AQ miniHOTEL

太棒了 这个价格和设施让你想不到的满意

Great hotel with a hostel feel - you get your own tiny space, comfortable bed and pillows, free laundry+dryer, lovely English speaking staff, kitchen and coworking - amazing. No windows in most of the rooms but enough storage space, a small table and good lightning. I’d happily stay there for longer.

After a long 12 1/2 hours on the train from Almaty, I really liked that this modern accommodation is a short walk from the station. I like the principle of this hotel - that costs can be kept down by providing small individual rooms. I opted for the slightly bigger rooms on the upper floor, which I think was a good move. The room has a comfortable single bed; two lighting options; a modern desk and chair with various power points for gadgets; an under-the-bed large drawer and a large cabinet above the foot of the bed. The room was wide enough - just - that I could keep my backpack open on the floor and get around it to the bed. Rooms are arranged in clusters of four, each grouping having a common door onto the corridor. An ironing station is set up at the end of the corridor on the upper floor. The men's bathroom facilities are on the lower/ground floor - attractive modern wash basins, good showers and a sauna area (that I didn't check out).

I was surprised at how impersonal/clinical/sterile the property is. Aside from an attractive display of regional headgear in the small reception area, the mini-hotel really could be anywhere. There are essentially two communal areas. In the kitchen, there are two tall fridges where guests can store food. The space is dominated by a large 'the last supper' table, probably designed for those paying for breakfast? Actual food preparation space is minimal given the number of potential guests in the property - I saw one guest microwaving an item. and that was about it for three days. The other communal area is a long bench of where guests can use their devices, plus a relatively small sofa and, at the far end of the room, an area for prayers. Although I liked the modern bathroom facilities, I have some issue with cleanliness. There was mould at the rear left and right of all of the washbasins. One of the toilets was blocked off for the entire stay (due to low occupancy?); at different times the toilet tissue in the accessible toilets was overflowing. Others will feel differently, but my main concern is that the whole building is climate-controlled 24/7 - there is no natural air flow and minimal natural light in the whole building. Each cluster of four rooms has its own mini-corridor and at the doorway is a thermostat for regulating the temperature of all four rooms. This works ok when the occupants keep the temperature at a constant, sensible temperature - however, it is problematic when three occupants suddenly find their room substantially warmer or colder due to the actions of the fourth person ... Note that the mini-hotel is roughly two kilometres or so from the commercial centre of town where there are a good range of restaurants and cafes. In the immediate vicinity of the mini-hotel, one is limited to a few basic shops/convenience stores behind a major bus stop around the corner from the property.

Concept was nice.

Large groups of people that weren’t travelers that seemed to take over the place.