Gudauri Palace

A lovely place for a vacation, with hills all around covered in white snow. The weather is below zero, and the trip from Tbilisi takes 2 to 3 hours. It's near the Russian border, only 20 kilometers away. There are skating and cable car viewpoints, plus plenty of hotels and restaurants serving all kinds of food. The elevation is more than 2500 feet above sea level. One of the best places, with really chill weather.

We were a family of four, and this was the best ski resort apartment we could have asked for. It felt like home, with a fully equipped kitchen and a washing machine. A supermarket, exchange, pharmacy, and restaurant are all close by. Downstairs there's storage for ski equipment, and the doors open right onto the ski teleferik that takes you up the mountain.

I didn't stay at the hotel, but a colleague and I rented skis from the shop in its lobby. When we got on the cable car, after leaving the shop, we noticed the skis were already damaged, and there was evidence the damage wasn't ours. The rental employees weren't professional, and the gear seemed completely unmaintained, below what a regular skier should expect. After arguing with them, we paid a 700 GEL (200 EUR) penalty for a damaged ski that had cost 125 EUR new. It felt like a rip-off. There's another rental shop next door with excellent service, so check exactly what you're renting and from whom, and inspect everything before you leave the shop.

The room itself was nice, but the window leaked and left water on the living room floor. It's hard to believe the owner or manager didn't know about it. We booked a privately managed room, but were given one much smaller than the one we paid for. We insisted on getting the room we'd reserved. The staff weren't kind. I also noticed that a lot of the Georgian staff, including waitresses, didn't smile or seem welcoming. I can't say why. The hotel restaurant was extremely expensive: 22 GEL for a glass of orange juice, the price of a main course at a decent restaurant, and 170 GEL for breakfast. The good thing is that it's very close to the main gondola.