Holiday Inn Telavi offers the internationally renowned full service expected of a hotel under the IHG brand. Based in Georgia’s famed wine-making region, Kakheti, the hotel features 85 rooms, an open lobby bar, and two restaurants- ‘Batontan,’ serving an inspiring and traditional Georgian menu, and ‘Iberiko,’ offering European dishes and enviable views of the Alazani Valley and Caucasus Mountains. Guests can enjoy both an indoor and an outdoor swimming pool, a sauna, steam bath, gym, terrace, and bar. To find out more, GEORGIA TODAY sat down with Levan Eristavi, director of Holiday Inn Telavi.
What services does Holiday Inn Telavi offer its guests?
Holiday Inn Telavi offers the services expected of a hotel under the IHG brand. IHG hotels are globally recognized for their comfort, values, and attitude to guest satisfaction. They count an incredible 6000 hotels worldwide, and we feel very happy that one of those 6000 is located in the Kakheti region.
Holiday Inn Telavi has 85 different types of room, innovative public spaces, and an open lobby bar concept with the perfect modern, cozy environment for guests to relax or work in. On the first floor of the hotel is restaurant ‘Batontan,’ serving traditional Georgian cuisine, and on the fifth floor is our European restaurant and bar ‘Iberiko,’ with a special view of the Alazani Valley and the Caucasus Mountains. Guests can also enjoy the hotel’s indoor swimming pool with panoramic views, sauna, steam bath and modern gym. In addition, during the hot summer season, guests can make use of the hotel’s outdoor swimming pool, terrace and bar.
The hotel is designed for both the corporate segment and tourists. For the corporate segment, the hotel has a large conference hall for 100-120 guests and a small conference space for 35-40. For local vacationers, we have created an environment to suit families and friends as they make unforgettable memories in Kakheti.
What is the main thing that sets Holiday Inn Telavi apart?
Holiday Inn Telavi is located in a historical, 19th-century building in the center of Telavi, the capital of the Kakheti region, which is known for its outstanding wine production culture.
We boast a modern interior that merges with local authenticity. The hotel’s international level service and excellent location are definitely among our main calling cards. Further, our service staff is trained according to international standards under the IHG brand, which is another important factor that makes our hotel stand out. Guest safety and security are top priority in the hotel, meeting international best practices, a fact which resonates particularly with our international guests.
What impact can Holiday Inn Telavi have on eastern Georgian tourism?
The hotel is involved in the IHG brand loyalty program, which has over 100 million customers globally. Our achievements and high positioning naturally help to attract more foreign tourists to the region. Indeed, our hotel was one of the first in the eastern Georgian market to operate under an international brand, and we hope this will motivate local brands and businesses to seek to bring similar brands here in the future.
What is the main challenge in the tourism sector in Kakheti?
The Kakheti region has a lot of potential. The tourist flow is increasing by the year, and we’re seeing it becoming an ever more attractive location for vacationers. Tourism development is one of the top priorities our country, and our team is proud to contribute to this important process. It is vital for us to participate in the development of the tourism and infrastructure of Georgia, and at the same time to create jobs of international standard. The hotel employs the local population and regularly trains them to those globally recognized standards. The motivational program ‘Made in Georgia,’ and those of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, have also played a big role in local development, and encouraged us to invest.
The main challenge in the Kakheti region is the amount of competition. The lack of an airport and a railway can also be considered as obstacles to regional development, though we have already made progress in this regard and hope that in the near future we will be able to offer this comfort to our guests too.
Tell us about future plans for Holiday Inn Telavi.
Holiday Inn Telavi is already ranked third among Holiday Inn hotels across Europe according to guest ratings, thanks to the selfless work of our team. This kind of evaluation motivates us to continue to grow and promote the development of tourism in the country. Guest satisfaction is always a priority for us, and we try to take into account each recommendation and comment, being oriented to maintaining and further establishing our place in the international market and ability to adapt to vacationers of all segments.
Our development has come in stages. The first step was creating an outdoor area, which allowed our guests the opportunity to use an additional space in the summer. We’re not stopping there, though, and, over time, plan to offer even more interesting novelties to our valued guests.
Interview by Mariam Mtivlishvili
