On our tour of Central Asia, we stayed at two places in Turkmenistan, a simple yurt camp in the desert, and the 5-star glitzy Yyldyz Hotel in the capital, Ashgabat. The hotel’s website boasts ‘it is one of the best hotels in Turkmenistan’, and needless to say, the contrast was immense.
Check-in was slick, and we were soon ensconced in the absolutely massive room 510 – on the fifth of 19 floors. The room was extravagantly furnished in shades of cream with a king-size bed, wardrobe with four kinds of hangars, robes and slippers, safe, desk with chair, armchair, coffee table, and large TV. Bottled water was complimentary and there was an empty fridge and tea and coffee making facilities, which included a coffee machine minus the pods. The AC worked well, and although social media channels and some internet sites are banned in Turkmenistan, a VPN meant our access was not restricted.
The bathroom had a separate loo with bidet, a walk-in shower and also a bath. Despite the shower having the largest shower head I’ve ever seen, it was so high that by the time the water reached your body, it lacked power, and whilst the flexible shower head had a more powerful spray, the angle could not be changed to horizontal. So, in terms of shower performance only a 7 out of 10 as water also Ieaked under the door. There was lots of space and every kind of toiletries you needed along with a good mirror and hair dryer combination. Sadly, there was also a set of bathroom scales, which if you read my review ‘Eating out in Ashgabat’ you will know was not good.
At the 19th floor bar, we were the only customers and having asked for a pre-dinner G&T with ice, the barman asked, ‘one or two’ and we eventually realised he was talking ice cubes. The Gordon’s gin was the same price as the tonic and although we’d ordered at the bar, a 15% service charge was added. Having asked to sign to the room, I was told it was either cash in Manat or dollars. As English was limited, I went to reception who told me a convoluted story about using the official bank rate of 3.5 which bizarrely turned $14 cash, into $29 if paid by credit card. I don’t need to tell you how we paid. On our second night, the barman invited us on to the ‘terrace’ to take photos, but it was quite a restricted view as the space was so small and there was no seating.
There was an indoor pool which we didn’t see, an outdoor pool full of weekending families, and a spa we didn’t have time to use.
Breakfast, 7am to 10.30am, was served in the fourth-floor restaurant and was fine, but unexceptional. There were cereals, a limited range of fruit and yoghurts, salad, cheese and cold meats, bread, cakes and pancakes. The four hot dishes were rice, vegetables in a tomato sauce, porridge and something unidentifiable. However, there was a coffee machine which also provided hot milk which made a nice change from the green tea we’d been drinking. We also discovered a doorway onto a large terrace which was great for taking photographs.
Having been out since 8am, it was disappointing to find that at 4pm, the cleaning ladies were only next door with our room remaining unserviced, and we asked for it to be done earlier the following day.
The hotel, distinctively shaped like a water droplet, is located a little out of town in the foothills of the Kopetdag mountains, and it provides excellent views, and is also visible practically from any part of Ashgabat. However, unless you have your own transport, which we did, you will be a captive audience in terms of eating and drinking as it is rather isolated.
On checking out at 3.30am for an early flight, we were asked ‘Did you have anything from the mini bar?’ (we had an empty fridge) and ‘Did you use any Nespresso pods?’ (we had a machine, but no pods). The latter prompted our guide to quip that the coffee machine was a statue not a machine. The receptionist also ensured we did not forget to pay the $2 per person per night tourist tax.
