Duston Boutique Hotel Review: A Bukhara Heritage Stay

With its maze of streets interwoven in a compact city center that contains beautiful madrasah façades, artisans in the open-air bazaars (called toqis), and historic Silk Road structures, Bukhara lives up to every bit of hype.

And while there are plenty of hotels inside Bukhara’s historic center, I loved staying at Duston Boutique Hotel just outside of the city walls. And actually, I think its location may be one of its biggest advantages!

Located just outside the city walls and only about a minute’s walk from the East entrance at Toqi Telpakfurushon, Duston Boutique Hotel offers the best of both worlds.

It gives you both easy access to the old city while still allowing taxis to pull directly up to the front door so you don’t have to drag your luggage through an ancient city (seems fine; is decidedly less fine when dragging several bags in 35°C/95°F desert heat).

For a detailed review about this historic hotel, keep reading below to learn more about my stay.

About Duston Boutique Hotel

The hotel itself is in a restored 19th-century house that has been upgraded for modern comforts, all with support from UNESCO to keep its renovations in line with preserving the property’s history.

The result is a boutique hotel that feels authentically Bukhara without sacrificing comfort… as the excellent water pressure, blasting air conditioning (a necessity in May in Uzbekistan), and airy rooms all attest to.

After several weeks traveling around Uzbekistan, it ended up being one of my favorite hotel stays in the country (I also loved my stay at Hotel Jipek Joli in Nukus, which I wrote about here — I’m not often inspired to write about my hotel stays, so that should tell you how much I loved Duston!).

First Impressions of Duston Boutique Hotel

The first thing I noticed when arriving at Duston XIX Century Boutique Hotel is the warmth and welcome that the staff provides. Uzbek hospitality is already legendary, but the staff here takes it up a notch.

Everyone was incredibly kind and eager to help with anything we needed — organizing transportation to the train station, arranging laundry, answering any questions we had — they all seemed genuinely invested in ensuring we had a wonderful stay in Bukhara.

The property itself is historically accurate and beautiful. I loved the typical Uzbek design elements: the painted motifs, the wooden railings, the stained glass.

I also thought the courtyard tea tables were a great touch, offering a place to relax in the shade during the hottest part of the days without shutting yourself up inside your hotel room.

Our Room at Duston Boutique Hotel

Our room at Duston was surprisingly spacious — it was actually one of the larger hotel rooms I stayed in anywhere in Uzbekistan.

I loved the colors of the room. Rich forest green velvety accents on the beds added a brilliant contrast against crisp white walls and linens.

The high ceilings with the exposed wooden beams and interesting wooden “hallway” that separated the bedroom area from the hallway to the bathroom area added a natural touch to the room as well.

The aesthetic of the room matched exterior to interior, bringing the stained-glass door detailing to the bathroom door as well.

The bed was extremely comfortable, easily one of the comfier night’s sleep I had in Uzbekistan. And importantly, the air condtioning was incredibly strong… necessary given how hot Bukhara was during our stay, even though it was only May!

The bathroom was also excellent, with reliable hot water (which I would not have the luxury of during my next stay in Samarkand, but that’s a story for another day), great water pressure, and — in a turn of events that is specifically important to me and probably not remarkable to anyone else — a bathtub with an actual plug so that I could take a bath.

As a dedicated bath enthusiast, I got faked out several times in Uzbekistan, seeing a bathtub… and then realizing there was no plug. Thankfully, Duston passed the test, and I was able to take a nice luxurious soak, which was much needed since we took a 7+ hour taxi from Nukus straight to Bukhara.

Breakfast

The breakfast at Duston Boutique Hotel was excellent throughout our stay. It changed slightly each morning, never the same every day. I appreciate the variety… even if breakfast in Uzbekistan, for me, almost always focuses on crepes, crepes, crepes.

There was always a good mix of local Uzbek breakfast items alongside more international options, and I loved every breakfast I had there and it never felt repetitive or with a lack of variety… and I’m not even a huge fan of Uzbek breakfasts.

Location

Like I mentioned above, the location is one of Duston Boutique Hotel’s strongest selling points.

While many visitors automatically assume they should stay inside Bukhara’s old city walls, I would actually argue that Duston’s position just outside the walls is drastically more convenient.

The hotel is only a minute or two’s walk from the entrance to the old city walls, so you’re basically already in the old town with all of its attractions… except that taxis are actually permitted to come right up to the hotel entrance.

For some, it’s a minor detail, but I found it very relaxing to know that taxis could bring us right to the hotel and we’d be instantly there. During our stay, I didn’t see a single car in the Old Town, and I don’t believe they are allowed there.

Duston eliminates that problem entirely while still keeping you within easy walking distance of everything you’d want to see.

One Thing to Know

Because Duston is a historic home converted into a hotel, no two rooms are alike. It’s a restored heritage Bukharan house. It’s not a hotel chain, built for the rooms to feel interchangeable.

If you, like me, appreciate hotels with their own character and a distinct sense of place, that’s a good thing. That said, you should look carefully at the room you want to ensure you get it!

We stayed in the large Family Room — bigger than my apartment back home, at 35 m²! — which was lovely but it had a bit less detail than some of the other rooms, which are a little more ornate on the interiors.

If you prefer to stay in a room with more decoration inside, pick from the following: Superior Triple, Superior Double or the Deluxe Double Room. Those all have a lot more detail-work than the room we stayed in. I liked my room a lot and have no complaints, but if you want a more ornate room, that’s where you should go.

Final Thoughts

Duston Boutique Hotel is the perfect hotel for so many travelers to Uzbekistan. With its faithful restorations in a historic building, warm staff, great location, and modern amenities, it’s really hard to find a single thing to knock about Duston.

If I had to rack my brain for a critique, I would say that perhaps our room could have used a tiny bit more Bukharan art. Even if they were keeping the character of the room in tact, some miniature paintings on the wall could have added some detail while remaining faithful to the building’s integrity.

That said, I would absolutely stay in Duston Boutique Hotel again. In fact, it would be hard to encourage me to stay elsewhere in Bukhara!

Have you stayed at Duston or elsewhere in Bukhara? Please share your thoughts here! I’m also happy to answer any questions about my stay in the comments as well.

Allison Green

Allison Green is a former teacher who has been travel blogging since 2016, visiting 75+ countries in total. She has a Masters in Teaching and a B.A. in English and Creative Writing. As a former educator, she merges her writing and educational experience to encourage ethical, sustainable travel. She has been a speaker at the World Travel Writers Conference and TBEX. Her writing, photography, and podcasting work has appeared in National Geographic, CNN Arabic, CBC Canada, and Forbes, amongst others. When she’s not on the road, she lives in Bangkok, Thailand.