Best Hotels near Waterfall of the Shukur Gorge, Almaty

A classic Soviet icon building, beautiful lobby, that's where it ends. The rooms are ANCIENT - old big-box tv in the room, no safe and no refrigerator as advertised. Drilling noises in the early morning from my room. Old mattresses lying on the bedroom floors. Rooms clearly haven't been updated for 30 years. No sockets placed conveniently in room so have to put the tea tray on the floor to use it. Insane! No thought put into the comfort for guests using the room. Treated like a number instead of a guest. Not enough staff on reception. Breakfast very good but busy. Have a look inside and get a bite to eat maybe, but stay someplace else!

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.

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

I had an 11 hour layover between my flight from Dubai to my flight to Atyrau and was really searching for a hotel near the airport that was convenient and reasonably priced. Grand Hotel Erbil is both of those. I made the booking online with the option to pay on arrival. The booking made provision for a free shuttle pickup from the airport and a very reasonable transfer back the following morning. The hotel confirmed everything by Whatsapp. Contactless payment. Clean room. Clean linen. Friendly and efficient service. I ordered a simple burger and chips via WhatsApp and the food arrived hot and fresh. Minibar is fully stocked and reasonably priced. Their menu is extensive (55 page book) and they cater for everything from a bowl of hummus to platters of meats, cakes, cocktails, etc. For a traveller, this hotel is well worth it. Thanks, Grand Hotel Erbil!

Dinner in the hotel is problematic. The menu needs to be downloaded to the phone. It is not readable there. There is no alternative. Or from the phone or not. Frozen waiter will not help you. As a result, dinner was in a restaurant opposite the hotel. The hotel was filled with interest on thirty, but behind the wall we were settled by drunken people who arranged a debosh at four in the morning. Resepschn did not solve the problem, said ”we spoke to the guests,” but the noise continued. Only after the promise in the morning to complain to the leadership, we were offered to move to another room for the night. And be ready, that in the morning, at breakfast, you will be treated with pro-Ukrainian propaganda on two TVs. At the request of changing the channel, the answer was that ”we are obliged to show the world news.” Well, the yelling maids in the hallway are fully voiced It is clear that all the forces of the leadership have gone to build a building of the corresponding level of a five-star hotel, and the building has really succeeded, and the service of the forces is no longer enough. Usually I don't write reviews, but these guys tried very hard to spoil the rest. Good boys, it turned out

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. 👍

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