Grand Hotel Ushba

Richard from Norway and his staff looked after us really well. After excellent skitours around Mt. Ushba, we came back to warm, cosy rooms, hot showers, and very good dinner and wine. For the area, the place offers as much comfort as you could hope for.

At #7 King Tamar street, just 50 meters from Mestia’s central square, the Kakhiani family’s “USHBA” guesthouse has clean rooms with picturesque views. The options include single and double rooms, as well as rooms for 3 or 4 people. The hosts are friendly and make you feel at home, with a comfortable setting. They introduce guests to local food and can prepare lunch boxes for tracking tours. Vehicles, tracking tours, horse riding and qualified guides are also available.

The rooms were comfortable and we had a lovely stay, but I thought both the rooms and the meal cost too much for what we got. It was reassuring to see signs for the guesthouse all the way from Etseri, though.

The setting is nice, out in the middle of nowhere, with a pleasant porch for sitting and reading. Staff were nice and spoke English well, and the dining room was nice too. Breakfast is included. The bathroom is shared. I didn’t think the price matched what you got: dinner cost 28 lari, for soup with eggplant, peppers, potatoes and tomatoes, then another soup with meat added, followed by tea, coffee and a biscuit. For 28 lari, that wasn’t very impressive.