Hotel Xabibi

At least the room was relatively clean. The bed linen was old, didn't fit the bed and kept slipping off, and the mattress was unpleasant. The shower was dirty. There were only two tiny sachets each of soap and shampoo; neither lathered, and that wasn't enough for three people. The room photos showed slippers, but there weren't any. Breakfast was very modest. Since the morning was chilly, it was moved to what was basically the main kitchen, which looked untidy. On our first morning they served food for two, though there were three of us. When I asked why there were only two plates, they opened a cupboard and pointed me to the plates so I could take a third. They didn't bring any more food. On the second morning there was no breakfast at all: the kitchen was closed and the lights were off, even though the day before they'd asked what time we wanted to eat. The girl at check-in didn't know we were coming. Nobody asked for our passports, either at check-in or later. Before we paid, they replied quickly on messenger; afterward, they read messages but didn't respond. I had three questions. They ignored my late check-out question, but from 11 a.m. on, they came into the room several times without knocking. I also asked about the missing breakfast, with no response. That evening, just before 10 p.m., several men checked into the guesthouse. They spoke very loudly, swore, and talked about how many drinks they'd had and how often they'd sobered up. From a call one of them made, we understood they were friends of the owners. They discussed replacing the mattress and, judging by the sounds, started doing it right after the call. I messaged about the noise, but they read that message too and didn't reply.

The owner took our money for a two-day stay but never gave us an official registration slip. Instead, he handed us a handwritten one to fob us off. He'd promised registration, and I even confirmed it with him after paying, but when I contacted him after checkout, he blocked me on WhatsApp. There was no one at the front desk that morning. I kept chasing him for six days, and he still didn't send it. First he sent information for Indian tourists, then acted as though he didn't know I'd stayed there, then gave me a handwritten piece of paper, and finally blocked me. The room rate clearly included breakfast, but when I asked, the owner added 10,000 soms to the price. I paid the same price listed on the website at the time, plus taxes, and that website price included tax. This owner and hotel manager are incredibly dishonest. Avoid this hotel.

Getting to the hotel with luggage is awkward because cars can't reach it. It's in the historic part of the city, near Lyabi Hauz, and you have to park across the street and walk. We booked through Booking.com, then waited a very long time for anyone to appear at reception. When someone finally arrived and showed us the room, it was nothing like the one we had booked, and they had no other rooms. Why post such deliberately false information on Booking.com? We'd just wasted our time.

There's a courtyard, and the hotel is right in central Bukhara. Rooms vary and are small, so it's worth looking around; triple rooms are available. Breakfast is modest. Seems fine for two or three nights.