A new hotel from a Chinese hospitality chain is preparing to open in Almaty's tourist district. The Harmony Hotel eLong will be located at 55 Aiteke Bi, directly across the road from the Arasan bathhouse complex, according to infohub.kz.
The future hotel sits near the 28 Panfilov Guardsmen Park, Arbat, TSUM and other spots that draw visitors to Almaty. The property is surrounded by a tall fence inherited from the business center that previously occupied the building.
Notably, the hotel has yet to appear on popular booking services and directories. As of publication, there is no information about Harmony Hotel eLong on 2GIS or Booking.com.
The project is backed by the Chinese hospitality platform eLong Hotel Technology. The company was founded in 2021 by the travel service Tongcheng Travel. It handles hotel management, franchising and technology for the hotel business. Industry media have reported that eLong Hotel Technology ranks among China's top seven hotel operators.
The company attributes its entry into Kazakhstan to the expansion of its international operations. In September 2026, eLong announced it had already signed agreements for 20 hotels in seven countries, including Kazakhstan. Almaty remains one of the main destinations for Chinese tourists and business travelers.
"Direct dialogue with Chinese travel companies, organizations and cities is of great importance for the further growth of inbound tourism and the promotion of Almaty," the akimat said in September.
It stands to reason that with the visa-free regime with China in place, companies have begun entering Kazakhstan as entire structures. Chinese tourists are accustomed to a model in which they use familiar guide and hotel booking services along with restaurants during their trips. Whether the new eLong hotel in Almaty will operate on that principle is not yet known.
Nevertheless, as Kazakh Tourism stated, Chinese tourists left $307 million in Kazakhstan in 2024. On the platform affiliated with the hotel chain, demand for Kazakhstan surged by as much as 300%.
Earlier, Kursiv LifeStyle reported that five hotels in Kazakhstan received a Michelin rating for the first time. Three of them are in Astana, one in Almaty and another at the Shymbulak ski resort.