Hostel ARBAT

Location

No alcohol on property

I arrived at the hostel by taxi from from the Kazakh/Uzbek border. I came from Uzbekistan and the Tenge is a closed currency so I didn’t have any cash on me, however, I was planning on either asking the hostel if they would owe the taxi driver the money and I pay them back (which is common practise many places) or withdrawing some from an ATM immediately after arriving. The taxi driver did not understand and was getting extremely aggressive and abusive towards me. Not only was the hostel extremely unhelpful- The one owner who couldn’t speak English just stood there watching with the other owner (who spoke English) on the phone, making no attempts to calm the taxi driver down or translate (the English speaking owner), refused to give him the money and I pay him back, and the English speaking owner wouldn’t really tell me where the nearest ATM was. (If it wasn’t for the kind family living next door who completely helped me out and translated, I would have been screwed). After I got the money, the hostel then decided to evict me for the taxi drivers behaviour. Apparently, I should have ‘appreciated English wasn’t his first language and used Google translate (I had no internet so couldn’t)’. Thankfully I have experience in solo travelling but this was quite late in the evening and I am a young, foreign female and could have been extremely distressed by this situation. Shame on them for putting me in this position!

Cleanliness

Not much

The washroom.. you do not have curtain... And the money the y charged is a lot compared to the facility.

It is a big house ,staff are kind ,you feel like home and location is perfect,

Inside room was a little hot

It is such a nice hostel in Shymkent. The owner is so nice and polite. We had long and interesting conversations and they are always ready to help you. The wifi was good too!

Nothing as such - maybe they can add breakfast as an option. But there is a kitchen.

good location. Near park and main road.

Bath room and toilet too small