Sport Hotel Ashgabat

I wouldn’t recommend staying here. At reception, staff came across as cold and uninterested. I also slipped on a water spill by the lifts and fell flat on my back in front of everyone, which was embarrassing. With those white marble floors, the hotel really needs to watch out for spills. Twin rooms weren’t given two keys, so I spent a long time waiting at reception to get the key my friend had left behind. My slippers also went missing. The room had been oddly cleaned and set up for new guests while our bags and slippers were still inside.

The location puts this hotel about 20 minutes by car from the airport, handy since flights arrive in the early hours. It sits in the village built for the 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, and you can cross the road to Berkarar Mall through the underpass. There are plenty of restaurants upstairs, plus a Camal supermarket downstairs for drinks and snacks. Arriving in the morning means paying for an extra day, since check-in is at 2pm and they won’t let you wait around in the lobby. Inside, the place is very grand, with striking artwork, paintings, and Akhal-Teke horses featured throughout. Rooms are large, well equipped, and have good city views, though the beds were very firm. Bathrooms are spacious and hot water was good. WiFi was restricted. Breakfast had a wide choice of hot and cold food, along with a mystery pink cordial. One thing that felt concerning: floor attendants sometimes tried to enter rooms even with the DND sign on. At 9pm one tried my door when I hadn’t asked for anything, but I had a doorjam in place. Another couple had requested towels and woke to find them at the end of their bed. The Sport Hotel is a luxury hotel in Ashgabat that seems to host most international tourists. The lobby is impressive and opulent, with a very ritzy interior full of gold details.

Feels closer to a four-star-plus place to me. Its current three-star rating seems too low.

Feels like a palace inside. It was built in 2017 and is well located, though I think it’s about 6km from the city center. The rooms are big, and the top-floor restaurant and bar terrace have a nice view. Thanks, Ashgabat.