Best hotels and hostels in Ulaanbaatar

Top ChoiceLodging in Ulaanbaatar

While most guesthouses in town are located in crumbling old Russian flats, this one is in a modern building with hardwood floors, sparkling bathrooms, a comfortable lounge, fresh paint and smart furnishings. Owner Zaya speaks English, enjoys a good conversation and is happy to help travellers. Eggs on toast and proper filter coffee are available for breakfast.

Top ChoiceLodging in Ulaanbaatar

One of UB's more stylish options is this designer hotel in a prime downtown location. As with many boutique hotels, rooms are boxy, however they feature plenty of contemporary touches such as rain shower heads, Scandinavian-style shelving and business desks. Ask for a room with a view, unless you want be looking onto apartment blocks.

Lodging in Ulaanbaatar

This family-run place has a fun, youthful vibe, with colourful noise-proof walls, comfortable lounges and lots of soft sofas. Dorms and private rooms are clean and comfortable, and the bathrooms are kept tidy. On the downside, it can get very crowded in summer. It’s inside a courtyard about 100m east of the State Department Store.

Top ChoiceLodging in Ulaanbaatar

Ulaanbaatar's premier upscale hotel is this five-star gem with a prime location steps away from all the downtown museums and theatres. Spacious, tastefully decorated rooms have incredible city views, and facilities include a spa, a fitness centre, a couple of restaurants and a cocktail lounge on the 25th floor with more epic views.

Lodging in Ulaanbaatar

Located on the outskirts of town 5km east of Sükhbaatar Sq is this attractive option with a choice of dorms and private rooms in an architecturally designed building, or gers in its large yard. There's a contemporary, brightly painted cafe that serves excellent Austrian meals and pastries (mains T8800 to T13,800).

Top ChoiceLodging in Ulaanbaatar

This popular guesthouse in an apartment block is run by a friendly, knowledgable team who work overtime to help guests with logistical matters, and it remains one of the best to arrange countryside tours. The guesthouse is a basic affair with small private rooms and slightly larger dorms equipped with curtains, lamps and power points. There’s a kitchen and a homey lounge with computers.

Top ChoiceLodging in Ulaanbaatar

This homey place almost feels more like a boutique guesthouse than a hostel. Rooms are individually styled, some with traditional Mongolian furniture. It has a cosy, traditional atmosphere, but some parts can be a little dim. The location is central and quiet. It’s run by the Lotus Children’s Centre, an NGO that helps orphaned children and employs Mongolians who used to live in the orphanage.

Lodging in Ulaanbaatar

Friendly Nassan has been in the guesthouse business for 20 years and runs a clean and centrally located hostel. Spacious rooms are bright and have functional bathrooms and kitchen facilities. However, there is not much colour or personality to the place so the experience is somewhat lacklustre.

Top ChoiceLodging in Ulaanbaatar

This boutique hotel has just 10 rooms, each one decked out in brown and beige furnishings, with flat-screen TVs and modern, albeit small, bathrooms. The prime selling point here is the location, overlooking a little park near the National Museum. There's a suave European restaurant downstairs.

Lodging in Ulaanbaatar

This well-established and central guesthouse has several rooms stretching around a Soviet-era apartment block. It’s clean and there are plenty of bathrooms, but the common room is a bit small and the place does get very busy in summer. Owner Bobbi has plenty of experience in helping backpackers with logistics and trip planning. Enter from the back of the building.

Lodging in Ulaanbaatar

One of UB's most unique sleeping options is this longtime backpacker hang-out where you can stay in a ger on the rooftop. Gana's also has private rooms inside a main block, but here it's all about the gers; otherwise it's a pretty ramshackle place. Centrally located, it's part of a ger district close to Gandan Khiid.

Lodging in Ulaanbaatar

Run by Meg and an all-female Gen Y staff, this breezy little guesthouse has a homey atmosphere and a prime position behind the State Department Store. Objects collected by Meg in her far-flung travels provide plenty of colour, and the single-sex dorms are cosy and clean. Its apartment next door is great value, with cable TV and fast wi-fi.

Lodging in Ulaanbaatar

The newly renovated LG is the largest guesthouse in the city. It has five floors of rooms, with dorms of varying sizes and some spacious private rooms that are hotel standard. There's a common area, a kitchen for self-caterers and clean bathrooms with reliable hot water. It’s a little out of the centre, however, on the road towards the train station.

Lodging in Ulaanbaatar

This friendly hotel has large, modern rooms that are clean and well maintained, and come with kitchenettes and balconies. A cooked breakfast is included and the rooms have wi-fi. However rooms can get hot in summer as there's no air-con, just a fan. There's a popular cafe, a business centre, a sauna and a beauty salon on-site.

Top ChoiceLodging in Ulaanbaatar

This contemporary hostel is a budget choice with a difference. Its lobby has the polish of a boutique hotel, and while it's all a bit squashy, the rooms are tidy and comfortable. Dorms range from capsule-style sardine tins to four-bed configurations. Private rooms are spacious and immaculate. There's a kitchen, simple breakfast and complimentary filter coffee.

Lodging in Ulaanbaatar

This property is popular with visiting journalists and diplomats wanting to be close to the square, so you are paying more for the location than the quality of the rooms. It comprises two separate buildings: a modern, high-rise business-chic hotel (building B); and an original, Soviet-style hotel (building A). It has courteous and accommodating staff and, in building B, a good in-house cafe and rooftop restaurant on the 17th floor.

Lodging in Ulaanbaatar

A fresh renovation in 2017 has given new life to this hostel, with sparkling, modern rooms, thick mattresses and a Western-style kitchen. Dorm beds are kitted out with power points and curtains. Rooms in the older wing are dated, but have more character. The friendly English-speaking staff keep the place tidy, and run a tour company with trips across Mongolia.

Lodging in Ulaanbaatar

This Kempinski-managed venture on the east end of Peace Ave is one of the best-run places in town. Rooms are plush, with a tasteful design and little niceties such as humidifier, robes and slippers. The hotel also has a fitness centre and sauna, upmarket restaurants (both Mongolian and Japanese) and a classy cocktail bar.

Lodging in Ulaanbaatar

This hotel's best features are its helpful staff, good quality wi-fi connection and central location just a short walk from Sükhbaatar Sq. Prices include use of the fitness room. It’s a popular place for business travellers, does a good breakfast spread and has an in-house Korean restaurant.

Lodging in Ulaanbaatar

The single-floor hostel is on a busy road near the new bridge over Narny Zam – not the flashest neighbourhood in town. It gets good reviews, however, with several dorms and small private rooms, plus a central lounge, small kitchen and book exchange. Bathrooms are small and slightly decrepit. It's about a 20-minute walk from the hostel to the centre of the city.