We spent three nights in the Bukhara Palace, located in the rather drab downtown of modern Bukhara but less than ten minutes drive from the main tourist sites in the old city.

The hotel presents a five star image with a soaring atrium and a large multi-purpose lobby. However, it’s downhill from there. Although it was built in the 1990s, after independence, the government-owned property has a Soviet ambience (it even has floor ladies) and is overrun with tour groups.

The hotel seems generally under-managed and under-maintained (e.g. one of the three lifts has been out of order since 1999) and the staff - while they are generally pleasant and speak adequate English - need better training. The pool did not look clean. Chairs in the public area were shabby. The WiFi internet access is expensive (pay per MB) and unreliable.

Our room and bathroom were small and shabby in places and they badly need a makeover. The bed was uncomfortable and the TV would have been dated in the 1980s. The hand towels looked like they had been cut with a scissors from larger ones.

The buffet breakfasts were basic and didn’t include any fruit or cereal. The one dinner we ate in the hotel was poor.

This hotel would not survive long in a ‘western’ city but in context can be rated as ‘average’. However, there are much more interesting small hotels (locally called B and Bs) in the centre of the old city.