Oscar Boutique Hotel

The hotel, breakfast, gym, and pool are all great, and the amenities seem well thought out. But checkout was a mess, and now I doubt we'll come back. We paid all our restaurant, room, sauna, and massage charges three days ahead so checkout would be smooth. At 4:30 am, before our early flight home, the front desk said their system still showed everything as unpaid and wouldn't let us leave. After a lot of back and forth, I nearly missed both my flight and taxi while I ran back to the room for the receipt. The front desk looked at it as if they'd never seen one before and insisted it only showed an amount, not a payment. I had to point out the stamp and signature below it from their own front desk staff member who'd taken the money three days earlier. Then I got, “Oh yes I see it now” and “I guess that front desk staff member will have to pay out of pocket for your charges because he or she did not mark these charges as paid in our system”. Watch out for the front desk staff trying to pull a fast one and spoil your stay at the most critical point, checkout, when things should be quick and painless. We had been talking about coming back, but after this disappointing experience, I doubt we will.

The pool was peaceful and lovely, and I felt safe and well looked after. The front desk staff were very kind. I arrived before the 2 pm check-in and had to wait a bit, but they kindly upgraded me several levels to a massive suite at no extra charge. It was by far the nicest, most modern room I've seen anywhere in Tashkent, and I've stayed in a lot of places. I'd stay again if I need somewhere near the train station or airport, though I hope two things improve. At Mayfair Pub, the restaurant service wasn't bad, but it didn't suit such a nice hotel. None of the staff smiled, and even with only three customers there, it took forever to order or get my bill. They may need more customer service training. Also, nobody outside or by the entrance offered to greet me or help with my bags. The ramp to the door is steep and slippery, hard to manage alone with multiple bags. I consider a greeter or bag helper standard. There was no one at the front of the hotel except the receptionist and a large, burly man who seemed to be a guard, always sitting on a lobby couch. I found that odd and a bit disconcerting.

The kids had a great time in the deep pool, and you can take drinks from the breakfast area over to the poolside. The room was tidy and clean, with free wi-fi. Breakfast was generous, and we especially liked the local food, including the melon and watermelon.

The rooms are tiny, probably under 20sqm, and those facing the main road are only a few meters away, so don't expect a quiet night's sleep. The electronic lock is very difficult to use, and you can't manually open the door from inside. That could be a fire hazard. There's no internal manual lock either, which feels like a security risk. I'd recommend this hotel only to my enemies.