Hotels in Almaty

Planning a visit to Almaty and looking for a place to stay? No doubt the first thing that comes to anyone's mind is Tripadvisor with the ratings and hints by other travelers. You can check information on any of the 45 available hotels in Almaty, both big and small properties. You will find ratings, stars, hints, complaints, appreciations, and rates.

Let's observe the market of the most popular hotels here. I bet many hotel names will not even ring a bell for you, so the list below is made of international brands or consortia.

5*

So, if you have enough cash or your company pays for luxury services, go for 5 stars, InterContinental Hotel (IHG Group), Royal Tulip (Holland brand), and Rixos (Turkish brand).

So, InterContinental is said to be the best in terms of services. The property is beautiful. The hotel was the first itnernational brand in Almaty. It has been number 1 on Tripadvisor for a long time until recently. Free wi-fi available, plus three on-site restaurants.

Royal Tulip is pretty new, huge hotel on the way to the mountains. Beautiful panorama but quite far from the downtown.

Rixos is in downtown, it has an amazing lobby full of light because of the glass roof. Nice atmosphere.

These three hotels are quite comparable in terms of their amenities and facilities.

4*
If you are looking for a more moderate option, let's have a look at 4-stars. Currently there is only one international mid-scale hotel in the area - Holiday Inn Almaty (IHG Group). It is located centrally and ideal for businessmen. Free wi-fi is available in all areas.

Worldhotels Saltanat is another new hotel, modern style, 60 rooms. Quite popular and is number 1 on Tripadvisor.

You can always check the reviews on Tripadvisor, or booking.com or directly the websites, and social media (facebook or twitter).

Olympics 2012

London is a cynosure of all eyes these days! All nations are glued to their TVs shouting for their countrymen. Summer Olympics 2012 are on till the end of this week. China and US are taking the lead competing for the 1st place. Amazing results, 34 and 30 gold medals!

Kazakhstan was quite impressive during the first days. It was number 4 at the beginning, and was earning gold medals only, six gold medals, no silver or bronze during the first week. Tweeter was bursting with comments about the country which "doesn't exist" and strong people of Kazakhstan who set new world records in weightlifting.

First bronze medal this week, and now Italy, Germany, and Russia are taking over. Currently Kazakhstan is number 10. Let's watch and see how it goes. Stay tuned and support the participants. They need it. Good luck to all teams and sportsmen from all over the world!!! After all, the fact that Olympic Games tradition is being kept through years symbolizes peace in the world.

Internet in KZ

One the blog readers mentioned in a comment that she would like to know about internet connection here. Strange enough but it varies depending on the device, carrier, and place!

Ok, let's figure out where you are... If you are staying in a hotel, unfortunately you will not get a free wi-fi access. You will be charged, and most probably, a lot. So, just skip it unless you are in an emergency. I know that InterContinental Almaty and Holiday Inn Almaty (InterContinental Hotels Group) are offering free wi-fi with certain speed/traffic limits.

Let's look for other possible places to get connected and let your facebook friends know of your recent updates. First choice is finding a free wi-fi spot. Cafes, restaurants, malls, wherever you see "free wi-fi" icon. Some places have restricted access to clients only, in this case you need to request for a password. Connection is not always perfect, though.

If you are not in a hotel, but say, renting an apartment, make sure that this apartment has internet connection. It is included in the rent anyway. Megaline is a popular provider. Around 5,000 KZT (which is approx. 33 USD) monthly charges and you have 40 Gb internet for skyping, facebooking, twittering, video streaming, and whatever you need internet for. I have not used it, so I can't tell you whether the connection is good.

Option number 3, if you can't use any of the above, is visiting one of the internet clubs. There are a number of them with prices ranging from 250 to 400 KZT (1.5 to 2.5 USD per hour), you just need to find a spot saying Internet Cafe, or Internet Club, or any other weird name. Now all of them have earphones and mikes for skyping. You pay depending on number of minutes or hours you wanna spend and go ahead to use you Kbs! But, once your resources are depleted, you are cut! So if you are applying for SEVIS and want no interruptions, there is a clock icon reminding you how many minutes you've used and how many you still have. So if you time is almost up, run to the cashier and pay extra! :) Be aware of kids though in these places. Very often these internet spots have computers hooked up to internet and... yes, video games. If you get in one of those places, not even ear plugs will help cause kids scream so loud, you will not be able to work... So watch out!

Next is mobile internet. 3G. If you get a mobile phone number, you just go ahead and use internet. In some cases you need to sign up for that, which is free, and you just need to give a command (google the website of carrier). Connection is very good, but make sure that you get internet settings on your phone. I know that for Beeline you need to send "internet" to 800 and here you go, you get the settings and you save them. Otherwise, your total bill will be scary :) . I know that for K-mobile unlimited data is 60 tenge per day, or 1,800 tenge per month (USD 12 per month) for smart phones, and cheaper for other phones. High speed internet up to 100 MB per day, with slow down after.

And last but not the least is a USB. You can get a USB with internet from a mobile carrier. I know that Beeline and Kcell have those, but I am not sure of the connection and charges.

Back to online marketing

Back home in Kazakhstan for good. Time definitely flies. Two years of amazing life in the US full of new friends, knowledge, experience, and traveling are over. Missing DC terribly and would love to go back.

My farewell to DC. Bird's view... 8 hours of flight and the rising sun is welcoming in Germany.

Sad, but life goes on. It is time to implement the knowledge that I got in tourism and hospitality!

Just less than a month here, but my first impression is : Yes, I have a culture shock that I've been warned about! As my boss, a General Manager of a hotel, told me before I was leaving the States: "You will feel as a foreigner in your native land. You will have to adjust to this environment again". So true. I really do understand now what my other foreign colleagues were telling me about my country and what they were feeling when they visited KZ.

Second, no job yet. I was so excited to come back and implement the skills that I got at school and new things that I learned over there. But, the reality is that there is no job for me so far. So I will continue writing this blog and improve my online marketing skills. I have a great passion for that, so no time wasted!

By the way, I have another blog now. Just two short posts with videos about my travels to US and Dominican Republic.

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Kazakh Music Concert in DC

Date:    Wednesday, October 13
Time:    7:30pm - 9:00pm
Venue:  Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center - Amphitheater
             1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington DC