SanDiego1K

We plan to travel to Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan this fall. I expect to book a car and driver, and wonder what the best possible hotels are along our route. We will be staying in:

• Tashkent
• Khiva
• Nukus
• Ashgabat
• Mary
• Turkmenabat
• Bukhara
• Samarkand

KI-NRT

We'd also like to know, as we're thinking of a similar trip next Fall, with an almost identical itinerary:

Tashkent, Khiva, Kunya Urgench, Ashgabay, Merv, Mary, Bukhara, Samarkand

pricesquire

Would also like to know!

Kagehitokiri

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/luxur...ream-trip.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/luxur...l#post13857032

when various operators and destination management companies (virtuoso calls latter 'onsites') put their itineraries online, sometimes they are useful to see what hotels the companies use, as well as things like routes, logistics, sights. that information is separate from using the operator.
re OP area, might have some useful information >
http://www.remotelands.com/destination/uzbekistan
http://www.remotelands.com/destination/turkmenistan

LuxuryRogue

Tashkent: International Hotel (ex-IC) is slightly in front of Lotte Tashkent Palace (ex-Meridien)

Samarkand: shame, not even one good hotel

Ashgabat: at the time Hotel Prezident was the best. Now there is a Sofitel which looks very nice.

Don't miss the City of the Dead in Mizdakhan (near Nukus). This is the original Jewish (Khazar) homeland.

And maybe you can get on the nearby Island of Rebirth (ex-Soviet bio weapon lab). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vozrozhdeniya_Island

Derweze Gas Crater is probably on any itinerary now, rightfully.

The hotel infrastructure infrastructure in Tajikistan is better (Dushanbe: Serena, Hyatt Regency. Khorog: Serena).

SanDiego1K

LuxuryRogue, thank you for your comments.

I have decided to go with Avantour to make trip arrangements. The company has been recommended by several FTers. There are several luxury tour companies who advertise much the same travel in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan but at sharply higher prices. It's not obvious to me that the additional cost results in additional comfort. They can't create luxury hotel stays when none seem to exist. One company noted this:

"Cox & Kings uses the best available accommodation in Uzbekistan. However, outside Tashkent the standard is relatively basic. This tour involves some long drives and walking over rough terrain."

Thus, I have asked for pricing for suites wherever possible, as well as the upcharge for the train. I'm thinking this is like early travel to China when accommodations were very basic. It also appears that border crossings are done on foot and require perhaps 1.5km of walking. It's fortunate that we have learned to pack lightly.

This trip needs to be arranged at least a couple months in advance as visas are required for each country. We have to provide a lot of information and then Avantour submits the request. Turkmenistan requires the visa request no more than 3 months in advance and at least one month in advance. Visa processing takes 5 to 20 days. The visa can be picked up on arrival. For Uzbekistan, Avantour sends the visa request to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tashkent. Approved visa support is telexed to the Uzbekistan embassy in the US. I then need need to submit our passports to get the visa.

jadecocoa

In Khiva I stayed at the Orient Star/Madrassah hotel, a converted madrassah inside Old Khiva. Fantastic location for early morning walks and photography and unique.

LuxuryRogue

I don't remember all details of our Mad drive: 24 Hours of Le Stans, but I think that the border guards will squeeze you in someone else's car, compulsory, for all crossings between CIS-countries. To Afghanistan and Iran there are indeed long border walks.

If your travel agency can NOT provide a cross-border car, I would consider doing the whole trip individually. It is easy to find a local driver in every city / at every border for ca. USD 100 - 150 per day.

Some other points to consider (maybe not for the OPs specific itinerary, but for other Stan-travelers):

At Bishkek Airport most nationalities get a Kirgiz visa-on-arrival.
In Bishkek you can also get the Tajik visa (incl. GBAO permit for the highly recommended Pamir Highway) within 24 hours.
Kazakhstan is now visa-on-arrival for many nationalities AFAIK.

I am saying this especially for the luxury hotel travelers here, because if one is already in the rather frugal Stans, one may want to profit from the few excellent hotels, like in Almaty (RC or IC), Dushanbe (Hyatt Regency or Serena), Bishkek (soso Hyatt Regency).

Not only hotels are a pain in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, but also visa applications. And the Uzbek border guards are the world's 2nd most obnoxious. They will, for example, fleece you on exit, and you are in trouble if you carry more cash than on your arrival's currency declaration. We had to go back and "spend" the surplus (buried 1.000 USD under a tree; retrieved upon return from Afghanistan ).

Nevertheless, great countries to travel to.

pricesquire

All this Stan talk is killing me with jealousy. Putting together my own adventure as we speak. Trying to combine a good bit of Kazakhstan hiking as well

kevincure

In Uzbekistan there are no "luxury hotels" esp. outside Tashkent (which is surprisingly pleasant, and the metro is an absolute must-see). In Nukus, Jipek Joli is really the only choice. In Samarkand and Bokhara, the most interesting places to stay will be guesthouses, though there are somewhat staid looking hotels where tour groups stay. The Amelia in Bokhara is very charming (and cheap), as is the Amulet.

