Stay Report: Hyatt Regency Bishkek (Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan - September 2024)

   Stay Report: Hyatt Regency Bishkek
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When traveling to Bishkek, there were a couple of options for hotels in the city.  I was looking for a hotel that was centrally located and had access to transportation services since part of my flight left early in the morning.  While doing to research, I noticed Hyatt was having a deal on their properties within Central Asia and so I was getting a good deal on the room and it included Club Access, so I decided to book the Hyatt Regency Bishkek.  It was very easy to book the room via the Hyatt app and very easy to communicate with the hotel regarding airport transportation (airport transportation is not included but can be arranged from the hotel).  The hotel is located near the city center and thus is a 45-minute drive from the airport.  From the hotel, it is a 10-15 minute walk to many of the city's attractions and main restaurants and you can also easily access transportation from the hotel.  One of the key perks of the hotel is that the staff generally have a good command of English so it is easy to connect and communicate requests.  

From the outside the hotel does not look like much but it is grand, but dated, on the inside.  You enterinto a wide lobby that had the check-in desks towards the back, a sitting area in the front, as well as access to the restaurant and the elevators.  There was also a money changer and ATM located next to the check-in desks.  The lobby looked nice, had plenty of seating space, and look decently refurbished but you could tell it was an older property.  I quickly checked-in and received the key to my club room floor room. 

The hallway was laid out in a T with the elevators on the long side and rooms jutting out from either side.  The club room was in the middle across from the elevators.  The room itself was nice and spacious, a bit outdated, but comfortable and had all the amenities.  As you entered, there was a sitting area to the left and a desk right in front.  Next to the desk was a chest with drawers on the bottom and a TV on top.   Next to the TV were windows that covered the entire length of the wall and it led to the bed which was across from the TV on the other side of the room.  It was a double size bed, big enough and comfortable enough but definitely not a newer bed.  There were bedside tables on either side.  The bathroom was located behind the bedroom and you could access it through a hallway which also contained the big closets.  The bathroom itself was a good size and contained a sink, a toilet, and a walk-in shower; very nice amenities and very comfortable but again not the newest appliances or furnishings.  The bathroom also came with complimentary soap, lotion, body wash, and many other toiletries, and the room came with a complimentary fruit basket and complimentary water.  Overall, the room was spacious and comfortable just not the newest furnishings.

My room came with Club Access and I was on the Club Floor which made access very convenient.  As you entered the Club Room, there was the dining area in front which offered complimentary hors d'oeuvres and a cocktail reception in the evening.  All the time they offered complimentary tea, coffee, water, and soft drinks.  There was a small seating area and a computer and printer so you can get some work done.  The cocktail reception food was decent and filing enough and the complimentary drinks were very good.  The hotel is a full service hotel so other amenities included a restaurant, a fitness center, a pool, complimentary wifi, as well as concierge services.  The service was very good and really attentive to the guests.

Overall it was a comfortable stay at the Hyatt Regency Bishkek.  The staff was outstanding and the location was central to many of the cities attractions.  The room was comfortable if a bit older but was comfortable and offered a spacious and good nights sleep.  Complimentary wifi was strong enough to stream videos as well as do work; so overall a pleasant stay in Bishkek with Hyatt Regency.

Trip Report: AirArabia, Sharjah to Almaty; Bishkek to Sharjah (September 2024)

 Trip Report: Air Arabia, Sharjah to Almaty; Bishkek to Sharjah
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I wanted to travel from Pakistan to Central Asia on a visit to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.  In looking for options, online searches came back with FlyDubai but there was a really long layover in Dubai which did not seem appealing so I continued to look and that is when I looked into FlyJinnah and AirArabia.  I have reviewed the FlyJinnah portion in a separate review (found here) as for this review I will forcus on the AirArabia portion.  AirArabia is a low-cost carrier based out of Sharjah in the UAE (Sharjah is the Emirate located next to Dubai).  They had a big network covering AirArabia Middle East, AirArabia Marob, and now FlyJinnah covering Pakistan.  Because they are all part of the AirArabia family, you can book multiple sectors and connecting flights on one ticket.  Even though I was flying FlyJinnah + AirArabia, I could and did book my travel on AirArabia's website and selected the flight in which the Pakistan to Sharjah and Sharjah to Pakistan flights were to be operated by FlyJinnah and the Sharjah to Central Asia flights operated by AirArabia.  

