Hotel Dengan Gim di Akmola, Kazakhstan

Wow, definitely *not* worth the price! We paid for a room with a king-size bed, and we got a room with 2 (uncomfortable no less) twin beds pushed together. See photo below. Room service was substandard and overpriced. We ordered lattes in the morning, and they were small, made with poor quality coffee, and arrived lukewarm yet cost about $4.50 each. The customer service was also substandard, with only a couple of the front desk staff with whom we dealt being helpful and friendly (one woman named Violetta was wonderful), and the rest dismissive and more what I'd expect at a budget hotel. Eggs and potatoes for continental breakfast came out of the warmers lukewarm, and the coffee served for breakfast was quite bad. I would have been fine with most of this -- with the exception of the bed issue which seems practically akin to fraud given the difference in price the hotel charges for 2 twin beds versus a king -- if we'd paid $180 or so per night rather than the $230 per night we actually paid.

After my first night, there was a violent thunderstorm that resulted in my room being partially flooded, so I had to change rooms as repairs were going to last half a day. The room switch and subsequent communication between reception and their manager was below standards for a hotel of this standing. I had to go to reception to find out what was going to happen and when. The issue was eventually solved, but I wasted 40-60 minutes of my vacation time just waiting around for someone to communicate with me. My new room was identical to the first minus the view of the gorgeous sunset I had in the first room. As compensation for all the waiting, I was granted a free dinner in a location of my choice, but only after I mentioned that it would be good customer service practice for the hotel to make a gesture for the inconvenience encountered, and only after I declined the free dinner at the buffet (this hotel has an all inclusive rate which consists in having all meals at the buffet. If I had wanted to have meals at the buffet, I would have opted for this, but this is just not what I wanted to do.) The hotel is comfortable, clean, and my room was quiet. I had awesome food at 3 locations: the Summer cafe (where I must commend Umida's impeccable service and great English skills), the Chalet, and the Sunset Terrace. Here, I must also commend the staff in all locations including the spa and the beach. The weather cooperated and the beach was delightful. Overall I left refreshed and stocked up with enough vitamin D to last me half the harsh winter in Astana! The way the room change was handled was terrible. Staff needs more training to communicate updates to guests promptly. Service is at times not 5 star quality, undoubtedly due to some language barriers (it is difficult to find staff members fluent enough in English and I don't speak fluent Russian and Kazakh), but also due to lack of proper training on how to handle difficult and unpredictable situations appropriately (e.g., offering some sort of compensation to the guest). However, I would like to take the opportunity to thank the hotel GM, Jesper Francl, who seems to be everywhere on the property at all times! He personally made sure everything was okay with my new room and came to check on me several times without ever being intrusive.

Wow, definitely *not* worth the price! We paid for a room with a king-size bed, and we got a room with 2 (uncomfortable no less) twin beds pushed together. See photo below. Room service was substandard and overpriced. We ordered lattes in the morning, and they were small, made with poor quality coffee, and arrived lukewarm yet cost about $4.50 each. The customer service was also substandard, with only a couple of the front desk staff with whom we dealt being helpful and friendly (one woman named Violetta was wonderful), and the rest dismissive and more what I'd expect at a budget hotel. Eggs and potatoes for continental breakfast came out of the warmers lukewarm, and the coffee served for breakfast was quite bad. I would have been fine with most of this -- with the exception of the bed issue which seems practically akin to fraud given the difference in price the hotel charges for 2 twin beds versus a king -- if we'd paid $180 or so per night rather than the $230 per night we actually paid.

