Review: The Ritz-Carlton Almaty

After spending three fantastic days in Almaty, we had a quick overnight stay at The Ritz-Carlton Almaty before our Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul. We had been staying in an Airbnb style apartment in the city center but, with all of our stuff needing to be packed and an early morning flight, we chose to spend the final night at The Ritz-Carlton.

Due to the short nature of our stay, there were certain amenities at the property that I wasn’t able to experience firsthand. In some cases, I have used press photos from the property to highlight those amenities but each has been clearly marked.

Booking our Stay at The Ritz-Carlton Almaty

While we had been in town visiting family and friends, I’d be remiss if I didn’t tell you that another aspect of our staying here was simply my curiosity. If you’re a Marriott Bonvoy member visiting Kazakhstan’s largest city, The Ritz-Carlton is the only hotel in town and has gotten a decent amount of publicity in travel circles. If I could make the pricing make sense, I really wanted to try and experience the property firsthand.

I checked out the room rates on the Marriott website and found the cash rate to be very reasonable at under $400 per night. However, for a quick visit that was a little on the high side so I looked at redeeming points. Much to my surprise, I managed to snag a Deluxe King Guest Room for just 30,000 Marriott Bonvoy points for the date we needed a few months before arrival.

The Ritz-Carlton Almaty Location

The Ritz-Carlton Almaty is located in the southwest portion of the city along Al Farabi Avenue. While far from the city center, this portion of the city is by far the most modern portion of the city. The hotel occupies the upper floors (Floors 20-30) of the Esentai Tower, part of the larger Esentai Complex which includes the Esentai Mall.

While the property is only a short drive distance wise from the city center, the traffic in Almaty is atrocious and the journey can take anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour at peak times. The hotel can arrange for a car service to and from the property and Yandex Go (the Kazakh version of Uber) also worked well.

The Ritz-Carlton Almaty Lobby and Check-In

We arrived at the property just before 8:00p local time and pulled into the private driveway for the hotel. We were met by two bellhops who took our bags and loaded them onto carts. From thee, we were shown inside the property and guided to a set of elevators which took us up to the sky lobby on the 30th floor.

We stepped off of the elevators on the 30th floor and found the check-in desks ahead on our left. We were greeted by the staff who quickly took our Passports and began processing our information.

While one of the employees was checking us in, another offered us some fresh hibiscus tea which was a nice touch.

For our quick overnight stay I booked us in the standard Deluxe King Room but, during check-in, we were upgraded to a Grand Deluxe King Room, which also happened to be a corner room. We were also offered a welcome gift, with a choice between a complimentary cocktail or a pizza and a beer. We chose the pizza and beer which we redeemed at the Sky Bar.

The lobby itself didn’t have much else other than some display cabinets selling various items. The bulk of the space was devoted to the bars and restaurants on property which I cover more below.

The Ritz-Carlton Almaty Guest Room

For this quick overnight we were assigned to Room 2401, a corner king room on the 24th floor. Guest rooms on the property span floors 21-17 with the fitness center and spa on the 20th floor. Floors 28-30 are the lobby and food and beverage outlets.

Since the room was on the corner of the building, it had a unique layout. Upon entering there is a wall in front of you and to your left with a hallway that goes off to the right.

Hidden inside the wall to the left was the closet which had a luggage rack, ironing board, coat hangars, umbrella, and more.

In the hallway you’ll find a dresser off to your right and the entrance to the bathroom on your left. On top of the dresser is a Nespresso coffeemaker along with cream, sugar, tea, and bottled water.

This space is also where we kept ATX JR.’s crib as it was far enough away from the bedroom we were able to make it nice and dark. I requested the crib via the app and it was brought up to our room shortly after arrival.

The bathroom in the room was spacious yet dated. This property opened in 2013 and, while it has been very well maintained, some of the design choices are starting to show their age.

On the left is a shower and the toilet, both hidden behind frosted glass doors. A large soaking tub is in the center of the room and the sink is off to the right.

While we didn’t use the tub during our stay, it was large and surrounded by marble.

A large vanity was located along the wall separating the bedroom and the bathroom. It had dual mirrors, dual sinks, and a small makeup mirror. Strangely though, the gaps between the mirrors are actually open to the bedroom.

