East Palace Hotel

The service was the best part for me. The staff were incredibly accommodating and helpful. My room was clean, and the bathroom and shower were nice. Breakfast was very good, with something different each day. The location worked well for where I needed to go, and taxis could get there easily. I had a great stay at East Palace Hotel and plan to stay again on my next trip to Almaty.

At check-in around 2 in the morning, we were excited but exhausted, and the receptionist gave us a room that hadn’t been cleaned. It smelled and was messy. My wife went back downstairs, and the receptionist apologized right away and moved us to another room. Other than that, it was a good experience. The staff are polite, and while breakfast isn’t fine dining, it’s really good.

The water went out on our second day, and nobody at reception bothered to tell us when we came back in the evening. We were simply told the government had shut it off, with no apology or sense of responsibility. For a place calling itself a four-star hotel, there should be backup water. We had to pay 1500 Tenge each way to use a mall toilet. When we returned, our room was flooded. A cleaner came in with her keycard without knocking or asking, then scolded us even though we were the ones left without water. The manager offered another room, but while we were changing to finally take a shower, the owner opened the door with his keycard. We had to shout to stop him. He said he was checking whether the water was still leaking, then left with a gesture, without apologizing or showing concern about entering without permission. The woman translating for us laughed while we tried to get her to explain the problem to him. One man did apologize for what had happened. We packed, booked another hotel in the city, and left within 15 minutes. At checkout, they seemed unconcerned and offered no apology. The security issues alone make me think this hotel should lose its four-star rating. Breakfast was pretty average for a self-described luxury hotel with no backup water.

It feels like the hotel hasn’t moved on from the 1980s. Nobody speaks English, though they do try to help when you ask. There aren’t any amenities, and I’ve never encountered such a strange breakfast buffet. It’s somewhat clean, and that’s about it.