Stay Report: Holiday Inn Express Almaty
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I was traveling to Almaty and was looking for a decent but inexpensive place to stay. I also was arriving early in the morning so needed to book an extra day to ensure the room was available, so keeping all this in mind I found the Holiday Inn Express Almaty. I generally do not stay in Holiday Inn Express in the States because their quality is generally an issue, but overseas their quality seems to be better and I recently stayed at one in Warsaw which was very nice (review here). I was able to book the reservation through the IHG website and was able to manage the reservation through the app. I was able to communicate with the hotel via email, but the communication was a challenge and I will expand on that a bit later.
I arrived early in the morning so I wanted to prebook a car pickup but unfortunately due tocommunication issues this was not possible. Communication continued to be a challenge at check-in and throughout my stay with the front desk as English was not their language of communication. The hotel itself is located on the outskirts of the city, approximately 45mins away from the airport, but within walking distance to many sights and shops including about a 5-7mins walk to the Forum and a 20min walk to Kok Tobe. From the outside, the hotel is a very tall building and looks like a converted Soviet-esque building that was remodeled into the Holiday Inn Express. Inside, the hotel looks recently updated and newish. As you enter the building, straight ahead are the check-in desks and a small waiting area. The elevators are the to left and as walk through you pass more seating area, the bar area, the 'business center' and next to the elevators is the dining area where the breakfast is served. Due to the communication issue, check-in took some time but I finally got my key and went to the room.
As I opened the door, the room looked updated and resembled the modern layout of the HI Express room. As you entered the room, on the left was the entrance to the bathroom and straight ahead was the main room. The bathroom was a bit tiny and was more along the European size of the bathroom and contained a toilet, a sink, and a shower. The sink had Dove hand wash and Dove products were also in the shower. The bathroom was decent but tiny and compact. The room itself though was not compact and had enough room to maneuver around and for the luggage. Just next to the door to the bathroom was an open closet and next to the that was a luggage stand with a safe underneath. There was a small nook across from the closet on the other side of the room that contained the iron and ironing board. Further into the room, along the left side of the wall was a table/desk plus chair and the along the wall was the bed with a nightstand on either side. The bed was a decent size and comfortable enough for a good nights sleep. The table/desk was small but big enough to get some work done and there were charging ports and plugs near the desk which were convenient. Across from the bed, along the other side of the wall, was a TV mounted on the wall and underneath was a stand for additional storage, the coffee maker, and complimentary bottles of water. The complimentary bottles of water was a nice touch and each day the bottles were replenished. Overall it was a decent if not compact room; the bed was comfortable and provided a good nights sleep and there were enough charging ports that were easily accessible.
Holiday Inn Express hotels are not full service hotels but they do provide some amenities. This hotelincluded complimentary wifi, complimentary breakfast, a business center which contained two computers in the lobby, plenty of seating area in the lobby, and a bar area. The wifi was decent and you could connect as many devices as you wanted. The breakfast was complimentary and included complimentary tea and coffee, but the selection was a bit limited and not as plentiful or varied as the one in Warsaw.
Overall, it was an average and comfortable stay at the Holiday Inn Express. The room was a decent size and provided a good nights sleep; the wifi was decent and could connect many devices; and the hotel was within walking distance to sights and shops. Negatives included limited variation for the breakfast and communication issues with the front desk.
