Silk Road Empire Hotel

This hotel is very welcoming, beautifully furnished and decorated. The hotel staff are friendly and efficient. The room I stayed in was nothing but luxurious with very comfortable beds and tasteful furnishing. Plenty of wardrobe space with a sofa to relax on and marble bathroom. It is within walking distance of the historic sights. I would definitely return and recommend this hotel to anyone who wants a relaxing stay in a historic hotel.

The staff is super friendly, very understanding, and absolutely pleasant to interact with! Whether it's the intricate art in the second and third floor, each of the exquisite rooms which have their own theme, the "Alishaan" heritage-themed decor which is exuberant, luxurious and royal, their in-house wine with samplers given on both evenings, or even the homely yet exquisite delicacies served (vegetarian friendly btw) at the breakfast buffet, or even the magazines kept atop the seating areas which show traditional dressing with the stellar historic locales in the background- every bit of this hotel will leave you completely satisfied and more!

This hotel is fairly new. It’s extremely clean and the breakfasts are absolutely wonderful. Eggs, toast , juices, clean dining room. Our room was large with two Queen beds and one single bed. Showers are standard. The staff seemed fairly straightforward, but there’s a real problem there. The manager, Muhammad, pulled us to one side and sat us on the couch and explained that he would move us to the Presidential Suite at no extra cost to us if we agreed to give the hotel a 10 Point rating on ***********. Taken aback I informed him we do not take bribes! I told him our room was just fine, and it was! Then we asked the Concierge if he would purchase two First Class two person couchette train tickets from Samarkand to to Khiva and back. We gave him the money and two days later he gave us our tickets and we were quite pleased…..until we got to the train at discovered he had PURCHASED STEERAGE class tickets and pocketed the difference. Imagine a 10 hour train ride in a four person compar**ent with two LARGE women assigned the lower bunks and we, my wife is 72 and I am 77, climbing up into bunk beds with the outside temperature at 102 degrees F. - for 10 HOURS I cannot emphasize enough to stay anywhere but the Silk Road Empire Hotel

I booked this hotel through a major booking platform based on their rating. After I paid and checked out, my stay was cancelled by the hotel so I can not post a review there! Unbelievable! Therefore I would not trust their average rating! Pros : Room was modern, breakfast was acceptable (but I concur with the review mentioning the old lady starring), reception staff spoke decent English. Complimentary transfer to the train station. Complimentary soft drinks. Early check in at 12.30. Small gift upon checkout. Cons : - location : Really not the best, you can walk to registan in 20min or take a 5min taxi but the hotel is not in the touristic area which is between Registan and Shah-i-Zinda. - hotel layout : hotel is above a store, access is on second floor, although my room had a real window, most rooms are windowless and are overlooking the inner corridor. - vibe of the place : empty, depressing, barely saw any other guests - bathroom amenities : no shower gel in the dispenser (I used my own so I didn't ask for some but it was never refilled during my stay). - noise : really poor sound proofing and you can hear loud conversations from the staff in the corridor late in the evening - payment: they don't want you to pay with cards, and gives you multiple pretexts for it and they add a surcharge if you do it. All other hotels in uzbekistan I stayed at had no such surcharge and gladly accepted card payments with a smile. - service : Staff has generally no proper hospitality training. It was more a family guesthouse than a proper hotel. At first they seem willing to help, but it didn't feel genuine and clearly they don't know their place, particularly the manager. He begged no less than 4 times to get a 10/10 evaluation. By contrast, in my next hotel in Uzbekistan I was asked: "please leave us a review so we know what we can do better". I hope he can take note.

So let's get started...Since I didn't have internet in Tashkent, I used the last 5 minutes of WiFi in a hotel in Tashkent before leaving and the choice fell on this boutique hotel (beautiful pictures, high rating).Let's start with the location...just awful. This is not a historical center and not modern, it's just a shopping street with a bunch of shops from bicycles to furniture. Take a look at the picture of the hotel and my photo. So, in their photo, this is not a hotel, these are the squares of shops. And the hotel itself, or rather the entrance to it from the left side and the whole hotel is located at the back. Now there are a lot of signs with advertisements on this building. We were met by the manager Mukhammadamin, who introduced himself as the owner of this hotel. He introduced him to a boutique hotel, apparently not understanding what it is. At first glance, he did not like it, because he praised "his" first 10-star hotel in Samarkand a lot. He began to tell and show paintings and mannequins with national clothes, imagining that this is not just a hotel, but also a museum, although it does not carry any value, all this can be purchased at the markets of Uzbekistan.I don't really like talkative people and immediately assumed that this person is not reliable and not honest. My wife and friend didn't want to believe it, but it turned out that it was and agreed with me. Let's start with the payment. Booking showed that the cost of this hotel was something in the region of 250 (+-) dollars, in terms of rubles 11900 at the booking rate at the time of payment. But since we didn't have dollars, the manager offered to pay with a savings bank card and converted it first into the local currency Sum, and then into rubles, but he cheated and the rate was taken not by the Central Bank of Uzbekistan, but lower. As a result, the amount increased to 16,000 rubles, which I transferred. In the evening I told the manager Mukhammadamin about it, to which he said that he would find out, sort it out and notify, he is the owner, how so))) I mentally gave him 2 days so that he would return the person who illegally took my money fraudulently, but he pretended that everything was fine.At the entrance, the manager praised the names of the hotel rooms, opened them and showed everything, as it turned out they were all the same with the usual apar**ent renovation for rent, but the names are different. It was funny that we took the number of either the sultan or the tsar..and look at the view from the window from this room...just a laugh))) It is also impossible to sleep, because either a transformer or an air conditioner unit was making noise all the time outside the window. These are still good numbers)) The rest of the rooms do not have a street view at all, their Windows overlook the corridor!!! Here is such a boutique)))The breakfasts are normal, BUT the woman who cooks sits there and looks at what you are typing for breakfast, and even yawns loudly while talki

What a lovely stay at this hotel. This is what old school hospitality looks like. The hotel itself is gorgeous and has fun little exhibits to see. The staff is extremely welcoming and accommodating. The location is great- lots of great food nearby and within a short taxi to all the sites. I highly recommend this place to any who visit Samarkand.

