Rixos Borovoe

Location - The property is located within a picturesque forest, adjacent to a large lake, offering a truly enchanting setting.

Pick Up - we requested pick-up and drop-off arrangements from our hotel in Astana, and we were highly impressed with the quality of the vehicles and the professionalism of the drivers.

Welcome - upon arrival after a long journey from astana, we were greeted very well by the reception and also the guest relation manager.

Room - we were upgraded to a lake view suite room was very spacious and very beautiful it had all the modern amenities, which made it very comfortable.

Restaurants - we tried all their restaurants, and I would say that the food was really good special thanks to Chef Gopal & his team for making us feel at home with delicious indian, local & western dishes. Umaida, our server & the restaurant manager during breakfast, made sure we ate well.

Activities - The range of potential activities is extensive, including favorites such as the Angry Birds game, walks along the wooden path near the lake, swimming in the pool, and enjoying a sheesha experience at the Skybar restaurant.
We would like to extend our sincere appreciation for the exceptional helicopter tour arranged from the hotel, which was a highlight of our Kazakhstan itinerary. Special recognition is due to the pilot and assistant, Luliya, for their outstanding service.

Overall: We were so bummed to leave this gorgeous resort, and I totally recommend you check it out! We're gonna try to go back real soon ourselves

Hotel location, facilities and range of activities are all amazing. Food quality is very good.

We stayed three nights at the Rixos Borovoe. It is actually on Lake Shchuchinsk, which is next to Lake Borovoe and the Borovoe or Burabay National Park, in northern Kazakhstan. This is a major resort area north of Astana. Apparently, especially in warm weather, this area can get very crowed, and especially on weekends. However, we opted to visit during the middle of the week. Also, this resort is more expensive than most places in the area, so it which seems more quiet and away from the major crowds, which really seem to gather more around lake and town of Borovoe/Burabay, the main centre of activity.

Overall, the Rixos resort is nice, stylish, modern, and clean. The rooms were very nice. We had rooms with a view of the lake. Bathrooms in the rooms were excellent, with nice showers and nice Turkish-style toilets (the kind with built-in bidet/water sprayer). The hotel public areas are very nice and attractive. There are nice restaurants and a nice bar/lounge. We ate twice at the Silk Way, a nice restaurant with a Silk Road them and a Russian and Central Asian focus in cuisine, and had excellent food and service. The bar is very nice and we had pretty good cocktails. There is also a nice upstairs terrace restaurant with outdoor seating facing the lake, another eatery right on the water, and a couple other places to eat.

The rooms included breakfast buffet, which was overall very good. The dining area is nice, but this was where we saw the most crowds, as lots of people flood it for breakfast, so it could get very crowded. However, we eat early, so the crowds only gathered as we were finishing, and we also ate on the nice, quiet, outdoor patio facing the grounds and lake. The food was somewhat uneven, but most was great and there was a huge variety.

There is also a nice indoor swimming pool, plus saunas, and more. The pool was the other area which often got crowded, especially with families who had children.

For both breakfast and the pool, the hotel posts signs indicating how busy each generally gets at certain times, and this is helpful.

The location was excellent. There are nice grounds and the hotel has its own swimming beaches on the lake, with bar, showers, etc., as well as an area to rent paddle boards and more. Unlike the pool, the beaches and lake facilities were generally very quiet and had very few people. The same is true of the restaurants and bar, other than the breakfast area.

After my first night, there was a violent thunderstorm that resulted in my room being partially flooded, so I had to change rooms as repairs were going to last half a day. The room switch and subsequent communication between reception and their manager was below standards for a hotel of this standing. I had to go to reception to find out what was going to happen and when. The issue was eventually solved, but I wasted 40-60 minutes of my vacation time just waiting around for someone to communicate with me. My new room was identical to the first minus the view of the gorgeous sunset I had in the first room.
As compensation for all the waiting, I was granted a free dinner in a location of my choice, but only after I mentioned that it would be good customer service practice for the hotel to make a gesture for the inconvenience encountered, and only after I declined the free dinner at the buffet (this hotel has an all inclusive rate which consists in having all meals at the buffet. If I had wanted to have meals at the buffet, I would have opted for this, but this is just not what I wanted to do.)
The hotel is comfortable, clean, and my room was quiet. I had awesome food at 3 locations: the Summer cafe (where I must commend Umida's impeccable service and great English skills), the Chalet, and the Sunset Terrace.
Here, I must also commend the staff in all locations including the spa and the beach.
The weather cooperated and the beach was delightful. Overall I left refreshed and stocked up with enough vitamin D to last me half the harsh winter in Astana!

The way the room change was handled was terrible. Staff needs more training to communicate updates to guests promptly. Service is at times not 5 star quality, undoubtedly due to some language barriers (it is difficult to find staff members fluent enough in English and I don't speak fluent Russian and Kazakh), but also due to lack of proper training on how to handle difficult and unpredictable situations appropriately (e.g., offering some sort of compensation to the guest).
However, I would like to take the opportunity to thank the hotel GM, Jesper Francl, who seems to be everywhere on the property at all times! He personally made sure everything was okay with my new room and came to check on me several times without ever being intrusive.

Everything was perfect!

The rixos borovoe is on bank of lake schu.location amazing. Service superb. Staff so friendly though they do not understand your language. Food for vegetarians is sone problem.the guy at reception was so friendly. The roons are well maintained and well equipped

Красивый и удобный номер. Холодная вода в бассейне, маленький детский бассейн.

