Polvon Qori Boutique Hotel

Just outside Khiva’s old city walls, with an easy walk into town. It’s a fun little boutique hotel, with good WiFi, a nice breakfast, and a comfortable patio outside for relaxing. It has the kind of atmosphere you come to Khiva for.

We got there at 7 PM and had already registered our passports. After showing us around and telling us when breakfast was, the staff said the room facilities were broken and asked us to go to another hotel they own. It was clear to us they hadn’t prepared our room, and we felt they lied. The way they handled it was deeply disappointing and dishonest. Does Allah allow people to lie? To stay safe while traveling, I recommend booking somewhere else. We ended up walking around an unfamiliar city looking for a place to sleep. I hope the hotel keeps its moral integrity and stops treating guests this way.

The minaret is a highlight. You can climb its spiral stairs to get a stunning view of Khiva, though the steps are steep and need care going both up and down. The main sights in Khiva Old Town are about 200 meters away. The hotel is in a former 19th-century madrasah, and the old cells seem to have been turned into small, quite authentic rooms. Soundproofing isn’t great, so we woke with the muezzin’s first call to prayer. Breakfast is simple, but has what a European tourist might need. A good, authentic place if you want to feel the history of Uzbekistan and don’t mind a modest interior.

We had to check out early, and the host kindly prepared a lunch box for our trip. Service was very good, and we really enjoyed the stay. The old Madrasah setting made the hotel feel authentic, and we were allowed to climb the Minaret for a lovely view of the city. It’s about a 15-minute walk from the train station and only a couple of minutes from the old town.