Bibikhanum Hotel

Mr Shaliq, the boss, was very helpful, and the location is great. Bibikhanum Mosque, Syiob market, Hasrat Khirz mosque, Shah I Zinda, and Registan Square are all within walking distance. I highly recommend this hotel for a Samarkand visit.

We were left waiting 40 minutes without clear updates about whether we could check in or needed to find somewhere else. The staff member stopped answering my questions and just stayed on his phone. At 9 p.m. we arrived to check in, but were turned away because they said my partner needed a “visa.” Uzbekistan had introduced visa-free entry for my partner’s country. We showed the official immigration and e-visa websites and confirmed the rule with an embassy, but the staff still disagreed. He tried to contact the manager but wouldn’t tell us what was happening. After no real effort to resolve it, we rebooked elsewhere and left at 9:50 p.m. The other hotel checked us in without any trouble. It’s embarrassing for a hotel in tourism to be uninformed about visa rules.

The rooms have very poor soundproofing, and with no thermostat, it was tropical inside while it was 5deg C outside. The internet was lame, and the website reservation system doesn’t work. Sometimes card payment won’t go through, then a minute later it mysteriously works for the next customer. Draw your own conclusions.

We loved sitting on the terrace in the evenings for that unbeatable view of the Bibi Khanym Mausoleum 😍 The room was clean and comfortable, though the service could be better for a hotel at this price.