Andrzej Malinowski, Chief Executive Officer at Veon Georgia, let Where.ge in on his ideal spots to stay on a visit to Georgia.
"Business trips are part of my job, so I travel quite a lot – given the geography of our company operations and the fact our HQ is located in Amsterdam," he told us. "I don’t track the time I spend traveling or nights I spend in hotels, but both can be high in number. When it comes to my favorite places in Georgia, the selection is based on a mixture of emotions, my evaluation of quality of service in particular places and the “thing” – something that is specific to a respective place."
RADISSON BLU IVERIA, TBILISI
My #1 hotel in Georgia is Radisson Tbilisi. Here, emotion plays a big role. This hotel was my first “home” – back in April 2017, right after I arrived in Tbilisi for the first time. Everything about the place made me feel welcome in the country I call a “home away from home”. The location, front desk team, quality of food and service overall was top notch and it made my blending into Georgia and the city much easier. I still keep a thank you note I received after I’d spent almost two weeks in a great room overlooking the city.
ROOMS HOTEL, KAZBEGI
Soon after I realized Tbilisi feels more and more like home for me, I invited my wife to show her how great a place it is and used this opportunity to take a trip to Stepantsminda. And there I discovered Rooms Hotel Kazbegi - #2 on my list. The interior, view from the terrace and this special feeling of being in a truly unique place like no other is something I will remember for years to come. In fact, I took both of my children there when they came to visit me and they were both stunned.
RADISSON BLU BATUMI
When I finally made it to Batumi (also a very memorable trip for me – I was there on my 50th birthday) Radisson Batumi was kind of an obvious choice. Many people I know from the hospitality business say “location is the key” and surely Radisson Batumi proves this theory perfectly. I really like the place, I was lucky to stay in a sea-view room; enjoy my pool time – also this year I had some of my family members joining me for my 51st birthday celebration there. The hotel administration surprised me with a delicious cake on that occasion. Only good memories from the amazing place Batumi is and from the hotel.
VARDZIA RESORT
Vardzia Resort is a place I visited most recently with many of my teammates– we had a corporate event there. It was my first ever visit to this part of Georgia and honestly, everything about this trip was mind blowing: the surroundings of the hotel itself, huge room with a breathtaking view, meeting room and helpful staff made our event a great experience. I will definitely be back there since I did not have enough enjoyment!
TSINANDALI ESTATE
Overall, all the places I have stayed in while in Georgia (and it’s more than 2.5 years now) were truly impressive – from the design perspective both interior and exterior – Tsinandali Estate is in a league of its own. I’ve never seen anything quite like it – the hotel itself is a bit hard to find when you go there for the first time, but once you find it – it just leaves you speechless. It is truly state of the art, with so much attention to detail and quality of service in all aspects. I will definitely go there again, because my last (and only) trip happened during really bad weather, so I expect on a sunny day the place will make an even better impression.
