Travel challenge: A short break in St Petersburg

Every week we invite competing holiday companies to give us their best deal for a specified holiday. Today: a long weekend in St Petersburg in late November. Prices are per person, based on two travelling together.

Regent Holidays

£685: Corinthia Nevsky Palace Hotel

Includes flights departing Heathrow on 27 November and three nights' accommodation with breakfast at the five-star hotel, plus visa authorisation costs (the visa fee itself is not included). "The Corinthia Nevsky Palace Hotel has a great location on St Petersburg's main street, Nevsky Prospekt and so is really convenient for visiting the must-see sights, as well as for shopping in the street's trendy boutiques. It is sheer class and elegance, having re-opened earlier this year after an extensive refurbishment and is now one of the most luxurious hotels in the city," says Jill Young, of Regent Holidays (0845 277 3317; regent-holidays.co.uk).

Cities Direct

£649: Corinthia Nevsky Palace Hotel

Includes flights departing Heathrow on 26 November and three nights' B&B. "This three-nights-for-the-price-of-two deal is a low-season offer and represents a saving of £100 per person. It is good value for a decent hotel set on Nevsky Prospekt, which is within walking distance of the Hermitage museum," says Jonathan Quick, at Cities Direct (01242 536900; citiesdirect.co.uk).

Kuoni

£926: Hotel Astoria

Includes flights departing Heathrow 26 November with airport lounge access in the UK, transfers and three nights' B&B at the five-star hotel. "This has all the elegance and style you would expect from a Rocco Forte Collection hotel and is in a great location for exploring the city. I would recommend the Superior Deluxe rooms or suites which look across to the Cathedral and St Isaac's Square, a view hard to beat," says Sheena Paton, of Kuoni (01306 747008; kuoni.co.uk).