KARAVANSARAY Turkistan Harbour Hotel - Free FLYING THEATRE Entrance

We stayed two nights at the Karavansaray Khaganate Hotel in Turkistan in late June 2024 and enjoyed it very much. The hotel is in an excellent location in the very walkable pedestrianised Karavansaray shopping-and-entertainment complex. This is right in the heart of a new, largely pedestrianised development in the city centre, and right next to the complex of the Khoja Ahmed Yassawi Mausoleum, the primary tourist attraction of the city. This made it very easy and enjoyable to walk from the hotel to the mausoleum area. The hotel itself is also very nice, with nice decor and rooms. However, the hotel has two separate buildings. One, the main and fancier hotel building, is right next to the main parking area and overlooks the "lake" which is a focal point of the complex. The other hotel building, less expensive, is at the other end of the Karavansaray complex, making it about a 10 minute walk between the buildings. This second one is not as nice, the rooms have only a view of nearby apartments and streets, and it is next to the family fun centre. The main one is a little more expensive and has nicer rooms with balconies overlooking the complex's lake, where there are light shows. However,both are nice and have attractive rooms with nice showers, beds, and toilets. One just needs to verify which area one is booking for. This was not clear when we booked, so we got a more expensive room for ourselves with a balcony overlooking the lake and and we got a less expensive room for our adult daughter which happened to be in the other building. It was fine, but helpful to know in advance.

This place is like a palace. It is huge! The hotel rooms are enormous and modernized. Beds are plush and comfortable. Showers are excellent. And, most importantly A/C works great, which is important when it's 100 F outside. Staff were kind and helpful at all times. We enjoyed a huge feast for dinner at their restaurant and an amazing breakfast. The water show was fun to view from our room. This is definitely the place to stay if you ever find yourself in Turkistan!

We would not recommend this hotel nor visit again. Our decision to stay here was influenced by our frequent visits to the Land of Legends and the hotel's similar concept. However, the service fell far short of a 5-star experience, leaving us eager to depart. Upon arranging a taxi through the hotel for airport pickup, we experienced significant delays in being collected. It turned out that the taxi was waiting outside the airport, a fact that was not communicated to us. While all other taxis and hotel pickups were typically found in the arrivals waiting area, this particular situation caused confusion. After we paid the taxi driver directly, the hotel insisted that we pay the same amount again. When questioned, they justified this by claiming that the driver had to wait because he arrived at 1:20 PM. This is where our frustration peaked. I had provided my flight details to the hotel; although my flight was scheduled to land at 1:20 PM, it actually arrived about 10 minutes later. Considering the standard procedures for passport control and luggage collection, a minimum of half an hour buffer should have been anticipated. It is reasonable to expect the hotel and taxi service to monitor the live status of flights and adjust accordingly. The staff members who checked us in, including the man and the lady at the front desk, were notably unfriendly. There was no welcoming demeanor; instead, they simply requested our passports for check-in without providing any additional information unless prompted. Overall, the lack of professionalism and poor service we encountered during our stay left a lasting negative impression. In addition, there was an extremely unpleasant man at the hotel, wearing a grey jacket and having brown hair, who made us feel very unwelcome. He never wore a name badge, and his demeanor towards us was notably hostile. Despite observing him greet others kindly, we were left puzzled by his unwarranted attitude towards us. Interactions with him were met with terse, one-word answers, further adding to our discomfort. Visiting the reception desk became an experience we dreaded, primarily due to his unwelcoming behavior. Our experience at Rixos, on the other hand, was a stark contrast. The staff there were delightful, friendly, and always eager to assist. The presence of a swimming pool and spa facilities at Rixos further convinced us that staying there would be a more enjoyable option. Considering that Karavan Saray could be explored in a day, there seemed to be little reason to endure the subpar service at the current hotel and aside from offering flying theatre tickets, there is no other benefit of staying at this hotel! Breakfast was awful with stale and hard croissants and waffles and not much variety. The hotel staff require significant training in hosting guests and catering to tourists from diverse backgrounds. On two separate occasions, we requested a razor and tissues, and despite our calls, no staff member arrived with the