Best Western Premier Tuushin Hotel

Rooms and decor

Picture waking up in Ulaanbaatar, pulling back the big curtains, and finding Sukhbaatar Square, the historic heart of Mongolia, filling the window. Across the street is the Government Palace, home to the giant seated Genghis Khan monument, and beyond that the Bogd Khan mountains, snow-covered in winter. That view is the single biggest draw of the Best Western Premier Tuushin Hotel. The hotel has run in its current form since 2014, with 226 rooms spread through a high tower designed so most rooms face out over the square and the mountains. Standard rooms run 30+ sqm, wider than most hotels of this tier in Asia. The decor is a warm brown-and-cream palette with small touches of wood and woven Mongolian fabric, enough to know where you are without overdoing it. The beds get the most consistent praise in reviews: soft, supportive, the best sleep of the whole Mongolia trip for many. Bathrooms have a separate shower and tub from the superior rooms up, and the hot water stays strong and steady all day — a big deal in a city where winter drops to -30°C. Thick carpets keep your feet warm, the heating runs quietly, and the basics are all there: safe, minibar, coffee maker, and free Wi-Fi throughout that actually works.

Food and amenities

The heart of life here is breakfast, which reviews rate as the next-best thing after the location and view. It's a buffet that spreads wider than the typical 4-star in this region: a full Western side with bacon, sausage, eggs cooked to order and fresh-baked bread; an Asian side with congee, stir-fried vegetables and fried eggs; and a local Mongolian section worth trying, with buuz (steamed lamb dumplings), khuushuur (fried pastries) and traditional salted milk tea. It's served in a dining room on an upper floor with the square and mountains in view. In the evening, the Aqua Restaurant & Bar serves both European and contemporary Mongolian food, leaning on good-quality lamb and yak, and it's where business travelers often book dinner with local clients. There's also a compact indoor pool, a 24-hour fitness center, and a spa with sauna to ease tired legs after a day out in the cold. The pool and gym aren't big enough to be a selling point, but they're fine for a soak or a light workout on a day spent in the hotel. Meeting rooms and a ballroom handle seminars and local weddings up to several hundred people, which is why government and business in Ulaanbaatar use it often. Lobby staff speak fluent English, and the concierge can set up tours to Terelj or Hustai in one stop — a real time-saver for anyone visiting Mongolia for the first time.

Location and getting there

Location is Tuushin's real trump card, and honestly it's hard to find in Ulaanbaatar — a hotel facing straight onto Sukhbaatar Square like this. The square isn't just an open plaza; it's the historic and political center of the country, home to the Government Palace and the giant seated Genghis Khan monument looking out over it. In the mornings locals come out to exercise and schoolkids cut across, and on national-day Naadam in July the square is the main stage for the celebrations. Looking down on the rhythm of the square from your room is something hotels in other cities just can't offer. Better still, most of Ulaanbaatar's key sights are within walking distance — 5 minutes to the State Department Store, the big downtown department store for souvenirs; 7-10 minutes to Beatles Square and the National Museum of Mongolian History; and 15 minutes to the Choijin Lama Temple. For the bigger monasteries like Gandantegchinlen you can grab a cheap taxi in minutes. The new Chinggis Khaan International Airport (UBN), opened in 2021, sits 52 km out and takes about 50-90 minutes by car depending on rush hour; the concierge can arrange a transfer ahead of time at a reasonable rate. Bottom line: for a first trip to Ulaanbaatar where you want to park at the hotel and explore the city on foot all day, this is the best-balanced spot in town.

Things to know before booking

To be straight with you and help you decide — the thing reviews bring up most is the overall design, which is a standard international business-hotel style. The lobby, corridors and common areas are plain and functional rather than full of standout design or a strong Mongolian feel. Anyone expecting that character in every square meter might find it a touch flat, though on function and comfort it does well. Second is the pool and fitness, smaller than some expect for the price and size of the hotel. The pool is indoors and about 12 meters long, built for a soak or light swim more than a real workout, so anyone who values leisure facilities should set expectations. Third is some visible wear — the hotel has run in its current form since 2014, and some rooms, carpets and furniture show their age. A few reviews compare it to the city's newer openings and call it less fresh, though most still rate cleanliness and upkeep well. Last is noise from the square and street during festivals or big events on the square; a higher floor helps keep it quieter and gives you a wider view too.

Our take

Having read through hundreds of real reviews and weighed it against comparable hotels in Ulaanbaatar, Best Western Premier Tuushin Hotel sells one thing better than anyone else in town: a spot right in front of the historic square, mountain views, and international standards you can trust. If your trip in your head is a first visit to Ulaanbaatar — waking up to the square and the mountains filling your window, walking to museums and temples within a few blocks, coming back to a soft bed in a warm, clean room, with English-speaking staff to set up tours out of the city — this is about as well-balanced as it gets on a 4-star budget. But if you're after standout boutique design in every square meter, or a luxury-resort spa and pool, it won't be a perfect ten. Overall we give it 9.0/10, best for business travelers, couples, and first-timers who want a safe, good-looking home base right in the center of the city.