Whilst on route between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, we stayed for one night in Uzbekistan at the Hotel Asia Fergana, one of a small chain of five hotels in Uzbek Silk Road cities.
The rather striking looking receptionist with excellent English suggested a king-size bed and quickly arranged for a porter to take us to our room which was in a different block behind the main area – this was a large, relatively modern hotel with 130 rooms.
The reasonably large room had a comfortable bed, with bedside tables, lights and charging points. There was the usual TV, fridge, desk and chair, and two casual chairs with a coffee table. The wardrobe contained additional pillows, the safe, robes and slippers. Bottled water was provided and whilst there was a kettle, that was the extent of the tea and coffee making facilities. All in all, there was everything you’d expect in a four-star hotel. The door had a list of 35 items with prices ‘in the case of hotel property damage’ with the TV being the most expensive at 4million Som or £243, and the cheapest, a non-existent saucer at 10,000 or 61p. I felt I should undertake an inventory and report the missing items to avoid being charged.
The bathroom had a decent walk in shower and in the absence of any other notes I made at the time, must have been fine.
There was both indoor and outdoor swimming pools, and we headed for a late afternoon beer at the latter. On arrival, we’d checked that credit cards were taken, so when the barman tried to insist it was cash only, we insisted it wasn’t. Whilst the beer was chilled, and crisps were sold, it wasn’t the most relaxing drink, as the pool filter gurgled noisily, and midges and ants appeared.
On our way back to our room, we stopped at the restaurant to check out the availability of wine at dinner. A helpful young man said he would chill our chosen bottle, and suggested ordering in advance to avoid a 10-to-30-minute wait, which we did.
Although there was an outdoor terrace attached to the restaurant, we sat indoors as it was much lighter, and we wanted to avoid an English group and more biters. The interior had a wedding vibe feel with huge chandeliers, frescoes on the walls and ceilings, and elegant furniture.
The chilled wine was poured, and despite ordering our hot appetizer of cheese sticks, they took 20 minutes, but the lovely boy apologised when serving them. The two mains, tomato pappardelle and chicken in mushroom sauce, followed in due course which made us wonder how long we would have waited if we’d not pre-ordered. When the bill arrived, it was just for the food, 241,500 Som or the price of the blanket in the room. We were told verbally how much the alcohol was but that we couldn’t have a bill for it, which seemed a little odd and we had to pay in two credit card transactions.
Breakfast, available from 7am to 10am, was well laid out with yoghurt, cereals, fresh juicy apricots, peaches and cherries, cold meats and cheeses, olives and pickles and an assortment of bread. Hot dishes included pink sausages, boiled eggs, pieces of omelette, irresistible crisp chips and a chicken dish. Along with a selection of lovely cakes and a filter coffee machine it was a perfect end to a slightly unusual experience.
