Hilton Samarkand Regency — Hotel in Samarqand Region

We stayed at the Samarkand Regency for three nights, one on points and two paid. It is a beautiful new property, with great facilities. Top-notch service.

As a Diamond member, we were upgraded to a junior suite with a lovely balcony. The property is on the outskirts of Samarkand, in the new Silk Road development. Across from the Eternal City, which is a developing mini replica (shops+restaurants) of main Uzbek regions/cities. To some, this may be a disadvantage. But Samarkand is not a very walkable city, so it did not matter too much to us. Yandex is cheap and a quick ride to the center of Samarkand. The train station is some 30min away. We enjoyed walking around the pond, jogging in the mornings (about 6km round trip), or strolling over to the Eternal City (40min leisurely walk). There's a fascinating water fountain show nearby in the evenings.

Breakfast in the restaurant was excellent. A lot to choose from, international and local dishes. The swimming pool and sauna were equally enjoyable. Gym looked fantastic, but we didn't get to test it out --- spending time outside made more sense. Executive lounge is stylish, but what really made the difference was how kind the staff was there. Evening canapé (6pm-8pm) and drinks were just right to relax after a busy day visiting sights in and around the city.

I would also like to give kudos to the front desk and the front desk manager, Emre. Unfortunately, corporate Hilton and Diamond desk made a big snafu with our reservation (sorry, no Amex accepted in UZ, which caused many issues). Although this was out of his control, Emre was kind and apologetic, and tried to rectify the situation as much as he could.

We hope to be back in Hilton Samarkand Regency...

This Hotel boasts facilities that clearly mark it as a premium property, featuring an impressive design and grand amenities. The initial impression made by the elegant lobby and well-appointed rooms, complete with comprehensive amenities, sets a high standard. Additionally, its resort setting—featuring a small shopping mall and various other facilities—adds to its allure, despite being located outside the city center. Access to town was straightforward, minimizing the inconvenience of its remote location.

However, our experience was marred by persistent service issues, prompting us to lower our rating as the hotel did not meet the high expectations associated with a premium 5-star establishment. Service lapses were widespread, from slow check-in processes where we received incorrect keys twice, to a complimentary shuttle that mistakenly dropped us at a staff entrance. Significant communication barriers also emerged; the staff's struggle with English hindered our interactions. For instance, during breakfast, the staff could not understand simple requests for omelettes or hard-boiled eggs and seemed reluctant to engage, likely due to concerns over language difficulties.

While there were commendable staff members who tried their best, the overall impression was that the service standards did not align with what one would expect from a Hilton hotel. Given that Hilton only took over this property four months ago, there is potential for significant improvement. With focused enhancements in staff training, particularly in language skills and customer service, the hotel has the potential to excel and truly live up to its luxurious design...

I am really disappointed about the service especially given the bad location to the city. The points that accumulated over the stay are:

The reception is slow and partially not occupied so we had to wait almost each single time. Additionally they failed to leave a deposit so that we had to check back after having a drink at the bar.

Further we only received one set of towels, which wasn’t even noticed by the room service, so we had to request and wait for a second set.

Also our dinner during the last night in the hotel just left us disappointed. We waited quite a while for the starter and after finishing and waiting another 20 min, we were told that the dishes we ordered were no longer available.

we wanted to bridge the time at the pool and spa until our train departure and booked 2 massages as well. After check-out and us coming back from the city, we were told that we are no longer guests and can’t use the facilities, even though we had the massages booked.

Lastly, the service in the breakfast area is absolutely not attentive. We entered the room and half of the tables were empty but not cleaned. After I had to request a table being cleaned we started our breakfast. The fun part was that after we went to get something else, the table was cleaned and other people were placed there, even though our room card was still on the table. After us pointing that out we were offered to sit somewhere else.

I would usually not point out these things but for that hotel level it isn‘t acceptable. Aside from that the rooms and facilities are...