Almaty Backpackers in Almaty

I have to be honest here. The hostel itself is okay, but it seems to be terribly mismanaged. The current staff really brings this place down. I can usually ignore a hostel's shortcomings and faults if the staff is incredible--- sadly that's not the case here. At their best, it seems that they couldn't be bothered, that you owe them a favor for even talking to you. At their worst, they simply don't know what's going on. Many times, they failed to keep track of who's checked in. this happened to multiple guests. If you have questions about Almaty? Forget it. Either they don't know the answer or they'll give the wrong one. You're better off with Google. The cleaning lady who's in the hostel every morning is nice though. But they need to hire additional staff to keep things in order once she leaves. By early afternoon, toilets get filthy and they run out of toilet paper. There's hot water, but getting a hot shower seems to be a game of chance at this hostel. There are more toilets and showers now though, so the problem of insufficient toilets and showers for everyone seems to have been addressed. The location though is pretty good. it's in a quiet neighborhood, yet public transport is still accessible so it's easy to explore the city from here. Several attractions are within walking distance, there's a convenience store right beside the hostel and there are lots of places to eat nearby. The best thing about this hostel is the atmosphere. For some reason, most backpackers in Almaty stay here so it seems to be the only social hostel in Almaty. I met a lot of awesome people here. I would only recommend staying here if meeting people is your priority and you're willing to ignore everything else.