Rooms Hotel Tbilisi

A gracious welcome and a leisurely pace, balmy temperatures and mountain vistas: it’s a typical Georgian getaway. No, not that Georgia. The other Georgia, as in the small country located at the crossroads of Asia and Europe. Considering its position, it’s no surprise that the country has a long and fascinating history, nor that its capital city, Tbilisi, is called the “Paris of Eurasia.” Well, there are a lot of Parises around lately, but you’ll see the sense of it when you’re sitting at a sidewalk café in Old Town. Tbilisi has worked hard to restore its original charm after the grim Soviet and post-Soviet era; a handful of stylish new hotels have been opening their doors lately to accommodate a new influx of visitors. Rooms Hotel Tbilisi is perhaps the most promising among them.

Indeed, the sleek eight-story hotel, located inside an old publishing house, embodies many of the qualities that make Tbilisi so appealing — elegant architecture, rich traditions in literature and the fine arts, a bohemian spirit, an emphasis on social life. Georgians, for example, are renowned for their lavish feasts and philosophical toasts. Rooms Hotel Tbilisi’s take: ample lounge space on leather sofas in the cozy fireplace lounge, and the Kitchen, an excellent but unpretentious restaurant that uses sustainably grown food, welcomes plenty of locals.

The design takes its lead from the building’s original function, but the Rooms Hotel Tbilisi is hardly industrial chic: faded Persian rugs and colorful vintage pieces add a lived-in feel that makes you want to hang around for another drink. After you’ve had your fill of traditional Georgian wines at the Bar Room, retire to your guest room, where wide wood-planked floors, velvet throws, handmade wallpaper, old-fashioned writing desks, leather headboards, and glowing chandeliers warm up minimal spaces once characterized by cold steel, iron and glass. No details were spared in the name of creating a warm and sophisticated getaway: you’ll have to discover many of them for yourself. It would be tempting to linger at the hotel, but the museums, fortresses, cobblestoned lanes and outdoor cafés of Tbilisi await outside. Go for a stroll though Old Town and it’s practically guaranteed you’ll have Georgia on your mind — the other Georgia — for a while to come.