Hotel City Samarkand

Breakfast could use more variety, though I suppose you can’t have everything. The room faced the courtyard, which was fine, and restaurants and grocery shops were within a ten-minute walk. Inside, the room was cleaned every day, the air conditioning and heating both worked, and the Wi-Fi was good. The staff were friendly, and I had no problems during my few nights here. I’d stay again if I’m back in Samarkhand.

The rooms were bright and clean, and breakfast was good. Wi-Fi was generally good too. But with my room next to reception, I could hear everyone talking there, since there wasn’t much soundproofing. We also had limited warm water, and a few things in the room were broken and still hadn’t been fixed, though they looked easy to repair.

The reception staff were pleasant, but I had a really poor stay during my 15 days there while in transit to Dubai. The power went out for 12 hours straight, and the toilet floor kept leaking for 14 days. The food was awful, including half-cooked rice and overcooked eggs. In the room there was no kettle, dental kit, tea bags, or similar basics. They only changed the sheets every four days, and didn’t change the blankets. The blankets seemed as if they’d been there since the hotel opened and hadn’t been washed. Wi-Fi was extremely slow and wouldn’t even connect to WhatsApp when the hotel was full. A receptionist also took me to an ATM as a favor and charged me $5, while a regular taxi costs less than $1.

The room was comfortable and clean, and the hospitality was good. Wi-Fi was okay, though the shower was weak. There’s no elevator, but the staff carried my suitcase.