Minor Boutique Hotel

I didn't stay at the hotel, just ate at the restaurant. The rooftop view at sunset and after dark is stunning, but that's about the only good thing I can say. As a solo diner, I felt like I was in the way, since this seems set up for groups. The salad and manti were okay, but the Minor Kebob was so salty I sent it back with half left uneaten. My waiter tried hard, though he understood neither English nor Russian, so Google Translate came in handy. I wouldn't go back or recommend the restaurant.

The rooftop terrace gives a stunning view of the citadel, especially at sunset. But watch out for the host. She first tried to put us in a smaller room than the one we'd booked, and we had to push to get the room we reserved. Later she exchanged our money at a lower rate than usual. We paid in cash dollars, and she got our friend to cancel the Booking reservation so we couldn't leave a review there. She also presented some Aral Sea trip offers as if they were her own. At night there were parties in the basement, and the noise carried very loudly into our room.

The location, facilities, beds, and terrace were all great, and Otabek was especially supportive and lovely. This could have been a full-points stay, but the female owner, supposedly the one running the hotel, seemed to use various tactics to get as much money from guests as possible. Pressuring people to book and buy everything through the hotel felt unwelcoming. The worst part came after three nights, when she charged 60 dollars for laundry. I've been to 90 countries and have never paid anything close to that, not even at the Hilton in Tokyo. It left me feeling fooled. In my opinion, the food was also poor value compared with other places in town.

The staff were attentive and very helpful, even though the place was quite full when we visited. We enjoyed the tasty food and the lovely sunset view of Khiva from the terrace. We paid in USD and got our change in sum, with a small disadvantage on the exchange rate, but nothing alarming.