In the event you want a larger mirror, the door separating the bathroom from the hallway has a massive, floor-to-ceiling mirror on the back of the door. An additional bathrobe was also hanging here upon arrival.

Finally, in the bathroom, all of the toiletries were Diptyque branded and came in reusable bottles. This was true for the products in the shower as well.

Stepping back out into the hallway and towards the rear of the room, you’ll find the bedroom. While this space wasn’t large, like our room at the St. Regis in Dubai earlier this trip, it was big enough, especially for our quick stay.

At the foot of the king sized bed was a bench which was great for holding luggage or putting your shoes on, otherwise we didn’t use it for much. Two nightstands flanked the bed with lamps on each. A phone, alarm clock, breakfast menu, bottled water and a notepad were waiting.

Across from the bed was the desk and the entertainment area. The desk had tons of plugs but, as I mentioned earlier, the hotel is showing its age and no USB charging ports were available.

The TV in our room was a good size and sat on the desktop as the wall behind it was glass.

Under the TV is the minibar which had quite the selection. In addition to your standard snack and beverage offerings, I saw an item I’ve never seen in a minibar before, electronic cigarettes (also known as vapes).

A hot water kettle and ice bucket were also located in this area, along with a safe underneath the mini-bar.

At the rear of the room were two chairs with a glass table in between. Waiting on the table was a selection of sweets along with a handwritten note from the staff. The note itself was surprising as I dropped down to Marriott Gold from Platinum in the weeks leading up to my stay.

Since it was dark outside for the duration of our stay, it was hard to get an idea of just how good the view from our room was. From our corner room we were able to see the mountain range surrounding Almaty as well as the Sunkar International Ski Jumping Complex.

The room was fantastic and absolutely met and exceeded our needs. However, the finishings are starting to look quite dated even though they have been well maintained. Though, if you’re traveling right, the room should be your base of operations in order to get out and explore.

The Ritz-Carlton Almaty Food and Beverage

After checking in and dropping our bags, we headed out in search of a late night snack. There are multiple food and beverage establishments on property including Vista, Sky Bar and Lounge, and Seven Bar and Restaurant. Due to our short visit, we were only able to visit one.

The Sky Bar and Lounge was the only thing that made sense for us due to our short visit. The bar is located just off the lobby and we were quickly shown to a table near the window.

The cocktail menu was expensive and more playful than I expected from a Ritz-Carlton property. We ordered some snacks to go along with our complimentary pizza and beer welcome gift, including a tiramisu which was very good.

Unfortunately, there was a breakdown in service when it came to my beer. The rest of the group received their beverages and snacks quickly though the server clearly forgot about mine. After reminding him, he was extremely apologetic and quickly brought it out to me. While unnecessary, they ended up comping the beverage as well.

While the Sky Bar was the only dining establishment on property we were able to visit, the hotel does have others available for guests. Vista, the property’s primary restaurant, is also located on the 30th floor along with the reception desk and Sky Bar. While the views were good from here at night, the photos from the restaurant during the day are absolutely stunning.

On the 28th floor, you’ll find Seven Bar and Restaurant which also has great views of Almaty and the surrounding mountains. We weren’t able to visit this during our stay and the space was closing shortly after we arrived.

While we didn’t get a chance to experience the bulk of these firsthand, the views alone make me want to return.

The Ritz-Carlton Almaty Spa and Fitness Center

The fitness center and spa are located on the lowest level of the hotel, on the 20th floor. After stepping off the elevator you can head one way to the fitness center and the other towards the spa.

The fitness center was large and had many different sets of cardio and strength equipment. When I visited late in the evening the gym was virtually empty though, its worth noting, the gym is open 24/7.

The pool is also located on the same floor as the gym. This was closed during our visit (after hours) though I managed to get a decent look at it via the door.

The spa was another part of the property that I didn’t have a chance to visit but, the view from the treatment room looks amazing.

Summary

We had an amazing stay at The Ritz-Carlton Almaty. While the property is beginning to show its age, it is extremely well maintained. Also, the staff were fantastic during our visit and, with the one snafu regarding the beer aside, this is an amazing property for those looking to make a visit to the area.

After such an amazing experience in Almaty and my (sometimes blind) loyalty to Marriott, I’m sure that Mrs. ATX and I will return to this property in the future.