Marriott's Paragraph Freedom Square Opens In Tbilisi, Georgia

The Adjara Group is a Georgian hospitality company who own the Stamba hotel in Tblisi. It's housed in a former publishing house. It's not a cookie cutter Marriott property. Please stay there.

Then make a trip to Stepantsminda and stay at the Rooms Hotel in Kazbegi. You can do some excellent day hikes in Kazbegi.

Both these hotels have tons of character. I know your job is to review points hotels but sometimes it is just not worth it, and Georgia is a wonderful country. Go visit without the pressure of a blog.

Nailed it. What makes it better is that both these hotels participate in the Design Hotels program!

My partner and I are recent back from Georgia and loved it. 4/5 days is enough in Tbilisi, and gives time for a day trip to Mtskheta/Jvari. Freedom Sq is a good area to stay, with lots of good food/drinks nearby (Elene Dariani, Dadi).

Make time to visit the vineyards in Kakheti. We stayed two nights at Schuchmann, which was perfect. We heard from others that Batumi / Kutaisi aren't worth the journey.

We felt super comfortable as a gay couple, and found the city / people welcoming and open

I’ve stayed at the Courtyard right in that freedom square area a couple times, been to Georgia and Tbilisi 5x. Great food as stated, city center along Kura river is fantastic, mountains up in Kazbegi provides awesome scenery, Gergeti Trinity Church/Ananuri Fortress up north are amazing, etc. There’s a bunch of people in Tbilisi trying to offer tourists a tour to the hot spots of Georgia so that can get annoying but otherwise definitely one of my favorite cities in the world

I stayed at the Sheraton there back in 2013 and it was very dated and about to be remodeled. Glad to see that newer and better options are popping up!

Tbilisi itself can be seen in 2-3 days. I'd highly recommend a day trip up north into the Caucasus mountains, perhaps even overnight. Stunning scenery up there.

I think its named "Paragraph Freedom Square, a Luxury Collection hotel" (without the Marriott)

False. The Rooms Hotel left Design Hotels/Marriott Bonvoy back in October 2020. I asked the front desk about it while visiting for drinks back in 2021 (the outdoor terrace is just stunning), and they didn't know why.

The hotel looks great but it is probably not the best time to visit Georgia. The country is a step away from a revolution and/or clashes between the supporters of the president and the prime minister. Add the fact that part of the country is occupied by Russia and the whole region is unstable...

Like _ar mentioned in a previous comment, if you end up staying in Tbilisi *please* try out the Stamba hotel (feel free to look it up, very quirky architecture and interior but not in a W hotels-way, it's full of character and history). I'm sure many of us would love reading about it and eventually staying there... maybe split nights with the Marriott like you did in Kyoto?

As for other places to go besides Tbilisi, I had eyed up Borjomi and surroundings, it looks stunning and it's possible to do it as a day trip (otherwise there are some decent properties there, including a Crowne Plaza). Since you are someone that likes mountains (e.g. Berchtesgadener Land), I'd say try to hire a car/driver to take you up north towards the Caucasus mountains, the nature there also seems breathtaking... that being said I'm not sure what to expect there in terms of accommodation. Although Batumi has some pretty solid hotels, I haven't heard much positive about it as Tbilisi and if you're planning to go in peak season, I'd expect it to be pretty packed with locals and Middle Easterns (I believe it's rather popular with the latter in summer given the proximity)

Hi Lucky. I am staying at this hotel next week. I would love to let you know how it went and maybe write-up a review for you and the blog. Obviously I will need your editors to roof and clean up my review. English is not my strongsuit :).

According to the US State Department travel advisories, Georgia (at level 1, "Exercise Normal Precautions") is safer to visit than France or the UK (both at level 2). I visited Tbilisi last month and had a fantastic time.

Wow, the Stamba looks amazing. I really go for that type of industrial chic.

What a crazy flow of propaganda from VitaliU! Really?
I disagree with VitaliU’s negative view of Georgia. As someone who follows Georgian politics closely, I know that the people are tired of revolutions and unrest. Now that Georgia has achieved EU candidacy, there is even less chance of instability. Moreover, for the first time since regaining independence, Georgia might have a coalition government and a situation where the ruling party does not have a constitutional majority in Parliament. I agree with VitaliU on one thing, though: 20% of Georgia is occupied, slightly less than Cyprus. But does that make Cyprus unstable as well?

