Northern Lights Apartments

I decided to try an apartment for my second visit to Astana rather than the incredibly expensive hotels. I made the right choice. The Northern Lights apartments are in one of the central Astana glistening tower blocks in this "Dubai without the sun" of central Asia. I'd arranged a transfer from the airport and this worked without a hitch. On arrival, I was directed to the fifth floor where I was met and shown the apartment and given the all important wi-fi codes! The apartment consisted of a very large sitting area with a kitchen adjacent, complete with dining table and all the necessities for day-to-day living. A large bathroom off the living area was well appointed and there was a second bathroom attached to the generously-sized bedroom that had a walk-in wardrobe complete with lightings. This second bathroom had a large corner bath which you can lie in and survey the view down to the Bayterek Tower! Breakfast is delivered to the room - you say what time you'd like it and it's outside your front door at the appointed hour. With yoghurt, fruit, juice, tea and coffee, plus an egg dish of some sort, it's sufficient to start the day but definitely not top class hotel standard. If you want that, head out to one of the nearby shopping centres, or get your own provisions in. My only criticism is that the curtains don't provide a complete blackout in the bedroom. There are giant TV advertising screens across the square and on the fifth floor they illuminated my bedroom throughout the night. It's something you get used to and I suspect that on higher floors it's less of a problem. The staff will call taxis for you if, like me, you don't want to flag down a passing motorist and negotiate a trip which is the way locals work. Overall, I can recommend the Northern Lights.