Starway Hotel

A great hotel if you’re in Lankaran. Breakfast is included in the price, and the rooms are comfortable, spacious, and clean.

Do not book. They tried to make us pay the hotel fee even though we’d already paid for the full stay. We showed proof of payment and confirmation, but they kept saying they hadn’t received it. They acted as if they couldn’t understand us and didn’t speak any English. They’re professional scammers.

If you have no other option and really need to spend a night in Lankaran, you can stay here. Otherwise, don’t bother. It falls short in plenty of details, and real 3- and 4-star hotels can’t arrive soon enough. Our room was tolerable, a normal size and moderately clean, though there was dust behind the bed and under the nightstands. The view was awkward, straight into nearby residential buildings, including a couple of living rooms, and over desolate streets with garbage on the ground. The bathroom was a particular problem: the shower cabin was very narrow, and the wall mounted showerhead holder made the water spray high onto the opposite wall, so you had to hold the showerhead the whole time to bathe. There was also a big gap beneath the entrance door, so we heard every sound from nearby rooms. There’s no soundproofing, as in many hotels across the country. The TV mostly had a huge number of Turkish channels, with only a couple in Russian. Breakfast was tolerable, with scrambled eggs with tomatoes, porridge, one kind of cheese, one kind of salami, and regular bread.

The facility as a whole is nice and clean, and I’d definitely come again if I return to Lanka. The staff are extraordinarily kind and helpful, always there when you need something. The kitchen staff were lovely too, and handled our breakfast change requests promptly and well every day. Things can move slowly, perhaps because of the mentality in Azerbaidshan. Once our room wasn’t cleaned and no shampoo was brought, and the staff could improve their Russian or English.