Zhan Villa

Nice place, great place.

The location was awful, buried in a private sector where guests struggled to find it. A rusty trailer opposite the entrance frightened people. We agreed to hold our event there because the administrator promised us mountains of gold, but on the day of the banquet she forgot everything she’d promised. There was no gazebo or buffet, and the two rooms she had promised turned out to be unavailable. When food was delivered the day before, they almost missed the kazakh. The hall wasn’t suited to a banquet for 140 people. The air conditioners kept breaking, and in 30-degree heat there was hot water running in the restroom. All the salads were the same; by the time we sat down, the croutons were soggy, and by evening the salads were terrible. The waiters were awful. I spent the whole evening chasing them for liquor and Coca-Cola from under the cabinet, along with full plates of salad they had hidden. We usually leave a table for the waiters after an event as a thank you, but after that service I didn’t want to. By the end, we were missing 10 bottles of vodka. If you hold an event here, you’d better keep an eye on everything.

Apart from the price and location, there isn’t much going for this hotel. It’s extremely noisy, with such poor soundproofing that you can hear people three or four rooms away. Since couples mostly use it for stays of four to six hours, you can guess how well you’ll sleep.

I often need to spend a night in Astana between flights, and a good night’s sleep isn’t guaranteed here. The clientele can vary, and the soundproofing is terrible. Still, it’s a good hotel overall.