Hotel berhampiran Alma-Arasan, Almaty

We recently had a stay at this Swissotel. Given the reputation of the brand, our expectations were naturally set high. However, the reality of our experience fell significantly short of those anticipations. 1. Check-in Procedure: Even with online check-in we were subjected to a 30-minute wait. One of our pre-booked rooms was not ready at the time of arrival. 2. Room's Condition: - A glaring lapse in cleanliness was evident with the state of the bathroom floor near its entrance (photo attached). - The bathroom door's sliding mechanism was faulty and highly inconvenient. - The overall condition of the bathroom indicated it's due for an overhaul and repairs (photos attached). - The discovery of a used ear swab under the table raised significant concerns about the room's preparation and cleanliness (photo attached). - A faulty power outlet in the bathroom added to the growing list of maintenance concerns (photo attached). - The discovery of a dead insect in the drapes clearly points to a continuous lack of attention to detail with the cleaning staff (photo attached). 3. Birthday Cake: Our agreement for a pre-arranged complimentary birthday cake was not only overlooked but was also delivered a day later than promised, despite having multiple conversations and providing evidence of our prior agreement (via the official hotel WhatsApp). 4. Water Bottle Replenishment: The consistent oversight in providing an essential like water, despite multiple request channels, was surprising. The water had to be fetched from the cleaning staff, we had to chase them and ask. None of the other channels, like the official app or the reception, fulfilled our request for the water delivery. 5. Dining: Our anticipation of an à la carte menu was countered by a buffet offering. Being told this was due to hotel occupancy levels feeling unsatisfactory. This went on for both evenings spent at the hotel. Portions of the a la carte menu were available only for room service. 6. Buffet Food Quality: The limited options, particularly for main courses (3), left much to be desired. Our experience with the freshly prepared pasta was particularly disappointing. It was watery, bland, disgusting. You could get better pasta at an office canteen. We have travelled quite a big part of the world and this buffet was easily the worst we have ever had. Both taste and variety were not worth the price. And we were forced into it by being denied the a la carte option. The hotel is above capacity - great, but we paid for the same service as if it weren't, right? Not OUR problem. 7. Breakfast Experience: The overall offering was lackluster. The variety was uninspiring, especially when compared to even basic 3-star hotels. Stale pastry (croissant from the day before) at a 5* hotel is inexcusable - these are absolute basics. Staff appeared overwhelmed, often forgetting to replenish food and drinks (had to be reminded many times) and struggling to manage guest numbers. Only 2 juice options fo

Our stay at Ritz-Carlton Almaty was exceptional, in fact our fav part of the city as tourists. The best part was the warm service from the staff, in particular thanks to Yekaterina (Kate), Malika, and concierge lady. Kate was welcoming and informative upon check in. Guest service staff Malika gave us attentive care throughout our stay and accommodated our preferences, which truly enhanced our experience in the country. Concierge lady gave us comprehensive advice on where to visit. The view from both our room and the Sky Lounge was unparalleled. Snow-capped mountains framed the landscape, offering a mesmerizing backdrop that undoubtedly ranks among the best in Almaty. Will definitely come back here if we’re back in the city.

The breakfast was good, but not fantastic. The room was good and clean, there were some supplies in the toilette. Parks and places around the hotel are nice, and you can have a good walk around, if you wish. There were always noise (I'd assume cleaners did some work) quite early in the morning. Another issue is that the breakfast time in the morning is until 10am sharp, which is not convenient for people travelling from Europe for leisure. As I understood, there're no alternatives available. We asked a bottle of water and an additional blanked to the room, and it was challenging to get them. Particularly, with the bottle of water, as they refused to put the cost of it on the hotel room, but requested a cash payment. It was a surprise for us.

В общем сам отель достаточно не плохой, номера со свежим ремонтом и оснащение в них нормальное (все есть). Все остальное конечно тихий ужас: при заселении не было КАРТОЧКИ для открытия номера! Позор! у нас спросили можно ли вам открыть дверь в номер и оставить вас до у тра без ключа, типа выходить же вы никуда не будете?:) ПЕРСОНАЛ УЖАС!!! Далее, в номере было ОДНО полотенце, ОДНИ тапочки и т.д., как такое возможно когда менеджмент видит, что бронь ОПЛАЧЕНА на ДВОИХ??? Персонал постоянно катается на лифте, дождаться лифт в отеле просто не возможно (ходили пешком!) В целом, отношение к клиенту НИКАКОЕ! В финале и самое важное и ужасное - это конечно ВОРОВСТВО в отеле, украли наушники BOSE прямо из сумки со всеми переходниками, заметил это уже в Самолете когда решил посмотреть фильм, но наушников в сумке не было! Завтраки как и сама еда в отеле - ПОЛНЫЙ ОТСТОЙ! В итоге просто пожалели, что заселились и выбрали именно Grand Mildom, никакой рекомендации для будущих посетителей!

