CONTINENTAL HOTEL — Hotel in Samarkand City

After a night flight, I arrived at the hotel at 4:30 am to find both the receptionist and the bellboy asleep on the sofas in the lobby... Nevertheless, I was quickly helped, checked in, and taken to my room in minutes. All receptionists were friendly and helpful, and spoke English. I would like to extend a special thanks to Djasur, who was there on most days and was very helpful arranging taxis and answering all my questions about the city, all in perfect English.||The room was not large, but it felt clean and fresh. The hotel opened its doors in 2022, so everything is still in good condition. The bed was comfortable, and there was a socket by the bed. Ample closet and drawer space, but no real desk. There was one chair, a fridge, a safe, AC (albeit not very effective) and two 0.5 L water bottles, replenished daily. The hotel does not offer do not disturb signs, which came as a surprise to me.||Wifi was awful. For the first 36 hours or so, it barely worked in the room. It lost the connection frequently and when it sort of worked, upload speeds were nonexistent. Watching videos was impossible. In the lobby, it worked better, though, so I went there to get some work done. Not ideal. Mysteriously, it started working just fine after those initial 36 hours, both for upload and download. No log-in or password was needed.||The bathroom came with a shower cubicle with both a handheld as well as an overhead shower. Water pressure was excellent and hot water ample. Individual toiletries were provided, which I always appreciate as they are a lot more hygienic than the wall-mounted containers some hotels choose to put up on their walls to save money. There were bars of soap and bottles of shampoo, conditioner, shower gel and body lotion. Dental kits were provided, as were slippers and bathrobes.||After one night away in Tajikistan, I returned for a second stay and got a different room. This room was larger, came with a proper desk and had excellent wifi.||Breakfast was served from 7 to 10 in the breakfast room on the 4th floor. There were lots of local dishes, both hot and cold, but not much for a Western palate. Think meat balls in dill sauce and French fries... Some fruit, yoghurt, nuts etc were included in the spread. The cheeses and thick slices of low-quality cold cuts did not seem appetising to me.||There is a small swimming pool and a jacuzzi in the basement, open from 8 am to 8 pm. The water ranged from pleasantly warm on the first day to cooler on consecutive days. During my stay, the pool area was quiet and relaxing.||Reception changes money, but the rate is poor (1 EUR to 13 000 UZS in September 2025). Banks may be a better option, or just walk to the Amir Temur mausoleum close by, and you'll encounter inofficial money changers who will give you a rate close to the official one (14 200).||Laundry was very affordable at 1–2 EUR / piece.||The taxi ride from the airport took about 15 minutes and cost 50 000 som. Drivers seem to have no idea of the hotel, ask them to drive to "Bulvar", which is the common name for the University Boulevard street. On my way back, the hotel ordered a Yandex which cost 23 000 som. Yes, that's less than two euros for a private taxi to the airport!||I experienced two power cuts here, the first one lasted for only a few minutes, the second for about half an hour. Key cards and the safe work without electricity, but wifi does not.||The hotel is located within walking distance to the most famous sights. The Amir Temur mausoleum is close by, and to Registan, it was a pleasant 20 min walk. One block up the street, you will find Boulevard Restaurant, which had excellent food, great variety, good prices (by Western standards) and friendly service in English.||If my travels take me to Samarkand a second time, I will be happy to return to the...

We stayed here from 14 to 16 August 2025. The rooms were very clean and included fluffy towels and robes and slippers. My only complaints were: only one chair so you must sit in bed if you were hanging out in the room (where I am typing this now) and twin beds (if that bothers you), and the fridge was not cold (even after telling the front desk). The bathroom was great and they supplied shampoo/conditioner/lotion/toothbrush etc. There was ample storage space in closets and end tables and drawers. The entire place was clean and the staff was very friendly and helpful!

The breakfast was not my favorite. While the staff was conscientious and helpful, making me cup after cup of Americano, the coffee was not very good (weak). There were few if any local foods and no omelette station, which most hotels offer. The breads were uninspired, considering how amazing Uzbek bread is! The fruit and veg were delicious though, and there was plenty to choose from.

Easy to walk to great restaurants, the Registan and other sights. Parks and other shady areas right...

Bad odor and very high humidity in the first room. We agreed to stay the night, because there was no replacement room available until the next day. The next day comes, and hotel manager tells us the problem is fixed, i.e. the odor is removed. Turns out their solution was to fill the sink hole in the bathroom with cleaning agent. Since it didn't help at all and the odor and humidity remained, we refused to spend the night at the same room. The management then offered us another room at the same building one floor higher, but the new room had the same problems, because water pipes were essentially the same. We refused to accept the new room, and the management said there was nothing they could do. Once we asked them to refund the remaining nights, they magically found a spare room in another building. The room had no odor or high humidity, and was slightly bigger, so we accepted.

I will refrain from staying in this hotel...