Rixos Almaty — Hotel in Almaty

Stayed in Rixos Almaty from 23rd to 25th of September 2019. Two nights. In the evening of the 24th, got back from a very long day. Got into the shower and noticed that the hair conditioner was not of a consistency of a normal conditioner. You know the ever so slightly see-through effect that all hair conditioners are. Instead it was more like a body lotion. So I checked the lotion but that smelled differently. It was a bit strange but I was too tired and decided that I am probably wrong. Applied all over my hair, again it felt strange but I ignored that as well. At 7 am I woke up as my hair felt weird. That's the only way I can describe it. Got up and tried to run my fingers through my hair. Oh dear. My long curly hair was all tangled up. I freaked out big time. It was such a mess. Lots of hair came out when I tried to separate it so I left it. I went downstairs to the reception almost in tears and made a mistake of taking both conditioner bottles with me. Mind you the previous night, the hair conditioner was fine hence even more so I noticed the difference. I handed the bottles over to the receptionist and showed her my hair and explained the situation. She agreed that the conditioner was not of usual conditioner consistency. I asked them to send somebody up with a normal conditioner. I went up. An hour and a half passed. Nobody came up. I asked my friend if he wanted to go for breakfast. Tied up my hair and approached the receptionist again before heading for breakfast. She then told me they did not have any other conditioner and she was not sure what to do. I was getting really annoyed and told her that it is not a small issue and that my hair is properly messed up. I asked her to get the hairdresser or to get some conditioner from the salon in the hotel so that at the very least I could try to tackle it myself. We had breakfast and I went upstairs. It was around 9.30 now. I called downstairs. I explained the situation to a gentleman who picked up the phone. Funny thing is neither one of them questioned me when I said that the contents of the bottle is clearly not a hair conditioner. Not by what it looks like or feels like and most certainly not by what it did to my hair. I was so scared I actually thought I will lose my hair. Again whilst I was taking a bath, water takes hours to go down by the way, nothing happened. I called again. So now I am on the 4th time of calling. I spoke to the same bloke who informed me that housekeeping should show up with some conditioner. Indeed after three hours and four conversations the woman from housekeeping I guess shows up. I explain her the situation again almost in tears and she hands me two small bottles of conditioner and tells me that these are for VIPs. Can you imagine? VIPs! Should I have kissed the ground she was walking on for such a great 'honour'. And again she did not blink an eye when I told her that the contents of the conditioner bottle was clearly not a conditioner. She said nothing. None of them looked surprised. I finally managed to sort my hair after losing quite a bit of hair and time. I will be making a formal complaint and requesting a full refund as an absolute minimum. Shocking. Worst stay ever. Oh yes and whilst I was taking a bath, my friend had to ask for a cup of coffee at breakfast for five times. Five! From no water to fault with the coffee maker to who knows what. He spent half an hour waiting for a...

Hotel Rixos Almaty Almaty, Kazakhstan.

My stay 22 - 25 june 2024

Dear Customer Service Team, I am writing to express my extreme dissatisfaction with the service I received during my recent stay at Hotel Rixos Almaty.

My experience, spanning three days check in from 22nd june until 25th june was filled with numerous issues that marred what should have been an enjoyable visit.

Firstly, the service from housekeeping was sub par. Despite my repeated requests, my room was not adequately cleaned or maintained during my stay. This basic level of service, which should be a given at a hotel of your caliber, was glaringly absent. Additionally, I was shocked to learn that only two bottles of drinking water were provided per person per day. When I requested more, I was informed of this restrictive policy. This is ridiculous and highly inconvenient for guests, especially considering the importance of staying hydrated, particularly in a hotel setting.

Moreover, my experience at the coffee shop during breakfast was particularly disappointing. For all three days of my stay, there was no papaya available. Additionally, the Indian items that were prepared were of poor quality, lacking both taste and authenticity. This was a significant letdown, as I had specifically chosen your hotel for its reputed diverse and high-quality dining options.

