Bishkek

Roomy digs in a quiet residential section of the city centre are available in this hotel owned by local tour company C. — Lonely Planet

Run by a Kyrgyz-Japanese family, the fresh if somewhat bland block contains spotlessly clean rooms with shared hot showers. — Lonely Planet

Bishkek’s most international hotel includes a couple of restaurants, an outdoor pool, and fitness club. — Lonely Planet

Spread over five floors, the 28 spacious rooms each have safe, kitchenette and superclean bathrooms. — Lonely Planet

The overload of sparkling glitz and kitschy nouveau-riche decor is almost comical in this quiet yet reasonably central hotel for business travellers. — Lonely Planet

This cheap backpacker pad has a small garden but only one bathroom to service a twin room plus a dim, rather scruffy, dorm packed with 12 bunks. — Lonely Planet

Good value for its genre of nouveau-riche glitz, the rooms are fair sized and not as dazzling as the red-gold of the foyer. — Lonely Planet

Uses classic floral-heraldic motifs to add interest to the rooms' stylishly minimal design. Breakfast (included) is served downstairs at Ratatouille...Airport pickup is also included in the room price. — Lonely Planet

Fronted by neoclassical columns, this discrete 34-room hotel has relatively stylish rooms fitted with flat-screen TVs, minibar and safe. — Lonely Planet

The standard rooms are functional but the lux suites are a big improvement, with thick pile carpets and pleasant, almost cohesive, beige-brown decor. — Lonely Planet

An upmarket hostel in the heart of the city, this is a great place for meeting other travellers. There's a second, slightly cheaper, branch at Toktogul 170A. — Lonely Planet

Smart if compact, chocolate-and-cream rooms aimed at business clients on a (relative) budget. Vibrant location near Vefa Center restaurants, and coffee shops. — Lonely Planet

The eight plain, high-ceilinged, en-suite rooms are very fair value, and are set in a walled garden so peaceful that getting anyone to let you in might require making a phone call. — Lonely Planet

Catering primarily to climbers and hunters, the slightly outdated rooms are more than made up for by the friendly staff and convenient location just outside the busy town centre. — Lonely Planet

— Lonely Planet

Out of the very centre but in easy walking distances to restaurants and cafes, this hotel's 20 rooms are comfortable if a bit dated. — Lonely Planet

The large common space and guest-accessible kitchen are in the best international style, and the attached cafeteria serves up cheap and tasty local dishes (and can organise cooking classes). — Lonely Planet

The 10-bed dorms can feel a little busy, but private rooms are great and the location can't be beaten; plus there's a small outdoor space out the front that's great for a quiet evening. — Lonely Planet