Pullman Riga Old Town

Rooms and decor

Picture a cream-brick building from the late 19th century that has stood beside a city park for over a hundred years — then Accor decided to renovate the whole thing. That is the starting point of the 2025 version of Pullman Riga Old Town. The work finished in early 2025 and the hotel officially opened in April. Walk into the lobby and you feel the easy contrast between the original stone walls and designer furniture — understated, clean, and not trying to shout. All 96 rooms and suites are styled modern-chic, keeping the charm of the old building in the small details: ceiling cornices, wooden window frames, and high ceilings you do not get in a new hotel. Most face Bastejkalna park next door or the orange-tiled roofs of the Old Town. Reviews agree on the soft beds, good linens, and quiet air-con that cools fast. Bathrooms have a rain shower with good water pressure and clean-scented Pullman toiletries, and suites add a separate deep soaking tub for a long bath after a day of walking. If you like understated design without a room full of clutter, this should land well.

Food and amenities

The highlight reviewers mention most is Bar 9, the rooftop bar on the top floor, looking out at St Peter's spire and the orange-tiled Old Town roofs stretching toward the Daugava River. Sunset is when it looks best, and plenty of guests linger over chilled Latvian sparkling wine and a plate of local farm cheese until the last light goes. Downstairs, the main restaurant serves a Latvian breakfast buffet that reviews praise for its ingredients — fresh-baked rye bread, Baltic smoked fish, local farm cheese, ham, eggs to order, fruit, homemade desserts, and a chilled sparkling-wine corner many call worth it from the first glass. The lower floor has a spa and sauna to unwind, a 24-hour fitness room for anyone whose body clock has not caught up, and Wi-Fi across the hotel fast enough for video calls and work without lag. For frequent travelers, the concierge can book a RIX airport car and local restaurants in minutes.

Location and getting there

The location of Pullman Riga Old Town is a dream if you want to see the Old Town on foot. The hotel sits at Jēkaba iela 24, on the inner edge of Vecrīga (the UNESCO-listed Old Town), right beside Bastejkalna park. Step out, turn left, and you can stroll the old-town canal that runs alongside the park — a walking route where locals jog and walk their dogs morning and evening. About 7 minutes straight into the Old Town brings you to Three Brothers, the oldest houses in Riga, dating from the 15th century, and St Peter's Church with its 360-degree viewing tower over the whole city. A few steps further is the House of the Blackheads, the Dutch-style brick building that photographs best in town, while Dome Square and Riga Cathedral are within 10 minutes. Rīga Centrālā central train and bus station is about a 12-minute walk — handy for the train to Jūrmala or onward travel to Vilnius or Tallinn. From RIX airport it is a 20–25-minute drive. In short, if you want to drop the car and explore Riga on foot all day, this location is a perfect ten.

Things to know before booking

Straight talk to help you decide. The first thing to understand is that the 100-plus-year-old building gives the rooms irregular shapes rather than the perfect rectangles of a new build, so some Superior rooms are not spacious and a few ceilings slope with the structure. If you want space and a separate tub, upgrade to a Deluxe or Suite at booking. The second is noise: Riga's Old Town is especially lively on weekends and in summer, nearby bars stay open late, and rooms facing Jēkaba iela hear the music and chatter more clearly than the inner rooms facing the courtyard or Bastejkalna park — light sleepers should request an inner room. The third is food and drink prices, at the level of a 5-star hotel; Bar 9 and the main restaurant run high compared with the Old Town restaurants a few minutes away, so to save money, eat your main meals in town and use the hotel mainly for breakfast and evening drinks. Finally, even after the full 2025 renovation, some reviews still note small wrinkles, like a fairly long breakfast queue around 8–9am — go before or after that window.

Our take

From the real post-renovation reviews our team read, Pullman Riga Old Town pulls off a hard combination in Riga: a historic building, a location beside a park in the heart of the Old Town, and the freshness of a full 2025 renovation. If the trip in your head is waking up to a canal-side walk in Bastejkalna park, coming back for a Latvian breakfast inside an old building, spending the day exploring the Old Town on foot, and ending with a chilled wine on Bar 9 watching the sun set behind St Peter's spire, this is a complete fit. If you expect very large new-build rooms or a big pool to soak in all day, it may not be the best answer. Overall we give it 8.9/10, best for couples and culture-minded travelers who want a building with a story in the heart of the Old Town without giving up modern comfort.