Garden Park Inn Hotel — Hotel in Almaty

Our wedding party ( family & friends) almost booked out the whole of the Hotel. It offers an airport pick up and return service that is reasonably priced and punctual. I was taken aback when I checked in at 2.30a.m. and after a long flight, to be asked for payment in full for our 6 night stay. I wasn’t expecting that. Our room on the third floor was spacious and had a wonderful view of the distant snow-capped mountains. The shower room was large with a heated towel rail that could not be turned off. The hairdryer was in a cupboard beneath the washbasin and fixed in position. As I am quite tall, I had to really stretch the cord to reach my head but I managed. The bed was very comfortable and the Hotel was quiet during the night. Breakfast was interesting with a vast array or cooked foods that varied every morning. There was yoghurt and lovely fresh fruit, particularly the cherries and apricots and a side table groaning with sweet pastries and cakes and also bread. This was disappointing because most times the bread was very dry although the Black Bread ( rye) was delicious. The coffee machine churned out a tasteless concoction so I had to experiment to get a cup with any decent taste. I ended up drinking tea. We ate in the restaurant on two evenings and the service was appalling. We were a party of 10 and one of our friends did not receive her meal until the rest of us had finished ours. No explanation was given. The poor waiting staff were clearly very embarrassed but then everyone disappeared and I had to go and cause a fuss to get our friend her dinner! On the second time it was just my husband and I and we had to wait over an hour for a simple pasta dish. When we enquired where our dinner was we kept being told “5 minutes” until again, I got fed up and went to find the manager and complained. Our meal arrived in short order afterwards but my pasta arrabiata now contained chicken that I did not order so it was sent back. My husband’s carbonara was very dry and the mushrooms were undercooked but he ate it and then my dish arrived but with hardly any sauce. I guess they just scraped the chicken out of it. As a “sorry” our waiter brought us a plate of fresh fruit which was good of him. The most disappointment was caused by the bar running out of gin and then out of tonic that they know as Schweppes. We said that we were all gin drinkers and to please stock up the bar but they ran out every night and also there were never enough glasses either for the G&T’s or for the beers that had to be ordered. For an Hotel this is most unusual. The staff at times, did not seem to know what they were doing and I feel that this is a training issue for them especially if they are trying to attract more Western visitors. The best part of the downstairs area was all the very comfortable settees and lounging chairs where we could gather in the evenings or when waiting for our transport. Also the receptionists were generally very good although one young lady repeatedly gave us wrong information and forgot to book our minibus but we got over that one by checking up on her. Taxis were readily available and reasonably priced so we were able to get downtown to the Dostyk Centre ( fabulous shopping) quickly and cheaply. A smattering of Russian would be helpful to...

Extremely Disappointing Stay – Not Worth 4 Stars. This was by far the worst 4-star hotel I’ve ever stayed at. Honestly, I’ve had better experiences in 1- or 2-star hotels.

No Hot Water & Poor Staff Attitude: On the first night, there was no hot water, which is completely unacceptable. When I asked about it, the staff member at reception joked that I could go to the sauna so it “wouldn’t feel so cold.” After a long flight and exhausting journey, I wasn’t in the mood for jokes, especially not in that situation. Later that night, hot water finally came—but it was brown and smelled terrible. That’s beyond unacceptable.

Room Smelled Like Smoke & Rude Accusations: Our room clearly smelled like cigarette smoke. When we brought it up, the staff denied everything. The worst part: at check-out, they accused us of smoking in the room. That’s just offensive and unprofessional.

Poor Breakfast Service: We had a tour at 4:30 am and asked for a breakfast box. We were told breakfast starts at 5:00 am—no flexibility, no solution. When we finally had breakfast after the second night, it was awful anyway.

Unfriendly Staff & Insulting “Compensation”: Staff were generally rude and clearly annoyed with guests. After the stay, I filed a complaint through the booking platform. In response, the hotel had the nerve to offer me a 15% discount on my next stay—as if I would ever consider coming back (and which is by the way in the commission fee range of the booking platform^^). That offer was almost as insulting as the experience itself. Feedback to the manager: PLEASE! Take your staff aside and show them proper behaviour...

Unfortunately, our stay at this hotel didn’t meet expectations. While it’s rated as a 4-star property, the overall experience didn’t reflect that standard.

One major issue was the lack of hot water during the first night. After a long journey, this was especially disappointing. Later, when hot water did return, it was discolored and had a strange odor, which raised concerns about cleanliness.

The room had a noticeable smell of cigarette smoke, which made the stay uncomfortable. When we asked about it, there was no real support or effort to address the situation.

We also had a very early morning tour and requested something small to take with us in place of breakfast. Unfortunately, we were told this wasn’t possible, as breakfast service starts at 5:00 am. The breakfast we had the day after was of low quality and not enjoyable.

What made things worse was the overall attitude of the staff. They often appeared impatient or indifferent, and basic requests were met with reluctance. A more welcoming and professional approach would have made a...