Yyldyz

This hotel was a very big surprise for me. It is labeled as a 5 star hotel and trully is. The rooms are shockingly big and the amenities provided are for a true 5 star hotel. The bed is very large and the room setup is more than confortable and functional. The one big plus is the desk behind the bed and near the refrigerator and the coffee machine. The hotel provided good speed Wi-Fi and also a walled LAN socket. Everything is provided for your own confort and relaxation. Digital TV is available and frankly I never got to the end of the channel zapping, after two days spent there. The bathroom is very large and suprisingly you have both shower and bathtub in the same room. The toilet and bidet are located in a separate space which is closed by a glass door. Two bathrobes were provided, as well as various toiletries, including a shaving kit. The breakfast is very good and you can chose from a large selection of food and fruits. The 18th floor restaurant is also very nice and with a nice view over Ashgabat. After experiencing two breakfasts and two dinners here, I am sure that the hotel has a very good chef on its payroll. The spa is very large and quite practical. Be aware that there are two pool areas, a smaller one usually frequented by children and elderly peole and a larger one which is perfect for doing laps. The size of it is of around 30-35 meters, which makes it slightly bigger than a semi-olympic one. Changing rooms, lockers, showers, towels, everything is provided there. A word of caution though: if you want to reach the spa by pressing the -2 level elevator button and if you exit the elevator when you reach the -2 level you might get trapped in a very tight and dark space, as the elevator doors are closing very quickly behind you. Some metallic doors at the spa entrance are locked and they posted a small sign on the door. The problem is that one does not expect that door to be locked and is ignoring the writing on the door, thinking that it might be some sort of welcome message or a specific indication or request. It happened to me, I stepped outside the elevator and doors quickly closed behind me. The space was of 40 cm wide between these metallic doors and the elevator doors. After 10-15 minutes of pushing the elevator buttons, the elevator finally arrived and I rescued myself from this trap. So, if you want to avoind situations like this, just exit the elevator at the ground level and just take the stairs from the lobby down to the spa.

It was my second time at the hotel and compared to my first experience about 9 years ago, the stay was much more pleasurable. The hotel is as beautiful as its images, or more so, unless your eyes are easily strained by the abundance of gold :) The rooms are large and airy (try to get an odd-numbered room, then it won't be facing this large ensemble of heating aggregates outside that make permanent humming noise. Not loud but noticeable). The restaurant is actually surprisingly nice and has an abundant menu, and my Carbonara one evening was so good that I didn't hesitate to order it again (although the manty that waited for 45 minutes were sadly underwhelming). A special word goes to the staff of the hotel that goes above and beyond to make the guests feel really cared for. Their flexibility, friendliness, availability and a word of advice were greatly appreciated.

A stunning hotel with great views over the city of Ashgabat. The lobby is impressive, staff are helpful. The room was a really good size with nice bathroom. The bed wasn't very comfortable but overall it was a good stay. Food in the upstairs restaurant was surprisingly good. The carpet shop in the lobby is great to pick up a carpet - good prices. Shame the outdoor pool was closed already despite it being around 30 degrees and sunny