My recent stay at the Silk Road Empire Hotel in Samarkand left much to be desired, earning it a mere one-star rating. Here's why: 1. **Hygiene Hazards**: The presence of ants and flies in both the bathroom and bedroom was not only unsanitary but also posed a risk to my family's well-being. Unfortunately, my son suffered a painful ant bite during our stay, highlighting the severity of the issue. 2. **Unreasonable Charges**: To add insult to injury, we were shockingly charged 80000 som for what the staff deemed as dirt on the foot towel. It's perplexing that a towel meant for cleaning one's feet would incur such a hefty fee, especially when it's being utilized for its intended purpose. The alleged dirt was merely residue from the room carpet, further highlighting the hotel's unreasonable practices. 3. **Poor Customer Service**: Additionally, the lack of basic courtesy and professionalism from the staff exacerbated our dissatisfaction. When attempting to address the cleanliness concerns with a member of the staff, their dismissive and impolite demeanor was utterly unacceptable. It's evident that they lack the necessary training in customer service and conflict resolution. In summary, my experience at the Silk Road Empire Hotel fell far short of expectations. From hygiene issues to exorbitant charges and subpar customer service, this establishment fails to uphold even the most basic standards of hospitality. I strongly advise prospective guests to seek accommodations elsewhere for a more pleasant and comfortable stay.

This hotel is excellent and the staff were welcoming and wonderful. They took care of every little detail and made our stay perfect from start to finish. When we arrived at the airport they were waiting for us to take us to the hotel, and then on arrival at the hotel they upgraded our room to a larger room. In the evenings they surprised us with a glass of wine. I've stayed in lots of hotels but none has ever put in the effort to make us as welcome and comfortable as this hotel. Breakfast at the hotel is varied and delicious. We were there in December so the terrace bar wasn't open, but it's a great space and I can imagine in the summer it's lovely to have a cold drink on the terrace. The room we stayed in was very comfortable and the bathroom was great. The hotel is like a small museum with artifacts everywhere. The hotel is perfectly situated. It is walking distance to all the main monuments but far enough away from the main tourist drag. The area felt very safe and we had no problems walking to restaurants in the evenings. The hotel is a 5 minute walk from Platan which is one of the best restaurants in Samarkand, and from a nice little bar which does great cocktails called Blues Bar. I highly recommend this hotel for your stay in Samarkand.

Be careful of this hotel and the management. The manager tricked me into handing over my phone to him and he cancelled my stay on the *********** app the evening before I was checking out! He did this while he asked me to take his phone and add myself to his Instagram account followers. All of this because he is so desperate to be given a score of 10, and wants to avoid getting any reviews lower than that! He needs to accept the truth. Stay elsewhere if you have the option to. This hotel is very misleading and should be removed from many platforms. The way it advertises itself on *********** is inaccurate and false. Most of the rooms in this hotel are caged in on a corridor and the windows look out onto the lobby area so don’t expect any fresh air! There is no throughput of air so you will struggle sleeping during the night. It’s a very strange layout. The other smaller rooms look out onto the roof of the building below. There is no appealing or pleasant views from this hotel. The hotel doesn’t have any dining options. Be aware of that. There are two options from the menu, an Italian menu and Turkish menu. The food comes from elsewhere and can arrive cold. The staff working on the terrace where the dining area is are very lovely and helpful and will try their very best to accommodate you and make you happy. The breakfast however, is the worst I’ve every come across. The staff at breakfast time just stand and chat in the kitchen area. They don’t pay attention to anything or guests walking in. They look like they don’t want to be there. Anyway, don’t expect any fresh traditional bread, or pastries or any nice hot food! The cereals and cookies are stale, and everything else on the spread will contain cheese. I was told when I checked in that the breakfast is a big spread of international cuisines lol! You will be very disappointed with it. There were no issues with my booking on *********** until I arrived at the hotel. The moment you walk in it’s difficult to find where the reception/lobby is located. It’s a very odd set up. As soon as you walk in you need to get a lift or take the stairs to the second floor. Of course this isn’t obvious and there’s nobody around to tell you this or no signs to guide you. As soon as you arrive, the hotel manager will start waffling on about how he wants you to give the hotel a score 10 rating. So whatever you want, it will be honoured for them to be given the 10. So you will start questioning thing’s immediately as soon as you arrive. It’s a weird thing to say to guests when they have literally just walked in. The rooms are nice, clean and it looks like effort has gone into making them look and feel comfortable. The bathroom sink area is very small though and there was a stench odour in the bathroom which I believe is due to poor pipe work or drainage. The AC doesn’t operate in the bathroom either. My booking was for three nights. Once I got past the initial shock of the room situation more things unravelle