Hotel Otrar

If you'd like to experience luxury of the soviet times for privileged people, stay at this hotel. This is an old hotel with lushes lobby, heavy carpeting, red wood doors and cabinets in the rooms. The staff is very friendly and hospitable, responding immediately to the requests, and a wonderful full breakfast, which includes hot entries, so you might come after a long trip and have a great meal! They serve as well for breakfast crepes, eggs, porridge, fruits, traditional Kazakh tea with milk, many other drinks as variety of juices and also local national drink airan. All of it presented in a big spacious restaurant room with many comfortable tables and seats, under immediate attention of wait staff, who are promptly removing used dishes away.

Location of Otrar Hotel in the former capital of Kazakh Republic is excellent for travelers since it's just few minutes walking from "Arbat" - the street designated only for walking, national Opera Theater; Museum of Music Instruments, you'll be surprised that there are more than three hundreds national instruments; a relaxing park is just across the street with many singled our benches and tall trees giving nice shadow, and a Cathedral Church built without metal nails; the traditional oriental market "Zelenyi Bazaar", while getting walking into the depth of it, you'll find plenty of souvenirs, charming Kazakh dolls, national outfits decorated with fur; you could be sampling national cuisine, buying fruits, flowers, and oriental snacks. If you're used to stay at the modern style hotels, it's not what you're looking for.

The location was excellent-very close to all central attractions and restaurants. The Soviet architecture and feel to the hotel was brilliant and a must see in Almaty. The breakfast was very good and substantial offering a lot of different types of foods.

The "spa" was very outdated and old. Air conditioning needed cleaning and fixing. The balcony door was difficult to close and lock Some of the light fittings in the room were broken.

Good location.

Noisy air condition.