Umai Hotel

22/03/2023

Umai hotel today, just green oasis

16/02/2021

The end of winter will soon be here and then spring will be upon us.

Last year was not a happy year for the travel market, and like many we chose not to operate.

But now we are ready to go. Everything in the hotel is ready for us to greet our guests, and we look forward to seeing you all in the near future.

13/11/2019

Looking back to the end of summer, we had a rather exceptional grape harvest this year.

Sadly there are not enough grapes to produce a vintage wine, so we have made some excellent grape jam for our guests to enjoy next year.

12/11/2019

Ban Ki-moon, Ernesto Zedillo, Gro Harlem Brundtland and Mary Robinson explain why all nuclear powers must pursue policies of nuclear minimisation, to preserve peace for future generations.

15/08/2019

Each day we are bombarded by new technology, and sometimes you just feel like turning everything off, pulling out your favourite vinyl LP and forgetting that everything beyond your speakers exists.

However it is always possible to also discover new and exciting things - and we feel we just have with what3words

We won't bore you with the details, but if you ever need to fins then the front gate of the Umai Hotel is located at:

///homelands.stereos.congas

Look it up, it is an amazing app.

This is a 3m x 3m location in Bishkek, Chüy. See it on what3words

28/07/2019

You would think they would post a video where we could mark the Umai with a big red X!

14/07/2019

The Umai is located close to the centre of Bishkek. But have you ever wondered why it is called Bishkek?

In Kyrgyz a "bishkek" is a type of churn (pictured) used to make kymyz, the national drink made from fermented mare's milk - rather a strange thing to name your capital city after.

There are a few cute, and some quite rude, explanations for the name of the city, but the real reason probably goes back into the mists of time.

From the 2nd century BC until the 10th century AD trade along the Silk Road was dominated by the Sogdians (essentially Iranians) and it seems that where Bishkek currently sits they had a small trading post called Peshagakh. Later this seems to have become Pishpek, then for a short time under Russian and Soviet it became Frunze, and then with independence Bishkek.

So Bishkek probably derives, at least phonetically, from the old name Peshagakh. And the meaning of Peshagakh - the place below the mountains. Anybody who has visited Bishkek will understand how appropriate this name is.

11/07/2019

Whatever the temperature in Bishkek we have a/c throughout and a fabulous bar in the garden.

Even in the summer the weather can catch you out, At the moment we are struggling in Bishkek with daily temperatures close to 40C, but it will break soon (we hope).

But even when the weather turns the effects are spectacular - what an incredible view.

06/06/2019

We get some amazing sunsets, but yesterday evening was rather special. Accompanied by rain and an unusual cloud formation it almost looks like an atomic explosion. Impressive.