After my first night, there was a violent thunderstorm that resulted in my room being partially flooded, so I had to change rooms as repairs were going to last half a day. The room switch and subsequent communication between reception and their manager was below standards for a hotel of this standing. I had to go to reception to find out what was going to happen and when. The issue was eventually solved, but I wasted 40-60 minutes of my vacation time just waiting around for someone to communicate with me. My new room was identical to the first minus the view of the gorgeous sunset I had in the first room. As compensation for all the waiting, I was granted a free dinner in a location of my choice, but only after I mentioned that it would be good customer service practice for the hotel to make a gesture for the inconvenience encountered, and only after I declined the free dinner at the buffet (this hotel has an all inclusive rate which consists in having all meals at the buffet. If I had wanted to have meals at the buffet, I would have opted for this, but this is just not what I wanted to do.) The hotel is comfortable, clean, and my room was quiet. I had awesome food at 3 locations: the Summer cafe (where I must commend Umida's impeccable service and great English skills), the Chalet, and the Sunset Terrace. Here, I must also commend the staff in all locations including the spa and the beach. The weather cooperated and the beach was delightful. Overall I left refreshed and stocked up with enough vitamin D to last me half the harsh winter in Astana! The way the room change was handled was terrible. Staff needs more training to communicate updates to guests promptly. Service is at times not 5 star quality, undoubtedly due to some language barriers (it is difficult to find staff members fluent enough in English and I don't speak fluent Russian and Kazakh), but also due to lack of proper training on how to handle difficult and unpredictable situations appropriately (e.g., offering some sort of compensation to the guest). However, I would like to take the opportunity to thank the hotel GM, Jesper Francl, who seems to be everywhere on the property at all times! He personally made sure everything was okay with my new room and came to check on me several times without ever being intrusive.

Wow, definitely *not* worth the price! We paid for a room with a king-size bed, and we got a room with 2 (uncomfortable no less) twin beds pushed together. See photo below. Room service was substandard and overpriced. We ordered lattes in the morning, and they were small, made with poor quality coffee, and arrived lukewarm yet cost about $4.50 each. The customer service was also substandard, with only a couple of the front desk staff with whom we dealt being helpful and friendly (one woman named Violetta was wonderful), and the rest dismissive and more what I'd expect at a budget hotel. Eggs and potatoes for continental breakfast came out of the warmers lukewarm, and the coffee served for breakfast was quite bad. I would have been fine with most of this -- with the exception of the bed issue which seems practically akin to fraud given the difference in price the hotel charges for 2 twin beds versus a king -- if we'd paid $180 or so per night rather than the $230 per night we actually paid.

After my first night, there was a violent thunderstorm that resulted in my room being partially flooded, so I had to change rooms as repairs were going to last half a day. The room switch and subsequent communication between reception and their manager was below standards for a hotel of this standing. I had to go to reception to find out what was going to happen and when. The issue was eventually solved, but I wasted 40-60 minutes of my vacation time just waiting around for someone to communicate with me. My new room was identical to the first minus the view of the gorgeous sunset I had in the first room. As compensation for all the waiting, I was granted a free dinner in a location of my choice, but only after I mentioned that it would be good customer service practice for the hotel to make a gesture for the inconvenience encountered, and only after I declined the free dinner at the buffet (this hotel has an all inclusive rate which consists in having all meals at the buffet. If I had wanted to have meals at the buffet, I would have opted for this, but this is just not what I wanted to do.) The hotel is comfortable, clean, and my room was quiet. I had awesome food at 3 locations: the Summer cafe (where I must commend Umida's impeccable service and great English skills), the Chalet, and the Sunset Terrace. Here, I must also commend the staff in all locations including the spa and the beach. The weather cooperated and the beach was delightful. Overall I left refreshed and stocked up with enough vitamin D to last me half the harsh winter in Astana! The way the room change was handled was terrible. Staff needs more training to communicate updates to guests promptly. Service is at times not 5 star quality, undoubtedly due to some language barriers (it is difficult to find staff members fluent enough in English and I don't speak fluent Russian and Kazakh), but also due to lack of proper training on how to handle difficult and unpredictable situations appropriately (e.g., offering some sort of compensation to the guest). However, I would like to take the opportunity to thank the hotel GM, Jesper Francl, who seems to be everywhere on the property at all times! He personally made sure everything was okay with my new room and came to check on me several times without ever being intrusive.