Hotels near Tuul River in Ulaanbaatar

1. The location of the hotel is good. It is very close to Sukhbaatar Square on foot. It is also convenient to eat nearby. There is an excellent balcony on the roof, which is great for watching the sunset. 2. After staying for three days, the room was not cleaned every day, but the room was not cleaned every day. I communicated with the guy at the front desk, and it was like a chicken-to-duck talk. Every time I did it well, every time I didn't clean it. Only the young lady spoke better English and could make arrangements immediately after communication. 3. There is breakfast in the restaurant on the 6th floor, the variety is average, and there are CU and gs25 downstairs which are very convenient.

I came through Ulaanbaatar last year for a horse riding trip last year, and stayed in Springs Hotel before we went on to our trip. Before i flew home, the operator put us up at the hotel again for the last night. I couldn't find my card key when i was checking out and was fined USD10 for it. I was told that if i come back again, i could get the money back. I smirked and said well the earliest i would be coming back would be next year. They said that was ok. Fast forward to this year. When i came back, they refused to return my $10 to me. They said i had to return within a month (Anyone would tell you that's a stupid condition because how could you expect a hotel guest (who is a foreigner) to come back within a month). The girls got their manager to speak to me. My friend said that even before the lady opened her mouth, she already had a look of determination (that she was not going to pay us). The manager, Tuul had an appalling mannerism. She spoke in a very argumentative and belligerent manner and insisted that they would not return my $10 to me. I explained that i was told it would be ok for me to return a year later.. If i hadn't been told that, i would not have bothered to bring the card back. She then asked for a pink slip saying i would have been given one. I said i wasn't * i really wasn't) but they saw my card, they found my records of having stayed there.. so they knew i would have been charged $10 (they also said I don't have proof they have my USD10).. She looked like she couldn't comprehend.. started raising her voice as she tried to stick to her stand of not returning my money to me. I got so fed up, i told her that she could keep my USD10. I am now posting this experience online because I think it's appalling that they refused to return my money to me even when the facts are very obvious. It's very sad for the hotel if they are trying to make money from door cards. In the first place, the cost price of such a card is less than USD1. I knpw because i have a lot of hotelier friends. So USD10 is blatant profiteering. No wonder they wouldn't return the money to me. Even when the facts are obvious. I got so angry i asked for the card back. they gave it back cos they rather keep the money (an acknowledgement they knew they had my money but just didn't want to give it back). Shame on you, Springs Hotel.

The place was clean and good accomodation. Loved the hotel and its decor along with the area to relax and enjoy breakfast. Really liked the breakfast and staff was very friendly and helpful. I would love to recommend this place.

I stayed there over 7 nights. On the first day I arrived at 12 noon and the check-in time was 2.00 pm. After a 13 hour flight and car ride from the airport to the hotel I just wanted to get into the room and have a hot shower. Usually in all other cities and hotels in Asia, they would have allowed me to check in earlier if they had a room. In this case, they had a room but wanted to charge me the rate of 30% for that two hour stay. I paid for it as I was in no mood to argue over it and as my Mongolian business partners were with me and I did not want to cause a scene. The hotel toilet had a smell from the drainage pipe and they could not clear the smell even after I had complained. The service staff was generally pleasant although some of the restaurant staff need some further training. At the Chinese restaurant when I asked one of the waiter to change to a private room after being seated at the normal dining hall which was noisy, the waiter replied that he was busy. And asked me to go to the reception. Perhaps they are still a bit rough at the edges. Also, the 24 hour room service does not exist as is promoted in their brochure in the room. I had to go to the front desk and then I was directed to go to the coffee house to make my order. I asked why nobody picked up the 24 hour room service line and the front desk asked me what number I dialed. I replied 3222 as was in the brochure in the room and he told me it was 3150. I told him its 3222 as per the room brochure but he insisted it was 3150. I went back to my room to double check after placing the order at the coffee house and it was 3222 in the brochure. So either they have a wrong print or they have not updated with a new number. I was seated in the cafe many times and I noticed a gentleman who would go up to sign for a coffee at the cafe. I assumed he must be a senior staff of the hotel. If he was indeed a senior staff I thought he would be friendly enough to smile to the guests at the cafe and assume some if not all the guests are also guests of the hotel.

The stay was average. Front desk staff speaks good English. I visited in late January. The room was way too warm for my liking so my sleep wasn't too good. The air conditioning doesn't work in winter and lowering down the temperature takes forever. The only way to cool down is to open the window, but with the air quality being very bad - not advisable. I ordered room service from the Irish place upstairs, but the guy there does not speak good English so instead of pumpkin soup I got some meat cream soup. The thing I did not like and which kinda spoiled my morning plans as I had an arranged meeting, was the fact that the breakfast which was supposed to start at 7am, was 30 minutes late. If you tell people it's from 7am, then please stick to it. No other complaints. Oh, maybe just the omnipresent smell of coal in the entire city, thus also in rooms, but I guess it's just me, a visitor not being used to it.

