Celebrating Sochi since 2010. Dominic Basulto has been documenting the transformation of Sochi into the host site of the 2014 Winter Olympics. As of March 2013, White Snow / Black Sea is also an iPad travel guide available on iTunes and a Kindle travel guide available on Amazon.
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Best of Sochi: Grand Hotel Polyana
Amidst an unprecedented construction boom in Sochi and the arrival of new international hotel brands into Greater Sochi, the five-star Grand Hotel Polyana continues to earn rave reviews as the best hotel in Sochi. Krasnodar Magazine recently named Grand Hotel Polyana the best hotel in the Krasnodar Region.
Sochi to Build Russia’s Largest Hotel Complex
Upon completion, the massive new Azimut Hotel Resort and Spa Sochi in the Imeretinskii Lowlands (the location of Sochi’s Olympic Park) will become Russia’s largest hotel complex of any kind. The property, which will be partially completed in time for the 2014 Winter Olympics, will be divided into two different areas — a 4-star hotel on 12 hectares of land and a residential and shopping complex on 24 hectares of land.
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Exploring the Peaks of Krasnaya Polyana in Summer
Ski chair lifts ferry riders to the top of Aibga Ridge in the mountains of Krasnaya Polyana (“The Red Meadow”) during late May.
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Sochi 2014 Preview: RusSki Gorki Ski Jump
Flying through the skies of Krasnaya Polyana after taking off from the new RusSki Gorki Ski Jump in the mountains surrounding Sochi.
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Panorama View of Olympic Village and Olympic Park
This photo from Sochi 2014 showcases the relative positioning of the Olympic Village to the Olympic Park. From anywhere in the Olympic Village, it will be less than 10 minutes’ walk to any competition venue in the Coastal Cluster.
Sochi’s New Olympic Village
As this YouTube video from Olympstroy points out, the final work is being completed on Sochi’s Olympic Village in the Coastal Cluster. The exteriors of the buildings and apartments, some of which will have views of the surrounding Black Sea, are being designed in the style of a Mediterranean villa.
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Panorama View of Sochi’s Olympic Park
As seen from a vantage point over the Black Sea - the current state of Sochi’s Olympic Park, home to the Adler Arena (far left), Iceberg Skating Palace (left-center), the Bolshoi Ice Dome (right-center), and the Fisht Olympic Stadium (far right).
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Mountain Olympic Village Almost Completed
The Mountain Olympic Village, located next to the Rosa Khutor ski resort in the mountains of Krasnaya Polyana, is entering into the final round of construction. The housing complex, located more than 1,100 meters above sea level, includes 40 different buildings designed in the style of a European chalet.
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Modern Sochi: The Russian Riviera
A lone beachgoer looks out onto the Black Sea from the pebbled beaches of the Primorskaya Naberezhnaya (“Seaside Embankment”) in Central Sochi.
Retro Sochi: The Russian Riviera
The pebbled beaches along Sochi’s Black Sea coastline became the basis for a new Russian Riviera and a favorite summertime destination during the 1970’s.
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