Ire Palace

The skiing, mountains, nature, and people around Goderdzi made the trip for me, and the resort seemed great for beginners as well as skilled skiers who prefer uncrowded tracks. I enjoyed that a lot, despite the hotel's problems, and hope to see an upgraded Ire Palace Hotel next time. We were three people in a two-room suite on the third floor at the start of the 2021/2022 ski season. Staff and managers were willing to negotiate almost all our requests, though we had to push a bit. The rooms were warm, even hot if you like, and luckily the heat was adjustable. Ski rental opposite the hotel was affordable, but there were no ski racks in the hotel. It felt as if the hotel was still unfinished, with things broken or not working, even though we were told it had been operating for about three years. Our room near the elevator was irritatingly noisy. The thick doors and walls didn't help with the elevator's closing alarm, and it was hard to fall asleep. Some room cards stopped working now and then and needed replacing a couple of times. Only a few staff spoke English or Russian, mostly the managers. Buffet lunches and dinners usually took 40 minutes to an hour of waiting. The electricity seemed unreliable and went out for a while. The entrance door then had to be opened manually, which was fun for us, though I imagine older people might struggle with it. The lower floors, including the canteen, were pretty cold. I saw waitresses warming themselves by the radiators. The room walls weren't very thick either, so we could hear what the neighbors were talking or shouting about.