located there. One of them was an export company “Witt and Co”. They were exporting Russian wood, linen, oil and fat, seeds and fish glue, potash, medicine and even tools. Another one was the “Ruberoid” corporation which did constructions. “Tech company of A. Brauner and A. Elben” which installed technical equipment for power stations, fabrics and factories located in this building as well.
This was the same building “Shelfort” hotel is located in now. The hall on the first floor is made in the Northern art nouveau style; the heart of it is a curving wooden column. The name of the hotel represents its concept: “Cozy and comfortable, just like home”. There are several English words used in the name: Shell, Shelter and Fort. That is how our name was born.
“Shelfort” hotel opened its doors in 2001. Today it’s a small, but cozy 3-star business class hotel with 15 rooms, ready to accommodate small groups, individual tourists and businessmen. The small size of our hotel provides a homely atmosphere, lessens the discomfort of being in a foreign place. We preserved working fireplaces in two-room suites and in the hall. The fireplace will always help you to feel cozy and comfortable in our hotel. Enjoy!