VIVA Hostel — Hotel in Bishkek City

First of all the positives...email contact with the hostel right from the start was efficient and prompt and all our questins were answered in flawless English, giving us a very confident feeling about booking Viva for the first time. It has a great location next to the Osh Bazar and a lovely walk through the old Soviet streets into town. Airport pickup was smooth and the speed limit into town from the airport made a trip we were dreading at 1.30 in the morning, into an a very pleasant experince! The taxi driver arranged by the hostel turned out to be a next door neighbour and he was friendly and extremely helpful with our luggage. The room and the cleanliness of the hostel was amazing. Everything was brand new and spotless and the room was comfortable and cosy. There is a kitchen that guests can use with fridge, microwave, kettle, cutlery, crockery and 24/7 filtered water. The price was very good for bed and breakfast and much cheaper than most other places in Bishkek.||Now to some things that could be improved on...we felt there was some disconnect between the staff and the guests. Having had such wonderful service in perfect English over the internet we were surprised to find that no one in the hostel spoke English and the guy who was on reception was a newcomer to town and his English and experience of Bishkek was very limited. Breakfast arrangements were very vague and although a vague menu was posted up it was a rather take it or leave it approach. Sign language and rudimentary Russian established we would be fed at 9.00am, but that consisted of a couple of cold fried eggs on a plate and some bread and jam and a cup of coffee, or a bowl of semolina and jam, whether we were there or not. We had no problem with the friendliness, but I think if there are no English speakers on the site, guests should be given an explanatory card the night before explaining the breakfast arrangements, and asked to tick boxes on breakfast preferences. ||Given the lack of English speakers at the hostel, I think a very helpful addition to the pleasantness of a stay would be to have a book in which guests write their tips for what to do in Bishkek, how to get the various different places and what to look out for. We found everything ourselves of course in the end after a week, but a few tips at the beginning would have saved us re-inventing the wheel. ||The tourist information at Viva was sparse and no one at the hostel including the guy at reception had much idea of what guests might be interested in doing. Absolutely no problem that there was no English, but if you have foreign guests maybe you could prepare a sheet of things to do and see in Bishkek, with explanations of the Mashrut (mini bus) system, trolley bus numbers and where is fun to go to.||||For the record, we DEFINITELY recommend the circus near Pavilov Park...it is on a permanent site and troups come from different places to stay for a couple of months. It was magnificent in every respect and full of people of all ages (3-83) enjoying the live entertainment. Also highly recommend the Zhirgal baths...fantastic experience, separate areas for men and women and huge cold swimmable plunge pools. The parks are great and full of Soviet memorabilia including a huge statue of Lenin and the coffee shops are second to none...reminiscent of Viennese...

Kyrgyzstan is a beautiful country and we had a great trip overall, but this VIVA hotel completely ruined our last two days. When we arrived, the receptionist, an older lady was more focused on her phone than helping us — it took nearly an hour to check in. Despite booking a proper hotel room, we were placed on the hostel floor next to the toilets, which was noisy and full of guests drinking in the corridor. There was no electricity when we arrived, and we were given a room with no light — not even a torch — while the receptionist used one for her phone. When we asked how we were supposed to manage in the dark, she started shouting at us. In fact, she shouted at us twice that day and had no sense of customer service. She didn’t seem like a service-oriented person at all. We were also told we couldn’t wear shoes inside and were given slippery bathroom slippers instead — which we had to wear up and down two floors every time we needed our shoes. No room service was available either for both days. Unfortunately, this hotel was a big disappointment and not at all...

We stayed here one night only and it turned out above expectations honestly. It is quite easy to find coming from Weatern bus station. The street in front of the hostel however is chaotic and does not promise any good. Once you enter the door it's different. There's a lovely terrace with view over the mountains. All rooms are basic but modern, with tv, private bathroom, some include a/c as well. Linen and towels are provided free of charge. We had a simple breakfast included which was just fine, but you had to make the dishes by yourself (as it's usual in hostels). The reception could have been more helpful indeed and they could try to make some money offering tours but they provide just accomodation that is more than correct. Location is great, city centre is not far and Osh bazar is just around the corner. Would definitely stay here again if I came back to Bishkek but that probably won't happen as it failed...