Press

THERE’S A TRADITION IN GEORGIA THAT YOU CELEBRATE A BRUSH with death as a second birthday, as if feeling the icy touch of the reaper and emerging unscathed bequeaths you a new self. Justin, my brother-in-law, earnt himself a second birthday at 9pm on a Saturday night last March, as we had set out too late in the day to climb the vast and storied Mount Kazbegi, the fifth-highest mountain in Europe, in the rugged stretch of the Caucasus that sweeps across the north of Georgia.

With co-working spaces, hyper-smart boutique hotels and natural wine bars moving into its Soviet-era warehouses and century-old mansions, Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, has garnered a reputation as the “next Berlin” among clued-in city trippers over the past few years. You’ll find them on all-night benders at the swimming pool-turned-techno nightclub Bassiani, or sipping craft beers at hangouts such as Fabrika, a former sewing factory whose graffiti-scribbled courtyard turns into an open-air food court and beer garden after sunset.

Located just next door to Stamba, Rooms Hotel shares a very similar design ethos to its sister property but with a slightly more accessible price point. Located in the same ex-printing press brutalist building, but with a separate entrance just an amble around the corner on Tamar Chovelidze Street, the hotel boasts 125 bright and airy bedrooms with huge warehouse-style windows. The unique industrial chic theme that runs throughout utilises 70s-style balanced-arm lamps and Marshall radios. Rooms command attention by using highly elaborate printed wallpaper, whereas suites on the upper floors are decorated using a subtler colour palette of creams and black to accentuate the rugged details of the building’s past iteration. The hotel’s restaurant boasts a mélange of local farm-to-table dishes and expertly mixed cocktails served in a foliage-laden greenhouse.

Georgia’s Rooms hotel group is one of the chic-est anywhere, and the newest outpost, in the Black Sea resort city of Batumi, lives up to that reputation. Located in the historic quarter, it’s a member of Design Hotels and consists of 123 rooms, a rooftop with an outdoor swimming pool and restaurant, and an additional dining room and bar on the ground floor. The sleek design by Collective Development in collaboration with Rooms Studio showcases the face of contemporary Georgia while emphasizing natural materials, elegant lines and geometric shapes.

Leading Georgian hospitality group, ROOMS, a member of Design Hotels, has announced the official opening of ROOMS Batumi, the fourth hotel in the group’s growing property portfolio. Located in the historic quarter of the Black Sea coastal city, designated as one of UNESCO’s Creative Cities, ROOMS Batumi follows three innovative properties opened by ROOMS since its conception in 2014, including in Tbilisi (the capital of Georgia), Kazbegi (an Alpine mountainous region two-hours from Tbilisi) and Bakuriani (one of the top ski and adventure travel destinations in Georgia).

Leading Georgian hospitality group ROOMS, a member of Design Hotels, announces the official opening of ROOMS Batumi, the fourth hotel in ROOMS’ growing property portfolio. Located in the historic quarter of the Black Sea coastal city, designed as one of UNESCO’s Creative Cities, ROOMS Batumi follows three innovative properties opened by ROOMS since its conception in 2014, including in Tbilisi (the capital of Georgia), Kazbegi (an Alpine mountainous region two hours from Tbilisi), and Bakuriani (one of the top ski and adventure travel destinations in Georgia).

As the brand’s fourth hotel, Rooms Batumi boast 120 rooms, a rooftop pool, and diverse dining options. The UNESCO Creative City property combines Japanese, European, and Californian influences for a unique seaside experience. Embracing farm-to-table philosophy, the Rubber Duck diner offers innovative comfort foods, while the Lobby Bar serves signature cocktails. The hotel’s aesthetic reflects Batumi’s character with timeless schemes, a muted colour palette and panoramic view; offering an elevated stay for design-focused travelers.

Rooms Hotels have become the go-to stay in Georgia thanks to the original and thoughtful ways they showcase the various faces of contemporary life in the Caucasian destination, from art to performance to music (DJs from around the world come to perform in Tbilisi, and when they do, Rooms is most likely where they’re crashing). The fourth Rooms property has just soft-opened in Batumi on the Black Sea coast: its 120 rooms are complemented by a rooftop bar-restaurant (with a swimming pool for good measure); there is another, smaller, eatery and bar at ground level, as well as a fitness centre. Batumi has beaches, promenade cafés and a weirdly wonderful mix of architecture to admire, and an old town with some beautifully intact art deco mansions dating from the time of the city’s prominence on the Caspian oil route. (But if you’re only there to dance, Rooms has your back.) roomshotels.com, from €118

The breakfast spread at Stepantsminda’s newly refurbished, 155-key Rooms Hotel Kazbegi is as epic as the views through the floor-to-ceiling windows, while its pine-clad wellness area – all vintage ski posters and Caucasus-facing poolside lounge chairs – takes mindful R&R to new heights. Set in a Soviet-era sanatorium in Georgia’s rugged north-east, a three-hour drive from Tbilisi, the contemporary, rustic-luxe bolthole makes a great base for winter ski adventures or, year-round, for exploring ancient churches and crashing waterfalls on horse-riding or hiking expeditions. Spend evenings grazing on Georgian and international comfort classics in the hotel’s sprawling lounge-restaurant, browsing the design-forward shop, playing a game of pool in the bar and doing some stargazing from the balcony of your Gstaad-chalet-chic room.

Hotels are the backbone of memorable, enriching, and immersive cultural adventures and experiences. Your overseas surroundings should resonate with you and make you feel good, ready to take on and explore the world to find those hidden gems. Like people, hotels have unique personalities, quirks, and sensibilities. They should be uplifting, possess a lived-in-ness, convey a sense of history, and a connection to their location — a sense of place. I want to know exactly where I am in the world: uncovering cities and their inner workings fascinate me.

We hosted an opulent Georgian feast, overflowing with traditional cuisine and obligatory chaha in celebration of the opening of the new Rooms Hotel in Tbilisi. The night was a modern homage to the Georgian Supra, shared with creative friends and delicious authentic fare.

Georgian hospitality group Adjara has made a name for itself converting brutalist Soviet-era buildings into boutique hotels, including the award-winning Stamba Hotel in Tbilisi. It has also helped nurture a new generation of Georgian creative talents.

Local artists and designers say the group’s support has helped elevate the creative industries in the country.

“The importance of Adjara Group is huge,” said Tamuna Gvaberidze, a gallerist and design consultant from Georgia’s capital Tbilisi. “They created a lifestyle and provided a hub for creative people.”

I was descending a Georgian mountain pass in a rented Renault Duster when, rounding a curve with six-foot snow drifts to either side, a dark and narrow tunnel came into view. Looking down the mountain, I could see the other end of it — and an apparently endless convoy of eighteen-wheelers making their way up, entering in the opposite direction. I couldn’t imagine how we’d fit alongside each other, but I pressed on, only to find myself in a black hole. The headlights illuminated nothing. I rolled down the window — one of those useless things you do when beginning to panic — and realized that we were in a cloud of black truck exhaust so thick it was blinding.