We love staying at Oi Qaragai Resort. In our first year we managed to get a night in one of the fabulous yurts. We then followed that up with a summer stay in the cute tree houses with a group of friends. Finally for my birthday last year we went all out and booked up a chalet for the weekend. For this review on the best place to stay at Oi Qaragai, I’ll concentrate on the resort’s own accommodation options. Rest assured there are plenty of other options just off the resort grounds. So please, read on to find out my recommendations for best place to stay in Oi Qaragai!
Where on the resort are the hotels?
The resort accommodations are all in ‘Lesnaya Skazka’ or ‘Old Skazka’, with one exception (the Tourist’s Village). To get to Lesnaya Skazka, you keep driving for a few minutes after you arrive under the Oi Qaragai sign. The reception is right behind the multiple level car park. The resort uses long golf buggies to transport guests from there up to their room. I highly recommend accepting the offer of a golf buggy transport: the walk to the rooms can be long and icy!
Most of the rooms are a short walk from the three restaurants serving this side of the resort. The Italian restaurant is next to the ski school and rental, the big yurt serving traditional Kazakh fare is on the reception side of the building, and the Georgian restaurant is on the floor above the Italian restaurant. All accommodation options come with a breakfast buffet, served daily either in the Italian restaurant or the Kazakh yurt restaurant.
Renting equipment while staying at Oi Qaragai
There is a ski rental shop serving hotel guests in the Lesnaya Skazka area and it does get busy. All the Oi Qaragai instructors can start their lessons here if you like. The ski rental shop is next to a slope, named Irbis, which is perfect for a beginner lesson. Irbis is served by a T Bar lift – not my favourite form of lift! The price list page contains the prices for ski rentals as well as many other activities offered by Oi Qaragai.
Additionally there is a small enclosed playroom, between the ski rental and the Italian restaurant. It is not supervised, but it is clean and warm, and you can sit in there and let your little one/s play for hours. Alternatively you can also sit outside on the terrace of the Italian restaurant, as there is a glass wall from the terrace into the room meaning you can still keep an eye on the kids.
Now I want to compare and contrast the different accommodations available. I’m going to review them in order of which I’ve stayed in them.
Places to stay
Yurts
The most unique accommodation on offer, our initial stay in the yurt was the only time we have successfully booked one. Officially called Ethno-Hotel Orman Auyly, I would love to get one again as it was a lot of fun. But they are so popular, and seem to always be booked up, so please try, but make sure you book well in advance! These yurts are quite luxurious, with electric heaters pumping warm air into the room. They also have a bathroom with shower and toilet attached to each yurt dwelling.
The yurts are one big room (the bathroom of course is a separate room with a door!). As a family of four, we had two extra cots placed in the yurt next to the big main bed. We also had a screen which provided some privacy between the master bed and the smaller cots.
The yurts are halfway up Irbis slope. If it’s ski season, you can leave your ski and board equipment outside the front door. Unfortunately we didn’t go night skiing when we were there, on account of our sleeping children. We did take a glass of wine outside to watch the skiers though and it was pretty great.
Once you have checked in at Reception, you should definitely allow the reception staff to organise you a golf buggy transport to get to your yurt. It’s quite a walk up to the yurt village! The driver will likely park you outside the chalets, and then walk you across the slope. Please do watch out for skiers and snowboarders (and the T Bar lift!) when you make the crossing.
To book a Yurt, please visit their bookings page. And good luck 😉
Tree Houses
This is also a great place to stay, and is super cute. We stayed in a ‘Lux’ tree house which came with a double bed and 2 single bunk style beds. There are two villages of treehouses: one adjacent to the yurts, and one adjacent to the chalets. Our treehouse was next to the chalets, which was further up the slope from the restaurants.
The tree houses come in three different variations: Standard, Lux, and Premium. From what I can gather, the main difference is the square meterage of the room.
We were here in mid July (summer here in Kazakhstan), so I can’t speak to how comfortable they are in the cold. The rooms were a comfortable temperature when we were there. It was a bit of a walk back down to the restaurant for our breakfast buffet in the mornings. It was actually a pleasant ramble with the little ones along the very lush and green Irbis slope to and from the restaurant. For older folks, or anyone who is not very active, the tree houses might not be very appropriate. Also keep in mind that you need to climb quite a few stairs to reach the tree houses (they are literal tree houses!). It goes without saying that they are not wheelchair accessible.
At check in, please allow the reception staff to organise a golf buggy to transport you and your bags to your tree house. Its quite a walk up the hill to the tree house villages!
To book a Tree House, please visit their bookings page.
Chalets
The chalets are quite fabulous and you may notice passersby stopping to take a photo of your dwelling. They are simply that gorgeous. A great place to stay if you’re in a large group, each of the chalets contains 5 bedrooms that each sleep 2 people. There is as well as a sofa bed in the living room. Each chalet also comes with a sauna.
We stayed in one of the chalets in March 2023, on the last weekend of the ski season. For our group, the chalet was a great choice, with entertaining space, and enough bedrooms to give everyone some privacy. It was close enough to the slope, restaurants, and spa, so everyone could easily enjoy what they wanted to enjoy.
The chalets are positioned along the road leading up from the reception along the Irbis slope. There is a small wedge of forest between them and the slope itself. There is also one of the two Tree House Villages in this bit of forest. To get to the slope, you will need to walk back down the road a short way.
I may be starting to sound like a broken record now, however, please allow the reception staff to organise you a golf buggy to transport you and your bags to your chalet, as it’s quite a walk up the hill to the chalets! Also, you’re staying in one of the chalets, you might as well arrive in style 😉
To book a chalet, please visit their bookings page.
I want to also mention the other accommodation options on the resort now. However, be aware I have not actually stayed in them myself! But while I can’t personally recommend them, I am really keen to try them out!
Rooms in Cottages
The cottages, which look about the same size as the chalets, contain multiple rooms and suites. These cottages are across the road from the restaurants and the base of the T Bar lift at Lesnaya Skazka. The Comfort Double/Twin and the Junior Suites both sleep 2, so are probably not the best place to stay if you have small kids.
Again, please allow the reception staff to organise you a golf buggy to transport you and your bags to your cottage!
To book a room in the Cottages, please visit their bookings page.
Hotel Ak Tas
The only accommodation that doesn’t require golf buggy transport is Hotel Ak Tas, as it’s literally 20m from the Reception. A great place to stay if you just want to get to the chairlift. To hit the slopes, you will need to cross the road and get on the Jer-su lift, which will take you all of 2 minutes. More if you’re a slow walker. Or have kids.
To book Hotel Ak Tas, please visit their bookings page.
Tourist’s House
A simple wooden cabin, sleeping 4 people, the Tourist’s House is located just up the hill from the chalets. This would be a good place to stay if you wanted a little more seclusion.
To book the Tourist’s House, please visit their bookings page.
Tourist’s Village
A quaint name for the local backpackers accommodation, the Tourist Village is more towards the front of the resort. It would be a great place to stay if you are after a more budget friendly option on the resort.
To book the Tourist’s Village please visit their bookings page.
My final recommendation
I’m never going to not recommend a fabulous yurt while you’re staying in Kazakhstan, so that would be my first recommendation. However, I also loved my stays in the Tree House and in the Chalet! I would say just try and book one of the accommodations that are listed here and enjoy the ease of being on this beautiful resort.
What do I know about Oi Qaragai?
I’ve been visiting Oi Qaragai regularly 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!
I also have the following blog posts on skiing in Kazakhstan!