Borjomi, a resort town in central Georgia, is known for its mineral waters. We stayed at the four-star Golden Tulip Borjomi, built in 1892 by the consular of Iran in Russia as a summer house. It’s now a unique Cultural-Historical Monument with 17 boutique rooms and is so stunning with pale blue paintwork, balconies and mirrored alcoves that it was photographed by every passing visitor. It’s hard to describe fully, but hopefully my photograph does it justice.
Check in was thorough and we were told where the bar, restaurant and spa were, but as it was 6.30pm and we were only staying one night, time didn’t allow us to indulge in the latter.
Our second-floor room was up two short flights of stairs, but the receptionist helpfully carried our bags in the absence of a lift. The room was small but extravagantly decorated in pale blue with a vibrant statement wall behind the double bed and fancy velvet turquoise blinds with gold tassels. It was furnished with bedside cabinets, reading lights and plug points, a stocked mini bar, tea and coffee making facilities, and ironically non-Borjomi complimentary water. There was a large TV and space for one suitcase and a tiny wardrobe with robes and slippers, but there was nowhere to sit. Bearing in mind the altitude at 800m, a heater could be plugged in instead of AC. The wooden floors above creaked and the walls were thin, making it all a little noisy.
The bathroom was equally small, but the enclosed shower cubicle had powerful hot water and there were small bottles of complimentary toiletries, lots of towel hooks, a heated towel rail, good hairdryer/mirror mix and a shaving mirror.
Having sat out with a G&T in the pleasant courtyard garden until it got chilly and dark, we investigated the restaurant on the second floor. Flamboyantly decorated in white, navy, mirrored glass mosaics and stained glass, it looked fabulous but felt a little soulless and empty, so we ate out at a simple restaurant across the road.
Breakfast didn’t start until 8.30am but there was a good array of dishes with scrambled eggs, potatoes and sausages as hot options, fruits, cold meats and cheeses, khachapuri or Georgian cheesey bread and Danish pastries with tea and coffee and orange juice you could help yourself to. It was lovely but so noisy as the chairs scraped on the marble floor every time someone moved.
There is no doubt, this was a beautiful hotel, and one where we wished we’d had a longer stay to be able to indulge in a treatment or two.
