Find the Cheap Burabay District Hotels

The taxi took our group almost 3 hours from Astana city center to this very secluded hotel in Burabay National Park. The facilities are definitely world class and top notch. Security check was made for every car entering the compound. Next to the hotel was a ******. We arrived before 12 noon and none of the rooms are ready, although the hotel looked pretty empty. Not all staff could speak English well. We were pleasantly surprised that the bell boy had a better command of English than the front desk staff. Situated next to the lake, we enjoyed the bicycle ride around the vicinity. Bike rental was available for 1000KZT per hour at the Entertainment Center. Communication wasn't a problem as we had Google Translate (English - Russian). The staff was very nice and showed us the bike track where we could cycle around the lake. We had a great time. The hotel's adventure organizer, Mirana, helped us to arrange a private group tour around the Burabay area and gave us a trekking hike to one of the tallest point in the area where we had a bird's eye view of the lake. Food was good at the hotel. Breakfast was included and the spread was good. Hotel can help to arrange private transport back to Astana. It was a great experience for the group.

Wow, definitely *not* worth the price! We paid for a room with a king-size bed, and we got a room with 2 (uncomfortable no less) twin beds pushed together. See photo below. Room service was substandard and overpriced. We ordered lattes in the morning, and they were small, made with poor quality coffee, and arrived lukewarm yet cost about $4.50 each. The customer service was also substandard, with only a couple of the front desk staff with whom we dealt being helpful and friendly (one woman named Violetta was wonderful), and the rest dismissive and more what I'd expect at a budget hotel. Eggs and potatoes for continental breakfast came out of the warmers lukewarm, and the coffee served for breakfast was quite bad. I would have been fine with most of this -- with the exception of the bed issue which seems practically akin to fraud given the difference in price the hotel charges for 2 twin beds versus a king -- if we'd paid $180 or so per night rather than the $230 per night we actually paid.