A fragrant pot-pourri of 20th-century interior design, Communal Hotel Sololaki is set amid the historic townhouses and mediaeval monuments of Old Tbilisi, a short stroll from Mtatsminda Park, the botanical garden and the Narikala fortress.
Planes
Tbilisi International Airport lies east of the city centre, a 30- to 40-minute cab ride from the hotel. A one-way transfer costs around GEL70 (US$25).
Trains
Transfers from Tbilisi train station cost GEL20–30 (US$7–10) one-way. Or you can hop on the metro to Liberty Square, a kilometre from the hotel.
Automobiles
Tbilisi’s reliable bus and metro networks mean city sightseers have little need for their own set of wheels. Cars are available to rent at the airport should you plan a multi-centre trip to one of Communal’s other Smith-approved stays.
Worth getting out of bed for
Cameras at the ready: the cobbled lanes of Old Tbilisi are full of eye-popping architectural surprises, each distinct style marking a different chapter in Georgia’s storied past. Crooked mediaeval clock towers and ancient city walls rub shoulders with brutalist Soviet-era apartment blocks, vintage scooters prop up collapsing Italianate mansions, and the domes of the Abanotubani bath houses undulate like desert dunes in a Persian fairytale.
The baths – sulphurous underground thermal springs – are bucket-list material. Choose from public or private, authentic or upscale, and book an exfoliating kisi scrub while you’re there. The bath houses are overlooked by the imposing Narikala fortress, an ancient Persian citadel that’s best reached by cable car from Rike Park or via the rather more challenging (but no less scenic) old Betlemi Street Stairs from Sololaki.
Even those with glutes of steel will likely opt to ride the funicular up to the Mount Mtatsminda viewpoint, for some of the best skyline views in town. Get higher still on Mtatsminda Amusement Park’s old-school Ferris wheel. Or, for something a little more down-to-earth, the National Botanical Garden of Georgia – all 161 hectares of it – lies in the nearby Tsavkisis-Tskali Gorge.
Local restaurants
Madre is a Communal Hotel Sololaki favourite, bringing modern Basque tapas and pintxos to the foothills of Mount Mtatsminda. Spanish Revival-style interiors –terracotta tones, gleaming tiles and exposed brick – set the scene for octopus carpaccio, truffle bread, steak empanadas and a biblical wine list that splits the difference between European and Georgian varieties. Nearby Pasanauri is all about hearty and authentic Georgian plates: veal chops, traditional khinkali dumplings, fried potatoes, apple cake (and a three-month diet for afters).
Local cafés
You’re never far from a speciality coffee bar in Sololaki. Retro-chic Kutkhe is a case in point, all exposed brick, Moorish floor tiles and a chandelier that hangs from artfully distressed cracked-plaster ceilings. Come for the coffee and brunch, stay for cocktails in the next room, which transforms into a lamplit speakeasy-style bar in the evening. Nearby Coffein is a cute little hole-in-the-wall takeaway for no-nonsense morning espresso and pastries
Local bars
There are a few good cocktail bars within stumbling distance of the hotel. Testing your detective skills, tiny 41° (or 41° Art of Drinks to give it its full, modest moniker) is worth the search thanks to a menu of craft cocktails made using traditional local ingredients like cherry and sour plum liqueurs and fermented Georgian yoghurt. Find it behind a steel door down a narrow passageway off Galaktion Tabidze Street… If it proves too elusive (or, more likely, has already reached its 20-person capacity), the Rum Roof Kitchen Bar and Kantora are easier-to-locate nearby alternatives.
