Royal Plus Hotel

Pros: Great location if you're in transit – there's a bus stop nearby, a large shopping mall (Grand Park), plenty of cafes, a supermarket, and the Sayran bus station. The bedding was spotless, and the mattress was comfortable. The hotel cafe is amazing: you can order a full and delicious lunch or dinner, coffee, and desserts at a reasonable price. In the evenings, they show movies on a projector. The cafe staff are lovely. They'll even provide plates and cutlery for your room if you need them. A big shoutout to the cafe staff! Cons: The rooms are a bit tired. There's a gap under the door, so all the smoke smell from the corridor (many Chinese guests stay here, and they tend to smoke a lot) wafts into the room in the evenings. The shower has weak water pressure and a strange showerhead, and many things are loose. We stayed in winter, and the area gets covered in heavy smog in the evenings. The polished table was all scratched up – seriously, just put a piece of plexiglass on it; it would look much better and prevent further damage.

This place was recommended by a local friend. Their breakfast is à la carte and is super good, much better than those dubious places. The staff are also very nice; they even helped me get a taxi on my first day. I barely had to say anything, haha.

There is a large shopping mall opposite the hotel, which has basically everything you need to buy. The hotel has a customer service representative who speaks Chinese, but he is not always there. Breakfast is ordered in a Western way.

We've stayed at this hotel before, but this time the hotel wasn't customer-focused. We asked reception to store our luggage for a day or two, but they refused and said they didn't offer that service. This is the first time I've encountered this at a hotel. Furthermore, the room was terribly soundproofed; you could hear everything and everyone in the next room and the hallway. The water pressure in the room was low, and the hot water didn't come right away; you had to wait about five minutes for it to warm up. The shower also leaked. The room, which is advertised as non-smoking, is on a floor where the other rooms are smoke-filled, so the smell permeated through the 3-centimeter gap between the door and the floor. Unfortunately, we had to put towels under the door to avoid the smell of smoke.

The room is quite large, and the decor is a bit dated, but it's very clean. There's a restaurant downstairs; the dinner is delicious. Lunch is included in the package, and there's a free bottle of mineral water every day. You have to pay extra for water from the room's refrigerator.

It's very close to the station, and the surrounding facilities are fairly convenient. The only drawback is that the bed is uncomfortable and saggy. Fortunately, there's a smoking area.