"Kolsay Nomads", гостиничный комплекс — Hotel in Almaty Region

Kolsay Nomads Hotel: Views to Die For, Service to Forget Right, so where do I even begin with the Kolsay Nomads hotel? Let's just say the view from the room is the kind of thing that makes your jaw drop – seriously, a solid 10 out of 5 for that. But hold on tight, because pretty much everything else lands with a thud at a measly 1 out of 5. First off, the booking process. We went down the WhatsApp route, and it was like trying to communicate with a brick wall, only the brick wall speaks fluent Russian. You just have to cross your fingers and hope they've actually got your booking details right. It's a bit of a prayer situation, to be honest. Then there's the grand adventure of actually getting to the place. Forget driving your own car right up – nope. They've got a couple of their own vehicles that pick you up from some random spot in the middle of nowhere. And despite us confirming the pick-up time more times than I can count, we were left twiddling our thumbs for a good half an hour. The ride itself? Picture this: a vehicle struggling through the snow, getting stuck multiple times. Definitely not for anyone who prefers a smooth, uneventful journey. The rooms themselves are… functional. I mean, you can't really expect the Ritz Carlton in such a remote spot, can you? But yeah, the view is still the star of the show. Breakfast? Oh boy. Let's just say "basic" is being generous. If you're a vegetarian, my advice is to pack your own snacks – think packets of instant noodles and anything that doesn't need cooking. Hot water was the only beverage freely available; proper coffee from a machine? That'll cost you extra. And surprise, surprise, language was again a barrier with most of the staff. To be fair, one bloke was decent enough to let us whip up our own Maggi noodles since our food options were so limited. Now for the highlight (or rather, lowlight) – the staff. There was this one lady at reception who was, quite frankly, bonkers. We’d pre-booked our return transfer and even double-checked the night before. Guess what? She'd given our transfer to another group. When we complained, she decided the best course of action was to burst into tears and start throwing things around her desk. I have stayed in countless hotels, big and small, and I have never, ever witnessed anything like it. Absolutely shocking behavior. So, here's the deal: if you're willing to put up with a whole load of nonsense – the dodgy booking, the chaotic transport, the basic food, the language barriers, and the potentially unhinged staff – just for that incredible view, then go for it. Otherwise, maybe think twice. Overall: 2/5 Location: 5/5 (the view is insane, just not the journey to it) Food:...

This place is definitely ranked at one of our lowest experiences so far. Its equivalent to a entry level lodge - not a resort or a hotel.||PROS|1. Panoramic view of the Kolsay Lake with natural flower-laden premises. Nature at its peak beauty||2. Easy accessibility to the Kolsay Lake||3. Spacious room size with a balcony||I am afraid that's where it ends. ||Now coming to the CONs||1. Accessibility - 20-25 mins by 4WD provided by the Hotel. Co-ordination for this is a mess and you can easily spend hours waiting.|Larger groups need to be careful - we were 9 people and 3 of our men had to sit in the open pick-up back because it was around 8:00 pm and cold and dark and they could not pre-arrange even though we had a local tour operator||2. Reception is dingy and musty. The persons sitting there have no basic etiquette - not conversant in English and not willing to make any effort to help us out. ||3. While waiting for the hotel to get us picked, our local tour guide tried to arrange our dinner and told us after speaking to the hotel that dinner would be available till 10 PM. We reached there around 9:10 PM and were told that the Kitchen was closed at 9 PM. After raising quite a hue and cry with our local tour operator, we could manage to get dinner at around 10:50 PM. Mind you, we are three families with one child each. ||4. The rooms are dingy, no telephone / no electric kettle / no drinking water / no AC / no fan. It gets quite stuffy and uncomfortable especially in the day time.||5. No bottled water is provided. They have unhygienic water dispensers.||6. Staff is impolite and least bothered with the guests. When we had arrived at the hotel, 3-4 staff were waiting outside. We got the wrong impression that they were waiting to welcome us to make up for the poor start. Turns out they were waiting impatiently for the 4WD to take them home. ||7. The staff kept repeating that there is No luggage policy - means they will not help you with carrying the luggage. No lifts. Thankfully its just 1-2 flight of stairs.||8. There was no arrangement for any food in the hotel itself (at the time of our stay). Buffet breakfast / ala-carte dinner / lunch is served at a place called TARY view point which is around atleast 10-15 mins walk down to the lake. ||So please book a stay at Nomad Kolsay only for the view. For the rest, I am afraid that it's quite a disappointment considering the hefty payment they charge...

The rooms and location are good but the service and attitude of staff is pathetic. Booking is to be done through Whatsapp and 100% amount to be transferred to the account numbers they provide. No trusted sites for payment and no official email on booking confirmation. We trusted them on the booking and transferred the amount. Regular vehicles do not go to the property and they assured that pick up will be arranged for us in 4 x 4 vehicles. I arrived with my family at the pick up point and the guy is telling me on Whatsapp that the vehicles are broken down and they cannot arrange for pick up. There is no option to reach their property in our van. We had to wait in the road for over 2 hours with kids and repeatedly request them to somehow arrange for pick up vehicles, remember this is their attitude after collecting 100% payment in advance. Finally he arranged some pickup and the pick up guys showed up after 2+ hours. Their attitude is even worse and they were reluctant to carry luggage in the 4x4 car. Thank god we had a native guide with us who helped us to convince them otherwise we would be stuck on the road!! We were supposed to reach at the property before 6pm but reached around 9pm due to their delays. We missed the day light and views around. The reception guy said the restaurant is only till 9pm but he has informed the restaurant guys about our late arrival. However we head straight to the restaurant for dinner. Their restaurant is downstairs which is ~10 mins walk from your rooms steep down. We reached the restaurant 5 mins past 9pm and the restaurant guy refused to take the order saying that the kitchen is closed at 9pm. I had to make a big noise there to make them understand and finally took our order, but they had 99% of the menu items finished by then (I seriously doubt the guy said that on purpose), but we did not have any other option. Overall very bad experience and pathetic attitude from the staff. We had booked 3 rooms and paid a good sum in total, otherwise I would have canceled the booking!! Only good thing is the proximity to the lake and great view from the balcony...