My big Radisson sale trip is finally coming to an end! Since Radisson doesn’t really have that many properties worth going out of the way for, I didn’t go all-in during the promo and just booked a handful of speculative trips instead. The main reason I chose Vilnius as the last stop is simply that I hadn’t been to Lithuania yet. A new country to tick off the list!
I stayed three nights in Vilnius over the long weekend: two at Radisson Blu Lietuva and one night at the Narutis – an SLH hotel which I’ll cover another time.
There are two Radisson hotels in Vilnius: one Radisson Blu and another Radisson Collection. I picked Lietuva mainly because the price was much lower, and being a modern hotel it nicely balanced the historical character of the Narutis.
Cheaper price, of course, comes with a catch: the hotel is in the New Town, about a 30-minute walk to the Old Town centre. But Bolts rides in Vilnius are very cheap (a few euros within the city, or just over ten to the airport), so it’s not really a big issue.
As one of the few high-rises in the city (22 floors), the Radisson Blu stands prominently by the Neris River. Right next door and behind it are two big shopping complexes with plenty of restaurants and supermarkets.
I arrived close to midnight when it was really dark, but the lobby still impressed me with its modern design. Honestly, you don’t often see something this grand in Western Europe.
The receptionist was warm and funny, nothing like the distant attitude I half-expected in Eastern Europe. She explained the setup of the hotel’s two buildings: the old tower has 22 floors, and the connected new building only 8. I was placed on the top floor of the new wing.
The two elevator halls contrast well.
They’ve designated the 8th floor as the Radisson member floor, which may not mean much in practice but is still a nice gesture.
A small side note: in the Radisson app, you can see your assigned room type and number ahead of time. Mine initially showed “standard room,” so I panicked and emailed the hotel. They replied quickly, assuring me I had been upgraded to a premium corner room. In the end, the app was likely glitching, since the room number stayed the same.
It was fresh and modern, with simple yet thoughtful touches in the patterns and colour palette that gave it a refined feel. I liked it a lot.
Being on just the 8th floor, the views weren’t amazing, but the riverside location meant a nice stroll right outside.
The welcome gift was a small local pastry plus a drink voucher for anything under €9 at the Sky Bar on the top floor – let’s go there.
The bar stays open until 2am and seemed to be one of the more upscale nightlife spots for locals.
When the bar closes, you can head downstairs to the casino, open 24 hours.
The facilities were impressively complete. A bit surprising this is only rated four stars, perhaps because there’s no pool. The gym is 24/7, while the other spa facilities run until 11pm.
There are individual saunas in the locker rooms.
Plus a shared larger sauna and a hot tub.
Finally, breakfast.
It was basically your standard English breakfast selection with some local twists like pickled fish and pastries.
On the first day I showed up around 10 (service ends at 11). The restaurant wasn’t full but still busy, and the restocking speed wasn’t great.
The omelette station had a long line, so I grabbed one while I could, which turned out just average. Overall the breakfast wasn’t very strong.
At check-in I had asked about late checkout, and they easily agreed to 2pm. Overall, the Radisson Blu in Vilnius offers very solid hardware and strong value, great for anyone who enjoys modern hotels. But if you’re more into boutique properties with history, wait for my next post where I’ll cover the Narutis instead.
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