Akhalts'ikhe Hotels

Meskheta Hotel

The old woman munching on a sandwich at reception nearly fell off her chair when I walked in and asked for a room. "A room?! Yes, we have one!" and she almost skipped down the long musty corridor to show me. The Meskheta used to be a former Intourist hotel, and hasn't fared terribly well over the years...but that said, the room I was given had comfortable beds, a table and chair to write at (there's very little else to do here!), and the bathroom had a shower in it. I was asked to specify when exactly I would be taking my shower, as this necessitated switching something on at reception as well as flicking a switch in the bathroom itself, and waiting a couple of hours for the water to heat up. The old lady was a frequent visitor to my room...she would come knocking at half hour intervals and I had to assume that, because of her age and her air of respectability, she was not trying to throw herself upon me, but I did have to wonder...but luckily for me, it seemed she was more interested in the state of my tap water.

The receptionist was very keen for me to have coffee, and would ask me whenever she saw me. Eventually, I agreed, and she took me to reception to make it in front of me. Made semi-Turkish style, the contraption used is something i will never forget. It was little more than a metal cup with an old wire poking out of it, which she attached to the wall socket by poking the ends in the holes with her fingers. Not quite sure what to call it...maybe a sawn-off kettle?! Anyway, I'd never had Turkish coffee made using Nescafe granules before, but she made it expertly and offered me a couple of fruit toffees to help it down.

Friday night offered entertainment en-suite, as a local bar had karaoke. There seemed to be only two songs available though, one for the women, and the Georgian version of the Russian hit "chorniy bumyer" for the men, which kept me entertained, albeit involuntarily, until power went off just before midnight.

The hotel staff are obviously not used to late risers, as when I eventually surfaced and checked out at around 8.30am, the old lady looked suitably relieved, saying "oh good, we thought you'd died in there!". I assured her I hadn't, paid my 30 Lari and she bade me farewell.

• Opinion of Price: less expensive than average
• Related to: Road Trip, Backpacking, Budget Travel
• Written September 12, 2005

Turn right at Queen Tamar...

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