MuTu Hotel in Almaty

As a Trip.com Black Diamond VIP for over two years, I've visited countless places and stayed in numerous hotels and guesthouses, rarely leaving reviews. However, I absolutely have to complain and give a strong negative review for this guesthouse in Kazakhstan, run by Chinese owners. I have photos and videos to back this up.

1) The room rate was over 590 RMB, which is comparable to a budget or business hotel in a tier-one Chinese city. Yet, there were only two shared bathrooms for over a dozen rooms. This is the first time I've ever had to share a bathroom while traveling. My child was even afraid to take a shower. Even the lowest-tier hotels in China wouldn't make their guests share bathrooms.

2) For breakfast, the owner simply cooked plain congee, served with a few steamed buns and pickles – a very makeshift and uninspired meal.

3) At lunchtime, the owner cooked in the open kitchen (which is also the guesthouse's lobby on the first floor), filling the entire place with the smell of oil and salt.

I booked this guesthouse on Trip.com because it was rated 4 stars, but I have no idea how it got that rating. Since we arrived late that day, we had no choice but to endure one night. The next day, we canceled and moved to a different hotel. This was a truly terrible and irresponsible guesthouse experience.