Royal Palace Hotel

The food was average to good, and there was enough toilet paper, though no tissues. The hotel is away from the city’s bustle, so you can’t just stroll to nearby places. There’s some construction in the backyard, and no gym or kids’ play area. Taxi drivers have a bad impression of the place. They keep saying, “This is a hotel not meant for family.” It’s self-service, with no one taking luggage to the room, even when you arrive. Our mini fridge didn’t work, though it had condoms inside, mostly provided on request. There was no electric kettle for making tea and no cups in the room. Staffing seemed thin, and people were mostly on 24-hour shifts, so efficiency suffered. We asked for rooms facing each other because we were traveling with our two teenage daughters, but they didn’t comply. Then they fined us 3000 tenge for an oil stain we hadn’t made.

We paid extra to check in early while waiting for our flight. The hotel was large and fairly clean, but getting to the city center took a while because it’s quite far away.

This is my review after staying at Royal Palace for the second time. The menu is quite cheap, and the rooms are very quiet, but I can’t recommend the hotel in general. It feels far from a 4-star property, and it’s a long way from the airport in the old part of the city. The staff were super friendly and polite, though nothing was done when I reported the problems. The toilet tap had no screens, so water splashed everywhere. The towel shelf was tilted and hanging on one screw, so staff had to use the toilet flush tank and towel storage. Even from the top floors, the view wasn’t great. You might see a brick factory 🏭 from up there. I know how to build up a brik now.

They made our stay really comfortable by being so accommodating. The hotel also offers free airport pickup and drop-off.