Hotele z: Gym w Kakheti, Georgia

Great resort at a super nice lake. Landscape and the hotel facilities are clearly the highlight. The new gym with proper equipment was my personal highlight. A bit pricey but definitely nice especially with children. 

During dinner, I asked for a bottle of water, but it took more than 10 minutes for it to be brought to the table. To make matters worse, a staff member accidentally took away the fork I was using while I was still eating. As a result, I was unable to continue my meal for several minutes because I had no fork. To their credit, the staff member realized the mistake and brought me a complimentary cake, and the manager later offered me a glass of wine as an apology. At first, I even wondered whether I was being treated differently, but I chose to assume it was simply an unfortunate mistake and moved on. That said, considering the quality and price level of the hotel facilities, the restaurant service was noticeably below the standard I experienced at other hotels. I thought it was worth mentioning for future guests.

Before coming to Georgia, I wasn't particularly interested in wine estates, but during my research, Tsinandali really caught my attention. I scoured Xiaohongshu for posts about the Tsinandali Estate, and now it's my turn to give back. 1. Everyone's impression of it: My chartered driver and guide, whenever I mentioned staying in Tsinandali, everyone would give a thumbs-up. For somewhat reserved Georgians, this seemed like the highest praise. This further solidified my decision to stay here for two days. 2. On Google Maps, you can see many accommodations with the 'Tsinandali' tag nearby, ranging in different price points. This vast land belongs to the same owner, including the museum, offering options for all budgets. After exploring on foot, the Tsinandali Estate is indeed the best, which I'll elaborate on later. 3. Regarding the service staff on this estate, don't compare the Tsinandali Estate to the usual Radisson hotel service standards. The 'aunties' working on the ground floor and the security guards here are mostly local elderly women and men. Perhaps this is the owner's care for former tenants. Aside from the younger staff, most of the older generation don't understand English, even simple words like 'water' or 'bye-bye.' But that doesn't diminish my positive feelings towards them. Things you can do here: 1. The hotel has a hidden room in the -1 basement. Go find it yourself; it's like Platform 4.1/3 from Harry Potter. 2. The hotel's lighting design is absolutely stunning. You could compile an album of the lights, I'm waiting for it! 3. The hotel offers Russian steam baths and wine baths + massages. Compared to five-star hotels in China, the prices here are definitely worth it. I tried to book on the same day but couldn't get an appointment. I bought a swimsuit and went to the steam room after swimming. You can see various massage and steaming services in the pictures. 4. The welcoming dog at the entrance – I wish someone would tell me its name. In the morning, I told it I was going to the museum, and it followed me closely, constantly looking back to make sure I was keeping up. It led me directly to the ticket office. It definitely understands Chinese! 5. You can book cooking classes here, masterclasses, and various culinary workshops. The prices are appealing, but they require a minimum of two people. 6. You can visit the museum and also enjoy wine. There's a free guided tour. Admission is 10 Lari, and with 3 glasses of wine, it's 25 Lari. If you chat with the old gentleman about what kind of wine you like, he'll let you taste them all, not limited to three glasses. I prefer sweet wine, and he let me taste a 2018 bottle. You can ask him to open it for you to take back to your room. Bought it, drank it, happy! 7. There are other vineyard tours available, requiring a minimum of 4 people and lasting about 3 hours. There are also specialized wine tasting courses. The prices are all reasonable; I've posted pictures, so you can take your time to look them over. 8. Most importantly, rooms 444 and 344 face the snowy mountains (no balcony). You can try to request these room types. The views from all rooms are great. I didn't want a room near the elevator, so I ended up with a corner room, but the view was unbeatable. The rooftop pool also faces the snowy mountains. There are loungers on the top floor; grab a bottle of red wine, and life feels truly worthwhile! 9. Oh, and hotel massages must be booked in advance. They offer excellent value for money.

I really enjoyed my stay at this hotel. The room and the entire property were very clean. The front desk staff spoke a little Russian and English. The pool area staff were also very friendly and helpful with directions. The pool is heated, but we found it a bit cool in the evening, though it was perfect during the day in the sun. You can warm up in the sauna, steam room, or hammam. I celebrated my birthday at this hotel and received a cake and a card as a gift, which was a lovely surprise! There's a large parking lot by the road, and they'll take you to the hotel entrance on a golf cart. The restaurant prices are a bit high, but I really enjoyed having dinner or lunch with a view on the terrace. The hotel has two restaurants: one on the 1st floor serving Georgian cuisine and another on the 4th floor for European dishes. It's a 6-minute drive to Sighnaghi city. You can go into town for a stroll and a more budget-friendly meal if that's important to you. I highly recommend this hotel!

It's quite old overall, and the facilities are a bit basic. There are several restaurants and banks nearby, making it convenient to withdraw money. The Japanese food with its snow-capped mountain view is also nice. You can take a walk in the evening. The food is decent, not crowded. They even let us do a survey; their attitude was very good.

Great family hotel!! Very friendly staff, warm pool, great atmosphere! Would love to visit again