Orient Hotel Bishkek

This was the worst hotel experience I've had in recent memory: when I arrived, the hotel told me that my reservation wasn't valid because they no longer work with the website, and they charged me 2.5 times the price of my reserved room. It was obviously just a ploy to charge a higher rate, and even if it was a mistake, they should've honored the price I reserved online. When I arrived in the room and went to shower, I discovered that there was no hot water. I called the front desk, and they told me to let the water run for five minutes. When the wi-fi also didn't work, they sent the bellboy. By then, the shower had been running for over five minutes, but still no hot water. The bell boy said to let it run for 10 minutes. You guessed it, hot water never arrived. The toilet also didn't function properly, and the breakfast spread was depressing. Meanwhile, the service was lousy and rude. Finally, when I went to check out, they told me to wait five minutes. Given that I had already paid, and that I remember what they said about waiting five minutes for hot water, I simply walked out. I'll never return and strongly recommend that no one else stay there as well.

I stayed there for a week. Staff at the reception were friendly, helpful and professional. They spoke very good English and were easy to communicate with. Breakfast was great and the view from the restaurant was breathtaking. I also went to their restaurant for a dinner, the food was of fine dining style, but the glass of wine that I ordered was evidently left open for too long therefore became too acidic. The room I had was a small one and it was opposite the lift and was very close to the purified water dispenser. The toilet smelled badly in the morning due to some kind of sewage issue, but the smell improved over the day until the next morning. I did not bother to ask the staff about this problem - I probably should. Toiletries were not the best quality ones, therefore I would recommend BYO toothbrush, soap etc. Bed was made daily although the tea and coffee bags were not replenished regularly. Bedding was very comfortable and clean. Wifi was not stable at all, I had to constantly move my laptop around, attempting to find a better wifi spot in my room. I ended up doing my work in the restaurant during breakfast. For business travellers, not having stable wifi is really frustrating. There are some good coffee shops and restaurants nearby, and some pharmacies within walking distance. Overall, this is a decent hotel and is of good value for money. Will probably return next time when I visit Bishkek again, if the wifi is improved.