Well we booked this hotel by walking in off the street. As an emergency hotel it was okay. The hotel was very dated, the bedding had holes in it and there was a party going on in the hotel which you could hear until the early hours of the morning. It cost £174 for 3 rooms for the night and included breakfast, not that I ate the grey egg, very pink sausage and bowl of honey. It was cash only. The young guy on reception was nice and tried to speak English best he could which is hard to find in the area of the world. He was friendly and helpful. Now, we went to our rooms on for an hour later a local mad attempted to enter our room, which we had locked. He had a card that could enter the room, the only reason he didn't make it in was because we had put the safety chain on. He had successfully got into one of our other rooms, this was very surprising. I told the staff and had to speak to someone on the phone to translate the problem. No other issues after this all night. TV on has channels in Russian, no English available. Now for the title of this post. The view from our room we could see the ski jumps which was nice but everything else you could see was broken. But this still isn't the reason for the title. In the picture I have attached you can see that there is a large window from the room to the toilet, just incase you would like to see your, partner, spouse, friend or other family member relieve themselves on the toilet. The shower was cold and barely worked. The bars of soap weren't worth having. Shower curtain didn't cover the whole window and the light for the bathroom could be turned on and off from the bed... Why would anyone need that, or is it so you can make someone go the toilet suddenly in the dark for a laugh. The decor of the room is very outdated. There is a McDonald's next door which is helpful, as the grey egg was not getting eaten. If you want a real experience of a night this place is for you.

What a disappointing hotel. The service was awful throughout. Whatever the question the answer was always NO! Check in time was 2:00pm. I arrived at noon and asked for an early check in. NO! The room was ready but unless I paid $50 they would not allow early check in. (A different clerk did eventually check me in early) The restaurant closed at 7:00pm for dinner and there was no nearby option. I got take out and just asked for silverware and an empty glass. NO, you may not take to room. Eventually I procured a single fork (still no glass allowed in room. “People steal them”). 30 min later, a knock on the door asking for the fork back! Bar was horribly stocked. Red wine? NO. White Wine? NO. Just beer Breakfast opened at 7am. I arrived at 6:50 and just asked if I could have a coffee while i waited. NO. They ran out of juice, asked for more….wait for it…NO. Power was off several times, once for 2+ hours. Windows don’t open so it became very stuffy. Room was not cleaned one day. I asked just for fresh towels. I had to bring my used ones down to the front desk, where they counted them to be replaced. I guess their guests steal towels too! On checkout I asked politely if I could speak to the manager. “No manager here”. That kinda sums up the whole stay. Many, many better options here and this should never be part of IHG with the terrible service

Our July 3-12, 2023, family stay at the Novotel Almaty City Center Hotel for our son and daughter-in-law’s Qyz Uzatu bride’s wedding was memorable and outstanding. The staff was accommodating beyond expectations. Examples of services and assistance furnished include: 1) gorgeous congratulatory bouquet of roses, cake, and bottle of champagne for bride and groom upon their arrival, 2) Front Desk Receptionist Elmira ordered, negotiated, and “babysat” multiple wedding flower bouquets the day of the bride’s wedding event, 3) Deputy General Manager Yevgeniy personally helped finalize five 10-day room reservations, following up multiple times ensuring our full satisfaction, then emailing us a farewell and thank you note for our stay, 4) Front Desk Manager Altyn happily assisted with various requests, 5) entire staff was cooperative, positive, and professional, and 6) hotel restaurant’s breakfast buffets were delicious, and lunches were quite satisfying, too. Additionally, the hotel location was fantastic b/c: it’s adjacent to the large public plaza with memorial and fountains, as well as the tram to the nearby mountaintop which had restaurants, zoo, amusement park, etc.; walkable city center with nearby restaurants, shopping, green spaces, and more. Based on our family’s experience, we zealously endorse and recommend the Novotel Almaty City Center Hotel and will fondly remember our stay and the hotel’s kind, thoughtful, and service-oriented staff for taking care of our family.

Hotel staff are polite and very accommodating,they fulfilled most request during my week long stay. However, the TV in the room only offers Russian and Kazakh programs tho there’s a lot of non Russian/Kazakh speaking guest. Wide variety of breakfast but gets repetitive during a long stay. Spa/sauna is complimentary but almost impossible to book, partly lost in translation as the staff in charge doesn’t speak much English and it’s always occupied for some reason.

Stayed there for a night during my KZ trip, the hotel is located at a very comfortable location , the hotel rooms looks like more of heritage room with a few old decor plates and felt really warm, they provided with all the necessity services, and a secured cloak room was also there, I kept my luggage after checkout for almost a day and they were really helpful to store them at their place without any hassle and provided back the same in couple of minutes, They staff here speaks fluent English as well and take extra efforts to help their guest. Would definitely recommend to stay and get to know the services of the same.

So, I booked 4 nights on two separate bookings for different rooms having extended my stay in Almaty. As such, the photos provided represent a ground-floor double room and a upstairs family room with a mezzanine. Most importantly, for the price paid, which was very reasonable indeed, I consider the hotel to be of superb value. As such I shall order my opinions according to their importance. Firstly. The staff were very friendly and professional throughout the stay including the security. Secondly, I approve of the interior of the hotel - the overall design of the rooms being very comfortable indeed, and unusually spacious. The breakfast from 7-10 was cosy and supplied all the necessaries, though I would recommend fried eggs for the future. In addition to the above, the double room had satellite TV with access to the internet - i.e. YouTube etc. The swimming pool, though I didn't use it looks fantastic, and the restaurant food is well-priced and delicious (I recommend the lentil soup, with Chicken-Spinach and a side of rice). Though there was construction work happening which could have been a little more tidy given that some guests have to navigate through it, I would still rate this hotel a 5/5 for the value of the booking. 👍