GetSetJetSet

In Tashkent I liked the Grand Mir Hotel. I also stayed at the Lotte and didn't like it at all...as mentioned Samarkand hotels are all garbage

SanDiego1K

We had a fantastic trip. I highly recommend going to Uzbekistan. Turkmenistan was also interesting and provided the only near luxury hotel of the trip. But if time is at a premium, Uzbekistan is the country where focus should be given. The towns of the old Silk Road, Khiva, Bukhara, and Samarkand, have remarkable sites to visit. Overall, the quality of the hotels were very poor, not worthy of discussion in this or in fact almost any forum on FlyerTalk. It's really telling about what there is to see and do that despite the hotels I encourage you to go.

Let me talk about the hotels first.

Uzbekistan:

• Khiva - Asia Khiva - many told us this was the best hotel in town. Oh, dear. I think the furniture in our room was 40 years old. The mattress was broken. Literally. My husband was shown six different rooms where there was the same issue with the mattress. A new mattress was brought to the room for the second night. There were 5 two story buildings. Only the main building had internet in the lobby. The hotel had an idyllic setting facing the south wall and entrance. It took no advantage of it and had no outside cafe or lounge where one might enjoy the remarkable view.
• Bukhara - Amelia B&B - I have no idea why this is rated first on TripAdvisor. It had 11 rooms built across two merchant houses. Our "deluxe double" was an entry level room with little room beyond the bed. There were steps up and down of uneven height, sometimes with a railing, sometimes not. It had excellent service. Any request we made was enthusiastically met. Our room was so dismaying my husband set out hunting for somewhere better to stay. He toured 9 hotels with no success.
• Samarkand - Grand Samarkand - we had booked their grand "suite", actually a very large comfortable room. We liked it. Our guide said she liked the hotel best in town because of its modest size. There were very large hotels where she said service was non existent.
• Tashkent - Radisson Blu (stayed on points) - stayed at start and end of trip. At the start I considered it about a 3 star property. It's very telling that at the end of the trip, it had jumped at least one star if not two in my mind.

Turkmenistan

• Ashgabat - Oguzhent (formerly Sofitel; now managed by the government I believe. Nonexistent service would suggest it.) - The hard product is luxurious. We upgraded to a suite and loved it. We had a large bedroom, living room, and one and a half baths. Furniture quality was very good and the decor was tasteful. There was no service. Bellman didn't come outside to help with luggage and didn't help once we were inside. Front desk clerks did the minimum. Breakfast was good; lunch was adequate. We sought elsewhere for dinner.
• Mary - Hotel Mary - one year old and a decent hotel, the quality of a Hilton/Sheraton. Room was furnished comfortably and the lobby furniture was comfortable. Internet signal was strong enough in the lobby to be able to make skype calls.
• Turkmenabat - Jeyhun - avoid at all costs except you can't. It's the only hotel in town. The exterior looks very grand, all clad in marble. Despite having an entrance on the ground floor, it is locked and you have to walk up two flights of stairs carrying your luggage to get to the lobby. Rooms are horrible. Look at TripAdivsor and see how harshly folks rate it. It deserves the severe comments. There is no internet.

Why did I dislike the hotels so much? I've thought about it a lot and tried to come up with some answers.

• Furnishings tended to be very old.
• Low quality linens. Towels were stained and rough from line drying
• Toiletries were local and nothing you'd want to contact your body
• Service was poor to nonexistent in most places
• Hotels didn't have lounge or bar; no place to relax outside of room
• No gyms, no spas

SanDiego1K

And yet I encourage you to visit. Uzbekistan was amazing. There was so much to see. We booked thru Advantour who arranged a custom trip for two of us. Arrangements were impeccable. We had superb guides and excellent drivers. We were pleasantly surprised by how well we ate. Restaurants routinely offered half a dozen to a dozen salads and half a dozen soups. We loved their shish kebabs, and started asking our drivers to seek out such places.

What can you do to travel as comfortably as possible?

• Go the right time of year, either April or May, or September or October. Guides spoke a lot about extreme summer heat of 50 degrees. I couldn't spot that on the weather charts for this year, but did see 44C (111F) many days.
• Enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables. There was a lot in season, including tomatoes, watermelon, plums.
• Work with the agency to book upgraded rooms as much as possible. I focused on this but should have done even more of it, moving hotels in order to get larger rooms. It really made a different to have a suite at Oguzhent and Samarkand Grand.
• Book an upgrade on the high speed train between Samarkand and Tashkent. $25 per person gave us seats on the VIP car. There were 3 seats across instead of 4, and we were served a light meal.
• We arrived in Tashkent in business class. The three of us in the C cabin were met on arrival and whisked thru customs and immigration. (We only had carry on luggage.) Despite having to submit two custom declaration forms, we were thru and outside in 10 minutes.
• Flights within the country are coach only.

Be wary of agencies who allege to offer luxury travel. There simply aren't luxury hotels. I saw agencies charging as much as 3x what we paid, offering the same hotels in Khiva and Bukhara.

Be aware that outside of hotels, you will generally only find Asian toilets.

obscure2k

obscure2k

Thanks Carol for such an enlightening review on a part of the world rarely discussed on FT. Love your comments on the hotels.