Hotel Newland

It was a sad experience. None of the staff spoke English, so I tried speaking Russian. I felt we were treated rather coldly, only addressed in Georgian, and given what looked like the hotel’s worst room, based on the other photos here. I assumed there might be hostility toward people from Russia. After the staff saw my EU passport, they suddenly spoke perfect Russian and became very friendly. I can’t help thinking we might have received a better room if they’d known that earlier.

The location on the main road is good, and there isn’t much choice in town. The rooms facing the river should be quieter than the ones by the terrace, which the bar uses and may get noisy depending on the season. My room was very clean, the bed was comfortable, and the shower had good hot water.

We had a bad experience and I wouldn’t recommend it. The rooms are very small, and the food was disgusting. We were served a burned omelet for 15 lari. When we tried to discuss the food and service, the administration refused and asked for the full cost. There was no menu or technical card showing what we were being charged for. On the second day of our “vacation,” a child’s birthday party took place right outside our window. People blocked the window, and we couldn’t rest.

The hotel is in a nice location, the rooms are okay, the balcony is pleasant, and the owner is nice. It was not very clean under the beds, though, and nighttime noise was a problem. There’s a large shared balcony outside all the rooms, and when drunk Russians or Georgians gather there, it’s impossible to sleep. The person watching the hotel at night sometimes joins them, though it wasn’t every night. I’d probably still call it the best place to stay, but avoid eating or drinking there. The kitchen’s menu lists one price, yet we were charged at least twice as much, sometimes more. Georgians were charged less even in front of tourists. The food quality was terrible for the price. At the bar, the woman running it quoted one price and charged more than double. When questioned, she said, “What, you think we’re not meant to make any money off you? Tbilisi is much higher!” It actually isn’t. The hotel and bar seem to be separate businesses with different registration and separate checks. Chiatura has some great restaurants with better, cheaper food and good service. If you have a car, there are also good restaurants just outside town. Be careful with the woman running the kitchen and bar. I don’t trust her word, and I felt she was trying to cheat tourists. She ruined our experience in Chiatura. Check all prices, confirm everything, and get a receipt for every purchase.