Watching that "6 Millionith Tourist" video made me smile, laugh our loud, get hungry, look up "Grape Juice Pie" recipe, and then tear up. What a great idea and an excellent execution of the entire Georgian team! I want to visit now! Although I realize my trip won't be near as curated.

Thats strange. I was there too (for drinks and lunch, at the terrace) in December 2022 and they had the Design Hotels sign outside.

Also the website seems to be up - https://www.designhotels.com/hotels/georgia/stepantsminda/rooms-kazbegi/

Ben, it'd be fun to see you write a post about the countries in the world you haven't been to yet in your long traveling life and which ones excite you the most!

Absolutely have to visit ‘Rooms’ hotel in Kazbegi. Incredible place.

Ok I figured it out. You're right that it's still a Design Hotel, but I'm correct that it left Marriott Bonvoy a few years ago, and thus it has no relationship with Marriott/you can't earn or redeem points here/no elite benefits.

I assume that when you wrote (with an exclamation point) that it was part of Design Hotels, that you were referring to the Marriott affiliation.

I find it interesting that you consider yourself to be visiting places. Actually you mostly travel to places for the review of the booking process, trip, and destination - how you booked, lounges, airlines, and hotels. It seems you do not really do much when you are there because you are reviewing the hotel services and do not eat much in terms of outside the hotel, unless you just do not report on these things. I guess only a few times I have seen reports of something not part of the review experience that you did and told your readers about it. Perhaps it would be interesting for an article about the usual life when you're "on the road."

Stamba is amazing! I live 5 minutes walk and go there frequently for dinner -- even if you aren't staying the night the restaurant is absolutely worth an experience.

Ben, I'm based in Tbilisi on an expat assignment and will heartily recommend many of the comments you've received already -- splitting time between this hotel and Stamba Hotel would reward the extra effort. Stamba is a must-see and worth a review by you despite not being part of a major chain. I'd also absolutely recommend you do the 3 hour drive north to Mount Kazbeg and stay at Rooms Hotel up by the Georga/Russia border. The Lars border crossing is widely considered to be the most beautiful in the world and the view from the hotel facing the 15,000 foot Kazbeg is a sight to see.

If you do make it out here, I'd be happy to grab a coffee and show you around a bit!

Seriously??? The man is running a business at the end of the day and a successful one at that! So regardless of what people think about “visiting places” etc, it’s pretty clear what this website is all about!

I’ve been dying to visit Georgia for about 25 years. I was just looking at airbnb properties in Tbilisi and what you get for your money is incredible. I’ve been jaded by Airbnb lately but I think it’s a great option for cities like Tbilisi.

Georgia is an amazing place to be a tourist. Depending what you like doing there is history, great food and wine, amazing mountains, and seaside. My partner is Georgian so I spend a lot of time in the country (and am in Batumi as I write this :-p).

I would recommend spending at least a week. If you want to visit things that are easy to do, spend a few days in Tbilisi, 2 days at a vineyard in the Kahkheti region (Togonidze is amazing and his wife speaks perfect English) and 2 days in the Kazbegi region in the mountains. That can give you a good sampling.

In Tbilisi most people under 35 speak English and you can easily get around with Bolt. There are some amazing restaurants (Ninia's Garden, Salobie Bia, Rigi Cafe, Craft Wine Bar and Puri Giuliani are a few of my favorites). Fabrika is also a cool place to have a coffee or drink.

If you want to give yourself some time I highly recommend going to Mestia and Ushguli. They are incredible. It takes some time (and a bit of adventure) to get there, but it is absolutely worth it. Vardzia is also quite cool and the drive there is beautiful (as they are in most of the country).

If you need any other tips just shout. There is so much to see and do. I like Azerbaijan and Armenia, but Georgia is another level.

Enjoy the adventure!

We visited last year. The aviator suite at the Stamba hotel was amazing!!!
Would prefer over a Marriott