In the spring of 2009 we flew half way around the world to adopt a little girl in the city of Petropavlovsk in northern Kazakhstan. This blog chronicles our experiences in bringing her home. We wrote it both to keep those at home up to date on our progress and also to provide help and perspective to those who might follow behind us on the same adventure. Hopefully it accomplishes both goals.
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Do not stay at the Hotel Uyut in Almaty, Kazakhstan
Posted on April 18th, 2009 4 commentsI had to take a three day trip to Almaty this past week to sign some papers at the US Embassy and was initially booked into the Hotel Uyut in the downtown area. When I arrived at around 6pm the lobby seemed decent and although I got the normal scowls from the reception staff (who didn’t speak any English) I’ve gotten used to it at this point so it didn’t throw me.
The Uyut has a series of clocks in back of the reception desk showing the time in London, New York and so on. I guess no one told them that putting clocks up like that is supposed to mean that you are an international hotel and the staff speak the corresponding languages.
I paid my $80 for a couple of nights at the Uyut and headed up to the room to try and get some work done. The Internet is 1,000 Tenge an hour (about $6.50) which is a complete rip-off but I’ve also gotten used to that here in Kazakhstan so I sucked it up and pre-paid a bunch of hours so I could be productive. I couldn’t face the restaurant as after three weeks I’ve had my fill of Kazak food so dinner was a yogurt, a chocolate bar and bottle of water from a local market.
Around 11pm I started getting ready for bed, and when I sat down on the bed the thing was hard as a board. I pulled back the sheet and this is what I found:
In furnishing the room they had neglected to include a mattress in the list of necessary items. They put a mattress pad and sheet on top of the box-spring and called it a day. Now I’ve slept on train station floors, second class sleeper cars and $10 a night hotels in the south of Greece but there is absolutely nothing as uncomfortable as trying to sleep on a box spring.
Of course when I complained to the front desk I got a lot of blank looks (no English) and when I showed the security guard what the problem was his solution was to hand me a couple of pads to put down (you can see them above). Demands for a new room were met with frowns and the comment that there were no rooms available.
I suffered through three hours of fitful sleep and then gave up and just worked the rest of the night. In the morning my translator called the hotel from Petro to try and convince them to give me a room with a mattress and their response was that it was a “special mattress that was good for the back”. Needless to say I booked myself into the Hyatt about 15 minutes after hearing that response (wonderful hotel if a bit on the pricey side).
Of course they refused to refund my pre-paid night or give me any compensation for the night I suffered through. Oh yeah, the “free” breakfast in the morning completely sucked – worst food I’ve eaten since I arrived in Kazakhstan.
So the Hotel Uyut gets negative three stars from this traveler even though on their website they claim three stars. Not likely.
[UPDATE] I found the website for the hotel in case anyone is interested in ensuring they steer clear of it:
4 responses to “Do not stay at the Hotel Uyut in Almaty, Kazakhstan”
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We had the same problem at the Hotel Kazzhol in Almaty…box springs. It was our first night in last time and it was awful!! The hotel was clean but I couldn’t believe that ALL the roooms had that type of bed set up. Glad to be warned off another one!
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I’m beginning to think that all the mid-level (for Kazakhstan at least) hotels are not to western standards at all. I can take a lot when I travel but sleeping on a box spring when I’m paying nearly US$100 a night is not something even I can put up with. Unfortunately that leaves the Hyatt, Intercontinental and the Holiday Inn as options. The Hyatt is great but expensive, the Intercontinental will be fantastic I expect if you can afford it and we’re trying out the Holiday Inn next week so I’ll post a review after we stay there.
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I do not mean to sound snotty when I leave this comment, but anyone who has done research prior to traveling to Kazakhstan will know that those kind of beds are pretty much the standard. I am sorry for your experience, but when you complained you got the looks you did because they couldn’t understand what you were complaining about. Those beds are “normal” to them. They don’t understand boxspring, mattress, and pillowtop lining. It just makes you all the more thankful for what you have at home! =)
Hope the rest of your trip goes a little more smoothly!! -
Apparently Paula thinks I should have done more research about Kazakhstan and I would have realized that a hotel in the largest city in the country that pretends to cater to international travelers would neglect to mention that they don’t actually have mattresses on their beds. Me – I figure that if they have an English website, clocks on the wall of their reception area showing the time in Tokyo, New York and London and charge $100+ a night for a tiny little room with a view of the alley that they might spring for an actual mattress. I stayed at four other hotels in Kazakhstan and they all had managed to figure out that their guests don’t like sleeping on springs. I’ve also stayed in hostels in southern Italy for $7 a night that have figured that much out.
Paula can have the Hotel Uyut and the rest of us should stay at a real hotel…or sleep on the airport floor. It would be more comfortable.
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