I have stayed in the Almaty Hotel (sometimes called the Alma'Ata) 4 times this year on business. The hotel is located in what is the called the Financial District but I am not sure how it got that name. The hotel has a Soviet style interior and very Soviet style concept of service. The plus points are the location, right opposite the opera house and with fabulous views of the mountains if you are on the right side. The better rooms cost about $105 a night B&B and have balconies. The mini bars are well stocked and very cheap, though not as cheap as the local shops. There are any number of restaurants within short walking distance though I do not recommend the food in the nearby Bull & Bear pub. Rooms are basic but clean.

Negatives are. This hotel must have the most inefficient reception staff ever. Very much Soviet style. My room is always paid for in advance by my company but they always try to charge for it when I check out. Allow a minimum of 15 minutes for checking out. They keep your passport during the whole of your stay. The room key never works for more than a day at a time. The breakfast is a large buffet of what western people would call lunch with the worst tea ever. The lifts are tiny and terribly slow. The mini bar is never re-stocked during the stay. The shower water is often an interesting brown colour and to get into the shower takes some doing. Every night you will be phoned (I assume this only applies to single male travellers) asking if you want "laydees". The hotel bar is tiny, expensive and in a corridor. Hotel TV features some strange Asian "news" channel in English plus C-Span for those people in Kazakhstan desperate to know about the inner workings of the US Senate and Congress.

All in all, cheap and a good location but little else going for it.

By the way, if you are English, be prepared to have to explain why "Borat" is funny.