Hotel Qashqadaryo Hotel - Olympic Village

I really liked this hotel. I’ve stayed in several places in Tashkent, but this was the only one where we ended up staying for a long time. The breakfasts were delicious, and there’s a gym, a hammam with a sauna, and a small pool. The staff are young and made a good impression on me. They complimented us when we checked in and on my birthday, and treated us to coffee. The hotel itself is very clean, with lovely linens and good robes and towels. The slippers are a letdown, though, almost see-through. Rooms also have good ventilation, but when it’s below freezing, the air conditioning doesn’t always work and the room can get cold. There are shaving kits and toiletries, including a normal-sized shower cap, wooden ear picks, cotton pads, a nail file, a comb, toothbrushes, dental floss, and tasty tea bags. The open terrace on the top floor has a nice view, but I preferred working in the lobby at sunset. We were moved to a better room because of technical problems. Thanks especially to Ozod for taking criticism graciously, as people should in a civilized society. There’s hardly anything around the hotel. We weren’t impressed by the park restaurants, which seemed very average by Moscow standards. They also made some strange attempts to add charges to the bill, for things like bread we hadn’t ordered and takeaway containers. The only restaurants that were more or less decent were in the city. The last night was unpleasant, or really, the morning after. At 9 a.m. we were woken up and told to leave because the President of Uzbekistan was expected at a celebration in the park. I don’t understand why that meant guests had to go. We’d only slept two hours that night, and it was my husband’s anniversary, it couldn’t have been any other way. As far as I remember, the man never came. They did eventually serve us breakfast that morning, though they’d said they couldn’t do so before 1:00 PM. That’s outdated, to put it mildly. Waking guests for some high-ranking person who wasn’t even planning to come to the hotel, and then didn’t show up, just isn’t right. But the hotel belongs to the state and is run by a management company, so I suppose that company is under pressure. In situations like this, we usually ask for a refund because the service wasn’t up to standard. This rare time, we didn’t, and instead thanked the guys. I’m writing a positive review because of their good attitude and because I believe they had no power over the situation. I saw no attempt to rip us off, which, unfortunately, is generally uncommon in Tashkent. We’d like to thank the responsible, level-headed Inamiddinov Javohir. I admire his restraint and ability to stay calm, and the young, hardworking team, from the cooks and maids to everyone else. We wouldn’t call Uzbekistan a must-see destination because of this situation and many others, but if you’re in Tashkent, we wholeheartedly recommend this hotel for a positive experience.