I truly had an amazing time in the hotel - I didn't know about this chain of hotels till coming here to Kazakhstan but it's comparable to hotels you would find in the Philippines and Indonesia - one of the best I've ever been in.

By far the best options in the area

The staff is awesome, super helpful and very pleasant. I would like to specially acknowledge Vladislas (at the Chalet), Temirlan and Balnur (at the Summer cafe), and Yerlan and Alexei at the front desk for their efforts in making my stay more pleasant. It is very much appreciated!
The location of the hotel is optimal, with a sandy beach by Lake Shchuchie. It also has a nice spa, and some delicious food!
I specifically requested a quiet room (if possible) and upon check-in was told I was given a very quiet room. That room ended up being above the terrace bar where there is live music from 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM some nights and the closest to the elevators which meant that I had all the "elevator traffic" walking by multiple times a day and night. That room also has the disadvantage of the cooking smells from the Olivio restaurant, especially in the mornings. For the record that is room 502 (I would avoid...)
The 2nd night I was moved to another room that ended up being just on the other side of the terrace bar... Also because it was very windy, the cables that tether the canopy above the bar creaked all night (not the hotel's fault but very annoying.) I was told it is best to avoid upper floors on that side of the lake when it is windy as the cables are much closer to the room windows. Duly noted!

I know very well that the best hotel in Burabay is RIXOS only❤️Everything is perfect here: the location, parking area, so stylish room numbers, fabulous design of hotel, so huge and comfortable, outside area full of greens, exactly next to the river with amazing view from every restaurant, good quality food, very attentive and nice stuff, a lot of entertainment for kids as well, it’s just WOW, I’m so happy to spend my time with my family here in RIXOS Borovoe! Thank you so much my lovely RIXOS you’re PERFECT and I’ll back for sure so see you soon my favorite hotel in Burabay❤️

It’s all started from reception, throughout my stay out of 4 zero were able to communicate in Kazakh language. Why for a Gods sake it’s so hard to get one who speaks Kazakhs. Alexandr went even further persisting and forcing speak Russian. Is it hard to pass a request to a colleague who does speak? Another reception guy Ilya “kindly” agreed to extend our star by an hour, after one hour changed his mind so had to go back via guest relations to clarify what’s going on. What’s wrong with you, people, yes or no, so easy. 90% of the staff downs speak/ understand Kazakh. I don’t mind Russian, English, German etc. but why can’t I get a service in Kazakhstan in Kazakh language? Signed are either in English and/or Russian(((. Much appreciate help of Gaukhar from first relations, polite and professional! Awesome waters Sagat and smily Zhuldyz! Food variety is like 4/5. Almaty and Astana Rixos are better. Views are really nice. Spa is clean, but lifeguard walks like at home talking over phone in a meditation areas. I might come back but really fell uncomfortable forced to speak Russian.

We loved our stay at Rixos Borovoe! The food, breakfast buffet was delicious !

This is a great hotel, clean. With very well maintained huge surrounding territory. There are many choices for sport and entertaining. There are several restaurants and bars. Unfortunately, the service is not very good. It, s good, but the staff needs more training. The exception is the bar on the second floor. The barman is very professional and knows his job. Thank you.

Excellent staffs

Last time i was there was in July 2019. Nothing to compare with in KZ, neither in entire Central Asia. Yes it is too remote, 3+ hrs drive from the capital, but the environments are beautiful. Prices were within expectations for KZ top hotels. It is a must see for anyone who stays in Nur Sultan for longer than one week.

Rixos Borovoe is a lovely hotel, very tidy and loads of stuff around. This is the first impression, however the more you stay the more uncomfortable you feel. I've been to Rixos in Egypt and Turkey, so I know what I am comparing with. Hardly anyone can speak English so my boyfriend was finding it extremely hard to make orders or ask simple questions, luckily I could speak Russian so we were ok. From the first sight everyone seems lovely and nice but as soon as you need something there are so many issues with whatever request you are making. Apart from the fact that the prices were extremely expensive for Kazakhstan the mini bar wasn't included in the price either. What sort of hotel does that? you're paying 100,000 tenge for one night and don't get free mini bar? Service during lunches and dinners was bad, we've ordered G&T and were waiting for it for about 40 mins. All drinks were taking extremely long, I've ordered a glass of wine in the main restaurant at dinner and it had arrived just when we finished eating. Stuff brings out food as it's ready rather than bringing a started and then the main (as you do), which is so weird. A couple of times my order was forgotten and having waited 30 mins I needed to remind about my order. Several times they had brought the main for my boyfriend and by the time he had finished (40-50 min) they would bring mine. No idea what was happening there?

Environmental

My family and I spent the weekend at the Rixos Borovoe and we had a great time. The facilities are great and there are endless activities for adults and children. I particularly recommend the Crimean Baths which are part of the hotel. The food and beverage, especially the Indian cuisine, is excellent. The entire team was very helpful and friendly. The GM also was very present at the hotel, always greeting guests and making sure things were running smoothly. We look forward to returning in the summer!

In the middle of autumn, most trees had changed color. But the smaller crowds and cool clean air made relaxing there a real treat. The spa services and fitness center were very good. The food at The Bar was also delicious with a varied menu.