You’ll find the Arman Kala Hotel just off Respublik Avenue on Naberezhnaya, a quiet little street that gives the hotel an air of peacefulness and provides an escape from the adjacent city centre. The Arman Kala (Kazakh for dream city) opened in 2004 and offers six rooms on the ground level of a larger building. The hotel brochure describes the rooms as having ‘classical Roman style interiors’, but they’re probably better described as spacious and fairly basic although there’s a surprisingly comfortable feel to the hotel. Don’t expect any typical hotel services (there’s no internet), but they do include breakfast in the room price and can arrange airport transfers. If you’re just looking for a standard, well-kept room in a central location, then the Arman Kala is for you. It’s located just across from the Museum of Contemporary Art and only a short walk from Tsum and some of the Right Bank’s more popular restaurants.

The most unique aspect of the Astana Park Hotel is its location; you’ll find it just next to the Central Park on the Left Bank of the River Ishim (directly across the river from the Radisson SAS). The Astana Park Hotel offers a quick escape from the city’s turbulent atmosphere with a short walk along the river taking you past Astana’s very own beach to the tree-filled Central Park. Offering a billiards club, Elite Club (see Drink/Party) and VIP Sauna Emir (see Play), the Astana Park Hotel’s 30 comfortable (yet fairly standard) rooms will give you a different experience on your visit to Astana. Be aware, though, that Elite Club is a popular spot on the weekends and its progressive R&B might not seem appealing if you’re trying to catch up on sleep.

If you had any doubt as to the most common type of traveller in Astana these days, this hotel’s name provides quite a firm clue. The Business Hotel, a small, seven-room hotel with functional accommodation, is conveniently located on the Right Bank, and provides a comfortable alternative to Astana’s larger, more corporate hotels. Offering a variety of single, twin and ‘lux’ rooms, it’s suitable for individual travellers or small business groups, who might find it more convenient to rent the entire hotel. With internet access in each room, parking facilities for drivers, an airport transfer service, and a very friendly and accommodating staff, the Business Hotel offers personal touches in a city that is very business-minded. Step outside and you’ll find yourself virtually next door to Corso Café and Pizza City (see Snack) and less than a block from Tiflis’ (see Eat) wholesome Georgian cuisine.

‘Feels like home’ says the marketing material at the front desk, and we’ve got to agree they have a point. The Comfort Hotel (situated on the Left Bank next to the British and German embassies) is a diminutive two-storey hotel with an incredibly friendly feel; a business centre and internet access make it a quiet option if you’re in town for work. As the name suggests the hotel’s 50 rooms are relatively small but comfortable. The bar in the lobby downstairs has snug armchairs, which are good for sinking into after a long day sightseeing or putting deals together, and although you are situated on the Left Bank, you are only a 15 minute walk from some of Astana’s best restaurants – East-West and La Riviere on one side and Satti and Izymi on the other – so you won’t go hungry.

The Grand Park Esil (previously known as the Hotel Ishim) is situated right in the heart of the Right Bank in the Central Square, which formerly served as the centre of government and is still home to the Ministry of Tourism. The hotel is uniquely housed in one of Astana’s attractive 19th century buildings, and its wide corridors and updated classical decoration make it a charming place to stay; we recommend it for the aesthetes among you. Ideally located for eating out in the old town. On the opposite side of the Central Square, in the corner of the former TSUM and now the Sine Tempore shopping mall, is Venezia (Astana’s best Italian restaurant) and just a short walk along Kenesary you will find Line Brew and Vaquero (see Eat).

Hotel Mukammal is a six-storey, 39-bed hotel located a short walk away from the centre of Astana’s Right Bank. It merits inclusion in the guide because of a happy combination of good value for money with the personal touch many of Astana’s other hotels seem to lack. Named in honour of the owner’s grandmother, who lived through the October Revolution, the Great Patriotic War, and her husband’s posting to Mongolia and China as an attaché, Hotel Mukammal has a homely feeling and good-sized bedrooms. Even the standard singles have a bath, a joy in wintertime when Astana can reach temperatures below –40ºC. The owner is welcoming and kind and this filters through to the staff, who are eager to please. The hotel is happy to organise transfers from the airport or the train station.

The Okan InterContinental Astana is centrally located within walking distance of the Right Bank’s restaurants and bars. The first five-star hotel to open in the new capital, the InterContinental has seen better days and now looks slightly tired, however, the comfortably furnished rooms will supposedly undergo renovation sometime soon to keep up with Astana’s everdemanding market. In contrast, the newly renovated Aquarius Health Club is a welcome relief for those looking to end the day with a massage or relaxing in the Turkish hammam. The InterContinental’s lobby is a popular spot for business meetings among the multitudes of Turkish travellers in Astana, and the hotel houses two tasty restaurants – Puccini’s, which serves classic Italian cuisine, and The Eurasia Grill, which specializes in Arabic,Turkish and Kazakh dishes. Connected to the InterContinental is the cosmically themed Arena Discotheque. Popular among a younger crowd, Arena is open every night (except Monday) from 10pm to 4am.

Located on the Right Bank of the River Ishim, Astana’s newest hotel offers five-star luxury and service. Opened in late 2006, the Radisson is part of the large Arman Complex, which includes a business centre, shopping area, restaurants and the largest World Class Fitness Centre in the CIS (with fitness and spa facilities open to guests). Most of the Radisson’s rooms offer stunning views of the river and Astana’s constantly changing skyline, while its riverside location allows for lovely walks during Astana’s warmer months. Pleasingly, Radisson is the first hotel in Astana to offer Steppe Magazine (Central Asia’s premier English-language cultural magazine, published by Hg2 Almaty & Astana’s authors) in all its rooms. If you’re in the market for pure luxury, the Radisson’s 18th floor Presidential Suite (by far the most decadent suite in Astana) has near 360-degree views of the city and separate sleeping quarters for a security entourage. The Radisson also houses two of Astana’s top night spots for when the party mood hits – don’t miss the Cigar Bar or Chocolate nightclub (see Drink/Party).

Named after President Nazarbayev the Rixos President Astana was the first hotel to be built on the city’s Left Bank. Anybody who is anyone in business or government stays here. The huge palm tree and bamboo-filled lobby is the spot to meet, greet and network, and is often filled with trailing spouses too. The hotel’s 168 rooms are stylishly decorated in a minimalist fashion, and all have Jacuzzis in the bathrooms and 24-hour free internet access. In addition, every guest is entitled to use the Rixos Spa in the basement, whose dark, chilled-out atmosphere offers a wonderfully refreshing change from the heat (or cold) and construction dust of Astana. While the level of service is sometimes not up to par, the Rixos’ location can’t be beaten for business and government meetings in the new heart of Astana.