 

AirArabia is a low-cost carrier meaning the base ticket includes a personal pack plus a carry-on, everything else needs to be charged for.  I choose to pay for my seats as I prefer certain seats on the plane and I paid for luggage.  The seat costs were not bad and I was able to get an aisle seat near the front of the plane for not a high cost; the luggage charge was also not that high and included a checked bag of 30kg which is a generous portion.  Once I booked my ticket, I could use the same confirmation code on either site to manage my booking.  This review will be a compilation of my two flights on AirArabia - from Sharjan to Central Asia and from Central Asia to Sharjah - as both were operated by the same aircraft and both had a similar experience.  For the check-in experience, I only experienced AirArabia check-in on the outbound.  I arrived at the airport 3-hours in advance to ensure check-in went ok; the process was chaotic with little organization but I received both boarding passes and my luggage was tagged to my final destination.  I had talked about some of the security and other issues that I had experienced on my flights with FlyJinnah, and some of the issues continued with my flight on AirArabia.   

AirArabia's policy is that boarding is supposed to be in groups, starting with the rear of the aircraft.  As was my experience with FlyJinnah, on AirArabia for both sectors this was only mildly adhered to as once the plane got halfway full everyone was allowed to board to ensure an on-time departure.  Both operating aircraft was an Airbus A320 which had a cabin laid in a 3-3 seat layout.  Both flights were not completely full so the chaotic boarding ended, manual safety demonstrations commenced, and we pushed back for an on-time departure.  The seats itself were basic and decent for a low-cost carrier, not padded seats but there was decent amount of legroom.  For both sectors I luckily had the entire row to myself but if there was another passenger next to me, that could be uncomfortable as the seat width was narrow.  For both sectors, the flight time was a bit over 3hours and after the second/third hour you got to feel the uncomfortableness of the seat.  On both sectors, most of the announcements were done by prerecorded statements which were done in Arabic and English.  On both sectors, the attendants seemed not interested nor caring in neither their job.  For my low-cost carriers, paying for a seat is big business so many are strict as to ensure passengers do not sit in a sit they did not pay for; this was not the case with AirArabia.  On both sectors, many passengers who had not paid for seats and thus were allocated seats in the back moved up in the middle of the flight to the front of the plane where seat selection came at a costs.  

As detailed earlier, AirArabia is a low-cost company which means there is no inflight complimentary service.  You can preorder meals and drinks, and certain upgraded tickets come with meals, but generally everything is buy on-board.  As soon as we reached cruising altitude, the FA's came down the aisle for you to purchase snacks or drinks.  My first flight departed at 9pm so coming by within the first hour of the flight made sense; the return flight left at 3am so most of the passengers were sleeping.  Instead of waiting until the end to conduct the service, thus ensuring more revenue, the FA's came around at the beginning when most passengers were sleeping.  Also, service was only conducted once and within the first hour even though both sectors were 3hr+; other low cost carriers would've come back towards the end of the flight to increase revenue and purchase of items.  Despite it being a low-cost airline, complimentary entertainment was provided through streaming to your device.  Once you connected to the internet, you can stream movies, TV shows, and other programs for free.  Other airlines also showed a flight map, the inflight menu, or other items when you are connected to the entertainment but AirArabia only had the entertainment. 

Overall, how was my experience on AirArabia?  Similar to FlyJinnah, it was not very good.  Positives were that you are able to book multi-country journeys on one ticket and there was no issue with that.  Another positive was the consistent product with similar planes, similar seats, and similar service.  Last positive was that complimentary entertainment was provided which is a nice gesture for a low-cost carrier.  Negatives were the lack of support/padding on the seats, the lack of attention from the FA's, and generally the chaotic boarding and nature of how the airline operated.  Did we depart ontime, yes; did I and my baggage make it to my destination, yes.  Was it comfortable, definitely not.  For this route, I had a choice between AirArabia or FlyDubai; AirArabia was less expensive and had less overflight time but if I had to choose again, I would probably choose FlyDubai as they seem less chaotic and better overall product.