The best hotel for families at Shymbulak: Shymbulak Hotel Review

We have stayed at all the main Almaty ski resorts, most frequently at a hotel called Shymbulak Resort Hotel. The name might be a little confusing given it’s situated within Shymbulak Mountain Resort and I’m not sure if that was a mistake or just some great marketing! Regardless, the mountain resort also has some other good hotel options, but right now let’s focus on this fabulous little accommodation. The hotel is situated near the base of the main chair lift, and is one of the larger buildings you see as you come down the main run. With 51 rooms, it is the largest of the Shymbulak accommodations, but still manages to retain a cozy charm.

The roof of Shymbulak hotel is seen peeking out over the edge from just up a ski slope — The hotel as seen from the Combi 1 slope. The bunny slope can be seen just in front. One of the interesting decisions they’ve made at Shymbulak Hotel is to put a giant ad on their roof, rather than a sign with their own name. If you’re wondering, Geely is a Chinese automotive group, which, as far as I know, has no connection with the hotel.

Bizarrely, Shymbulak Hotel has opted to carry a giant advertising sign on its roof rather than the hotel name. And this is probably the reason I didn’t realise it was a hotel for the first year we lived in Almaty! But for all that, it is a decent hotel boasting a heated outdoor swimming pool, as well as a toasty sauna. The pool is warm enough for my family in the middle of ski season and the kids have had a swim most times we’ve stayed there.

What are the rooms like?

The view from Shymbulak Resort Hotel on a March morning — The stunning view you wake up to when spending the night at Shymbulak Hotel in winter. This photo was taken in March 2024.

We have stayed three times at Shymbulak Hotel and have had a different room each time. On our most recent visit we stayed in the priciest suite, mostly because it was a long weekend and we booked it rather late! Each time we’ve been fortunate to get rooms overlooking the slope and the gorgeous mountains. The view up the slope is better than the view down the mountain towards the city (its a lot of road and buildings) in my opinion. All rooms had modern showers (no baths though!) with good water pressure, though you may need to wait a minute for the hot water! They have all been comfortable, and have been decorated in an alpine lodge style (i.e. lots of pine!). Which, if you’re staying in the mountains, is very fitting!

Standard Family Room

A compact room with a balcony, we stayed in this room on our second visit during summer. We had a grand view up of the slopes. Our rooms had a compact bathroom (shower only) and a comfortably sized balcony overlooking the slope.

Lux Family Room (aka Family Junior Suite)

Another compact room with a balcony. However, this room was actually two rooms so you could sleep separately to your kids. Again the view was up onto the slopes. Our rooms had a small bathroom and two balconies (one from each bedroom) overlooking the slope. There was also a separate entry room where the other rooms all opened up to.

Super Suite Plus (aka Super Lux Plus)

The most expensive room in the hotel, our Super Suite Plus room was on the top floor, and was far more spacious than the other rooms we’d stayed in. It also had a private sauna (of course we tried and failed to turn it on). Alas it was also the only room of the three without a balcony! The balconies on the other rooms are a fabulous place to spend some time before you go to bed, so we really missed this.

A large double bed with some luggage on top, in a hotel room at Shymbulak Resort Hotel — The bedroom of the Super Suite Plus room closest to the entrance had lots of lovely space and a decent sized bathroom. The second bedroom was a similar size and was next to the large main bathroom which came with a small sauna.

The suite comes with two well-sized bedrooms both with queen (I think!) sized beds, and two very roomy bathrooms. One bathroom actually had a sauna inside, which was awesome. The shower of this bathroom included a wooden bucket suspended in the air so that you could take a refreshing cool down after you’d heated up. The space between the bedrooms was filled by a living room complete with dining table. There was also an entrance hall which opened up to the living room. A great feature of this room was the small ‘corridor’ between the bedroom at the far end of the suite and the living area. Shutting the door between the living room and the corridor added a buffer zone for the children’s room. This meant children sleeping in that room would be less bothered by noise from the living room.