The room service was another major area of concern. Every time I had asked for cutlery or ice cubes I had to remind the staff at least four to five times. Each order took at least an hour or more to be delivered, which is entirely unacceptable. Efficient and timely room service is a fundamental expectation at any reputable hotel, and this experience fell far short.

To further compound my dissatisfaction, the safe deposit locker in my room was not functioning when I checked in. Despite my continuous complaints, it was only resolved on the second day of my stay. This delay was highly inconvenient and raised concerns about the security of my belongings.

The culmination of these issues occurred on the last morning of my stay. At 7 am, two executives knocked on my room door, despite the "Do Not Disturb" sign being displayed. They were there to check for a water leakage, but did not have the courtesy to request permission or apologize for the inconvenience caused. This lack of respect for guest privacy and comfort was the final straw in what was an already disappointing stay. What compounded these issues was the attitude of the staff. Many of the employees I interacted with were arrogant and unhelpful, which made my stay even more unpleasant.

Good customer service is the cornerstone of the hospitality industry, and the behavior of the staff at your hotel was highly unprofessional and disheartening.

Overall, my stay at Hotel Rixos Almaty was horrible, and I would strongly advise potential guests to avoid this hotel. The level of service I experienced was unacceptable, and it is evident that there are significant improvements needed in both staff training and operational efficiency. I hope that you take this feedback seriously and make the necessary changes to improve the quality of service at your hotel. Thank you for your attention to this...

I stayed for a business meet for 4 nights. My initial understanding of the hotel was that this is 5-star luxury hotel, a property of Accor Brand as mentioned on the Accor website. But it's all a joke out there. See below for detailed review.

Pros - The hotel is very centrally located. it was easy to locate, and check-in to. The rooms are huge, with a balcony in each room. Rooms are very spacious, with the necessary amenities and facilities required. The bathroom has heated flooring. People speak good English at the hotel. Ms Zere and her colleague at the reception were kind people, allowed us late checkout (but only because they looted for us early check-in).

Cons -

Firstly, This hotel is in no way a luxury 5-star hotel because their service and other experiences clearly prove so. Our company booked over 500 room nights at this hotel in total.

Now, the general check-in time is around 3 pm at this hotel. However, I am an Accor Silver member. And hence I emailed them to allow me, only my room, an early check-in of 4-5 hours only. However, this was a very unpleasant experience. Mr. Dinmukhamed Sagymbek from Hotel Reservations gave me a very rude and unpleasant reply about the early check-in, directly denying any requests, or providing me with alternate solutions, or payment basis for half-day charges.

Then, when we reached the hotel at around 10 am in the morning, Mr. Zaur in the reception check-in desk was also very very unhelpful. He doesn't even acknowledge that the hotel belongs to Accor group, and denies any and every privilege I would receive as a Silver member. Further, Mr Zaur also denied early check-in and told us the hotel was full. However, after multiple beggings, Mr Zaur agreed to give us the room but charged us 80,000 KZT ~ 175 USD. This was just extortion, charging USD 175 for a few hours, when I was a Silver member, and staying for 4 nights. They are loot.

Secondly, This "luxury 5-star hotel" doesn't even have a bellboy/concierge facility. You pay around 350 USD per room per night, and you get this low-class service.

Thirdly, Their bathroom was good, but the shower facility is very very unusual. It's not as advised on the website. It's a bathtub handshower, not even a full-head shower. The shower pressure and water temperature constantly fluctuates, and it's almost impossible to take a comfortable shower.

Fourthly, Their breakfast is not up to the standards of a 5-star luxury hotel. Very very limited options, cold and stale food.

Fifthly, Their reception desk is very unorganized. They charged me for early check-in, and then next day called to refund it. and then again on checkout, they charged back to me the amount. Such inexperienced systems they have out there.

Overall, I would say you can find much better options at this price point. Please refrain from booking here at this astronomical price. They are a loot, and will disown themselves from...