LP lists the Akhbar House as their “top pick” for Bukhara. We had, however, an unusual plumbing problem in our room that was so disturbing we felt we had to bring it to other travelers’ attention. Basically, the toilet was somehow connected with the opening that drained water from the shower floor. Whatever was flushed down the toilet came up through the drain on the floor of the shower. Not pretty.
When I told the owner about the problem, she expressed shock and said that this was the first time such a thing had happened. We immediately checked out, nevertheless, and moved to another hotel.
On a more positive note, in our opinion the LP actually does not fully describe the charm of the Karambek restaurant in Samarkand. Every night we were there (and we went three times), local families came to dine, dance and celebrate special events. Octagenarian women danced with their grandchildren, and it was quite fun to watch.
Other notes: Caffe expresso, across the street from the Green Theater in Navoi park in Samarkand, is a great place for Turkish food (especially pide). The internet café across the street from the Temur toy store on Amir Timur in Samarkand is faster than Batman and more appealing than Spyder.
Thanks again to all who responded to our questions while we were traveling and helped make our trip to Samarkand and Bukhara an enjoyable experience.
