Saint Hiyan

I stayed here with my husband on the 10th floor in February of 2013. If you don't have a car you will be totally isolated. The restaurant was not a full service restaurant. It did serve a well balanced breakfast buffet and if one wanted dinner that had to be reserved and paid for either the morning of or sometimes the night before. The cereals offered were of the sugar variety and not the healthy sort. There was always a creamy based soup and salad available for the breakfast buffet. I was suprised that there was not an offering of cheeses, but we always had scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage and a large skinny link that looked and tasted similar to a wiener, an excellent variety of breads, yogurt, fruit and juices. Oddly, warmed water was poured into our glasses for each meal. Could never figure that one out. Coffee was not the standard fare that it is in the USA. Green tea is the norm and available everywhere. Our room was on the 10th floor and we rarely had any trouble accessing the elevator. Our floors had ondol heating which was very nice, but the towels that were offered for bathing were small, the size of a hand towel. At least there were two of them and they were quite absorbent but no face cloth and no shower curtain. Needless to say the bathroom was a bit wet after we showered. The other minus to the room was the fact that there were only two hangars in the tiny closet provided for our clothes. There were no drawers. Wifi was excellent as was the flat screen tv and reception. Although our rooms were heated to our desired temperatures the halls and lobby were not heated and were down right cold. The lighting system was modern and required that you place your key card in the slot upon entering the room so that the lights would come on. Of course that also means that if you want to charge your phone or computer the charging will stop when you retrieve the key card and depart the room. I have heard that any credit card will trick the lights/electricity into working but we never tried that. The long drive to the hotel entry was not well plowed and very difficult for tour buses to maneuver. One time when coming back from a tour the bus dropped us on the road and we had to walk the windy 1/3... 1/2 mile uphill to the hotel entrance. This hotel is in the Phoenix Ski Resort area so I don't understand why the snow is not plowed. Our room looked out on the ski slopes. Very beautiful at night! But we were subjected to loud music until the slopes closed. Not nice but we did grow used to it. In summary this hotel was clean, comfortable and modern. Whether the minuses I described are cultural differences I can't say but the result was less than I was expecting for the price I payed.

We stayed at this hotel for 6 nights while our son was competing in the Special Olympic Winter World games. We were very disappointed with the hotel. The music from Phoenix Park (ski resort next door) could be heard all day every day until the chair lifts shut off (some nights the music did not stop until 1 am). We could also hear the snow makers all night. Rooms show wear and are very basic. The convenience store is not fully stocked and offers basically noodle cups and cheap local beer. Wine by the glass is not available and a bottle costs $65.00--comparable to perhaps an $8.00 bottle from Trader Joe's. The bar is not stocked nor is there a bartender. The breakfast buffet was just okay. Other meals were not available unless you wanted to preorder and prepay for dinner which was $30.00/plate. We opted to walk down the road to local BBQ places and were very happy to find great food. The staff of the hotel is not friendly and seemed overwhelmed. Not sure if this hotel is open all the time or if it opened just for this event. It has a long long way to go before 2018 Olympic Games.