This hotel does not meet the standards of other Kempinskis. My family and I travel a lot, like A LOT, and we've been to many Kempinski hotels. The problems started with our booking, which we made directly through the hotels' website (not a 3rd party). The booking states a 12:00 check in, but the hotel told us this was a mistake and their check in time is 2:00 pm. They allowed us to check in at noon without a fee, but it took series of emails in advance. We also booked the breakfast meal package through the website. On our first morning in the breakfast lounge, we were told we didn't get breakfast because we didn't have the meal package. Once again, I had to pull out my reservation receipt and prove (in front of other guests) that we had paid for the breakfast. They of course accepted the receipt and realized they made an error, but it was another hassle we shouldn't have had to deal with. The day before our departure, we requested the hotel have a cab ready for us to catch our early flight (we needed to leave the hotel around 3:30 am). The young man behind the desk indicated he would do so and that we could expect a 100,000 tugrik (about 29.00 USD) flat rate for the taxi ride (this is also what we paid to get to the hotel). After spending the day on the town, buying souvenirs, and spending our local currency (but saving taxi money), we returned to the hotel. I double checked with a different guy at the desk that we would have a taxi waiting for us. Afterall, as the evening Front Desk Receptionist, it would be his job to call the taxi company. It was good I double checked, because the other guy hadn't taken action and hadn't passed along the request. Moreover, when the taxi arrived in the wee hours of the morning, we were told by the Front Desk Receptionist that it was actually a 200,000 tugrik charge (double!). We were also told the first ”receptionist” we had spoken to earlier in the day was actually a Bell Hop and we were informed that he wasn't even supposed to be working behind the counter. As a result, we had no choice but to withdraw additional local currency (taxi couldn't take a card) from the hotel Front Desk (for a nice fee) in order to pay the taxi. What's particularly irksome is that we had plenty of cash which we would have saved if we had simply been told the correct amount. There were other issues, but this review is already lengthy... Overall, we had a less than stellar experience at this Kempinski. If you're going to Ulaanbaatar, I'd recommend you stay elsewhere. If we ever go back we'll probably stay at the Shangri-la. It's closer to the airport as well as the heart of the city.

DON’T BE TRICKED LIKE I WAS The listing says it is a 6 minute drive from Chinggis Khan airport, but it in fact is a 30 minute drive. It is very close to the OLD airport which is not in use anymore. They offer free airport pickup, but we stayed the night before our flight so we did not need pickup, we needed drop off. Even though we didn’t use the free pickup service, we still had to pay $25 USD for airport dropoff. I had emailed the property twice during the week leading up to our stay to ask about drop off service and never got a reply. Also, there is a lack of communication between the staff- When we arrived at the property we had to call 3 times before they finally came to meet us to get our bags, then there was confusion about what room we were supposed to get and we were taken to 3 different rooms before it was the right one. The second one we had already settled in and had a shower before they came and told us it was the wrong room. We didn’t have a car so we walked around the area to find food and there were little to no restaurants, and only a couple of very small markets, so we ended up having to order food from the property restaurant. Every room is different as we discovered from being taken to 3 different rooms. They are verrrry spacious but some are definitely in better condition than others. Fortunately our final room was the best, however there was a kitchen stocked with pots, pans, rice cooker, cook top, plates, but no silverware, no microwave, and no refrigerator. Why would you have a kitchen area and not have a refrigerator and silverware? There also was a washer in unit but no dryer. We didn’t have time to wait for our clothes to air dry during our one night stay so that was also useless. Overall, it was a cheap stay but you get what you pay for.

Stayed here 3 different times while on a tour of Mongolia. Staff at front desk are friendly and helpful. Room was comfortable but air conditioning was very cold and could not adjust so finally had to just turn it off. Hotel is in great location a block from the big square and close to a large mall and cashmere store on the corner and another across the street. (Note: entrance to the mall is on second floor from the cashmere store on the corner outside of hotel and to the right). I had one major issue- I turned on my “do not disturb” light when we left for the day and when I returned that evening the light was off and my room had been made up. I advised the tour guide who said something to the front desk person and she responded that the room had only been entered to leave new bottles of water - so I guess if you have the do not disturb sign on they still enter to leave water? It was upsetting because they never addressed the issue of making up the room. The other two times we were only there for a night and things were OK. Room had amenities such as soap, shampoo, conditioner and lotion as well as coffee and tea, but bring your own washcloth if you are used to using one. Also room has a safe. Breakfast buffet was good but not wonderful but it was the best we had out of all of the other places we stayed while in Mongolia. Hotel can also provide airport pick up and return for a fee if you contact them and advise arrival time and number of people and suitcases. Hotel is located about a one hour drive in normal traffic from airport and 20-30 min longer in heavy traffic.

I have traveled to many places far and wide, and NEVER expected to have one of the finest hotels I have every stayed in be in Mongolia! As part of my Mongolian Luxury Tours, I had THREE opportuinities to stay at the Blue Sky (arrival, return from Gobi desert, return from Western Mongolia) and each time was superb. The hotel is beautiful, and the rooms, service, and friendliness made each stay very wonderful and welcoming. You can not go wrong with this hotel. It is GREAT!!!

Christina at check-in was my first experience of Mongolian hospitality. Efficient and clearly helped where she could, to enhance my stay. Rooms are spacious and furnished well. The gym has a funny rule about sneakers. U have to wear your slippers in, and then change to gym shoes?