The wifi at Shymbulak Hotel

The hotel has decent wifi, which is good because there is no resort-wide wifi network (like they have at Oi Qaragai). This means that even for those with incredible mobile coverage, you will likely have black patches up on the slope. Each of the hotels, and some of the restaurants, therefore have their own wifi. The network at Shymbulak Hotel was pretty good and it seems to cover the hotel areas, but didn’t go far once you exit the hotel.

Where to eat while staying at Shymbulak Hotel

Being on the same level as the rest of the village gives you more choice when choosing where to eat. This makes it necessary for the hotel restaurant to offer a good value deal, and it delivers on this.

The hotel restaurant has plenty of choice on the menu and an efficiently running kitchen. On our most recent stay at the hotel we ate at the hotel restaurant as it was snowing heavily outside. To avoid the draught which you get sometimes next to the door to the terrace, we sat further away, near a little kids play area. They’d built a little cabin for children since our previous visit, similar to the cabin over at Chalet Restaurant. It was a total hit with our kids. We had steak, and chicken schnitzel, both of which were very good. The restaurant’s operating hours, as of March 2025, are 8am till midnight.

An alpine lodge sits in the background with its deck in the foreground complete with pool and restaurant seating — The hotel’s restaurant (to the right) opens onto the deck which leads to the pool area (to the left). The sauna can be seen across the walkway from the pool.

The decor, as it is in the rest of the building, is alpine-style and cosy. The staff are attentive and courteous. And while we can manage fairly well in Russian, they often send us an English speaking waiter.

Breakfast is also included in your room price. The buffet spread was small but was varied and satisfactory. There was a range of hot foods such as eggs (fried and scrambled), breakfast sausages, as well as porridge. There are also plenty of cold foods such as cereal, cold cuts, salad vegetables and fruits. Yogurt and pre-made toast, were also on offer. You need to go to the bar to request your tea or coffee.

Is Shymbulak Hotel right for you?

Shymbulak Hotel is a fabulous hotel to stay at when visiting Shymbulak. It’s close to the gondola and chairlift, and it’s the only hotel you can reach here with an electric taxi. You have much more choice of places to eat when you stay at Shymbulak Hotel compared to Tenir and Le Mont. It helps being down in the village with plenty of other restaurants within walking distance.

The view, while still quite beautiful, is not as magnificent as those you get from the rooms at Le Mont or Tenir Hotels. Check my review of Le Mont which I believe has the best views of all the hotels in Shmbulak. If romance is the aim of your stay then may I suggest you look at one of these hotels that are further up the slope?

If it’s ski season, this hotel is the best option if you have small children. It is only 100m to the base of the Combi 1 chair lift, and even less to the ski school and kids club. At the other hotels you rely on the chairlift to get you to these facilities. The hotel has a dry room for ski equipment, and there is a more open ski storage area just inside the reception entrance. If you’re child free, however, this hotel may not be the top option, especially if you prioritise ski in/ski out accommodation. If ski in/ski out is important for you, may I suggest Tenir Hotel.

The hotel also has great common facilities such as the pool and sauna. So no matter which level of accommodation you book, you have access to a great place to swim and sweat.

How to get to the hotel

To reach Shymbulak you need to either take an electric taxi or the gondola up from Medeu Sporting Complex. Blue Sky Taxis are the only taxis allowed up the mountain, and you can find them waiting outside the skating rink. They will take you up for 5,000KZT (March 2025 prices) one way and drop you right outside the hotel reception.

We usually take the gondola, as it has really impressive views, and is fun especially if you have kids. They literally press their faces against the glass every time. Check here for gondola prices. Once you reach the ski village you simply turn left and walk past the ski school to the next building.

What do I know about Shymbulak?

I’ve been living here and visiting Shymbulak since mid 2021 with my family. Visit my About Me page to understand more about my perspective. And check out my Kazakhstan page to find out more about why I think why you should travel to Kazakhstan!

Also, I have the following blog posts on skiing generally in Kazakhstan!