Elena Skulskaya, the Russian writer who lives in Estonia is considered as a best Russian author in Estonia. Elena came to St.-Petersburg to present her new book and a Next Stop journalist had a chance to interview her. Elena traveled a lot: last year she was in New York and Philadelphia. Then she also got to Italy and Odessa and was in Moscow and Pushkinskie Gory not long time ago. Elena shared her impressions of the hotels with the reporter.

“To be honest, I'm a bit afraid of traveling, of all the things that might happen while you are on the road. I find it difficult to stay alone at an unknown place. I always try to stay at friends instead of staying at a hotel. Nevertheless friend's house isn't home, and for me anywhere except my apartment is alien territory. I have my own way of living, and any infringement upon my habits makes me uneasy and aggressive. Additionally, I can't stand meaningless conversations any more. One thing I like about hotels is that conversation isn't necessary.

When speaking of hotels, two memories come to mind. One is about the hotel “Atlantic City”. The hotel is a separate city with a lot of restaurants, clubs, bars, casinos, swimming pools and training salons. From the seventeenth floor and above you can see the lights of Manhattan. I didn't notice anything strange about my room until I stepped into the bathroom. It was incredible! Snow-white towels and bath robes, fancy mirrors and cabinets, a sparkling glass toilet and a six-person Jacuzzi, two luxurious chairs and a fancy rug, even a telephone! You could make a party here!

The second hotel was in Odessa, and they hadn't made any renewal for 45 years. But when they had, it looked unusual. There was a nice white toilet in the fashion of 1960s. The furniture was a bit shabby, and the bed showed no signs of containing any springs or even a basic foundation. I mentioned this to the floor-attendant, but she merely replied that one man had lived there before me for ten days without any complaints.

It is no surprise that people like large hotels. You feel like you can do what you want. They don't keep track of you all the time. It would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. I'm convinced that a hotel should be luxurious; it is the main thing that marks out the hotel. But when I'm at home, I don’t care of luxury. For me home is books and painting. Everything else is meaningless”.