We stayed in the small Kyrgyz village of Bokonbaevo at the family-run Ulubek Guest House situated on a quiet street behind a set of huge metal gates. In the courtyard were nicely tended colourful flower beds and scenic murals on the walls.
Although there were 11 rooms over two floors, along with our guide and driver, we were the only guests in what appeared to be a modern, purpose-built place where shoes had to be removed at the entrance.
Our room was a good size with a double bed made from two singles and also a single bed and a shared bedside table. Two dining chairs and a coat rack were the extent of the furniture and as there was nowhere to open our case, we used the two chairs. Whilst there was no air conditioning, the WiFi worked well and there were plenty of charging points.
As there was only the four of us and two bathrooms, which would normally be shared, we had the sole use of one. The shower was pretty good, and the hairdryer was probably better than many salons.
The landing had a lounge area with comfortable sofas and coffee tables where we could ‘chill’ in front of the large TV screen showing a roaring log fire which was a little incongruous bearing in mind it was around 30 degrees outside.
Meals were served in a dining room at an oval communal table that would have seated twenty. We enjoyed a Greek-style salad, lentil soup with bread, followed by a meaty stew with mashed potato. Although our table was already laid with chak chak (deep fried dough drenched in honey), a huge fruit bowl with apricots, plums and grapes and a dish full of sweets and biscuits, we were also served ice cream making it one of the few places on our tour where we had dessert.
On arrival at breakfast our individual place settings had two slices of garlic sausage, two thin slices of cheese, bread and butter, a sweet muffin and cottage cheese with chocolate pieces. Despite ordering omelettes the previous night, they took a while to arrive, and when they did, they were so huge we could have shared.
This place was fine for the one night, but it might have been a different experience if it had been full.
