World Guest House in Samarkand

The worst place I’ve ever stayed at out of 30ish countries I’ve been to. It said that they accept card payments online and that’s the only reason I booked this after canceling the original one last minute, but they said oh we can’t use the card machine, wait for tomorrow. And tomorrow comes, and they were like wait for 15 minutes, 30 minutes, you should go to ATM and such, then never let me pay with a card. And the accommodation is not clean and not comfortable, couldn’t sleep at all.

Unfortunately, this accommodation was one of the worst experiences I’ve had in my travels. The host was a kind woman, but she didn’t speak English and couldn’t resolve the issues we faced.

We arrived on a cold day, and the room was extremely cold—even colder than outside. The host assured us that the heating system would be turned on and the room would warm up soon, but that never happened. I tried to warm myself with a blanket, but even the blankets were too short for my height. If I covered my head, my feet would be left out in the cold.

As for the bathroom, there was no hot water. The water would get slightly warm but would suddenly turn ice-cold again, and I ended up freezing in the chilly weather of Samarkand.

The location of the accommodation is a bit far from the main attractions, requiring a 30-40 minute walk or a taxi ride. The courtyard was nice, but there was no one available to assist or guide us in English. The cleanliness was acceptable, and there was a kitchen for cooking, but no pots or pans were provided.

The kind host tried to make up for the inconveniences by offering us refreshments, which I appreciated. However, what was truly needed was a functioning heating system. Despite repeatedly informing them about the issue, no action was taken, and in the end, I caught a cold.

As someone who is generally flexible while traveling and not overly demanding, I am sharing this experience to provide honest feedback.

I would recommend to the owner that if they wish to continue running this accommodation, they should ensure the basic necessities of the rooms are properly taken care of.