Sanatoriy "Goluboy Issyk-Kul'" — Hotel in Cholpon-Ata

OMG, this place is a bomb. It was a totally surreal time-travelling experience for me. It is exactly, and I mean exactly, how I remember Soviet day care and health institutions, in which I spent most of my childhood. From the texture of the asphalt to the style of rationing/cutting butter in the canteen, to the font of the door/road signs, to the music (lots of 'Плачет девочка в автомате'). The sanatorium felt like a living museum. The only difference I found was a few 'modern' items on the spa menu, including "vaginal washings" and "chocolate body wraps" which were defo not available in the Soviet times :).Upon check-in, you are issues and individual "sanatorium card" which entitles you to a variety of spa and medical procedures at no extra costs. In addition to conserving the infrastructures, it has kept intact all the Soviet idiosyncrasies of a state-run public institution, such as the well-meaning rudeness, strict day routine, respect for the elderly, and materialist asceticism. If you are finding this description exciting, be warned that it also highly inefficient. The check-in takes forever, the swimming pool is only open during weird intervals, there is absolutely no wifi anywhere, the food is served "as is", with no catering to individual needs. So if you are at Issyk-Kul for a day or two this may be a fun 1-2 day adventure...

We’ve stayed in room for 3 person. Even though it was booked for 2 only, next day after check in they wanted to add one more person in our room which is TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE! How can you just add random people in someone’s room? Another complaint is about toilet smell. It was unbearable and we had to share it with another room, while booking I checked if it was shared bathroom or no, agent convinced me that it is separate. Huge plus is location of course and food. Food was really tasty and we weren’t hungry. They have couple of cafes inside the area and small shops. Market is just nearby. Let’s be honest the area is really nice, so green...

It is a pretty big complex with large and clean (but a bit rusty) territory with two main beaches (recreational and curative). I was here in low season, so all local entertainments (shops, cafes, excursions offices, etc. were closed), but there are plenty of those. The locals name this complex among best three sanatoriums at the...