Where to Stay in Kutaisi 2026: Centre, Old Quarters, Airport

Kutaisi gets two kinds of visitor: people on a route, who sleep here for Gelati, Prometheus Cave and the canyons before the van to Mestia or the train to Batumi, and people who flew in with Wizz Air at an unsociable hour and need a bed before anything else. Both should stay in the same place, the compact centre on the east bank of the Rioni, and both tend to be talked out of it by a 03:00 landing. This page is only about the bed. Our Kutaisi guide covers the city, the airport transfers page covers the 24 km in from the terminal, and our where to stay in Georgia page shows where one or two Kutaisi nights sit in a ten-day or two-week trip.

Properties listed

446

Guesthouse double

from 45 GEL

Centre hotel room

from 73 GEL

Dearest room seen

445 GEL

The five areas in one table

Booking.com listed 446 properties for Kutaisi for our test night, 91 of them hotels, 182 apartments and 106 guesthouses, and 237 of the lot were under 1 km from the centre. That last number is the point: Kutaisi's centre is a few streets either side of the river, and the distance that matters is the walk to the Colchis Fountain and the White Bridge, which every listing states. The ranges below are the rooms named further down, read that day; they are examples for a quiet October weekend, not averages.

Around the Colchis Fountain

The fountain is the centre of Kutaisi in every sense: the traffic circle with the gilded Colchian animals, the Meskhishvili Theatre behind it, the central park, the Green Bazaar a few minutes down the hill, and the old Catholic quarter around Newport Street a block away. Anything within 400 m of it is a first-visit address. The trade is noise on the main streets on a Saturday night, and the fact that the two most expensive hotels in the city are here, which pushes some first-timers out to the airport road for no reason.

Hotel 1870, at 18 Varlamishvili Street 350 m from the fountain, is where we would book first. A 14 square metre standard double was 98 GEL (about $38), down from 115, with free cancellation until 16 October and no card needed, breakfast 20 GEL extra; it scores 9.3 from 596 reviews with location 9.8, and the reviews are about the owner. Hotel Varla, two doors along at number 20, is the best-scored hotel in the city at 9.9 from 387 reviews with location 9.9: a 25 square metre deluxe double with a kitchenette and a patio was 155 GEL (about $60) with free cancellation at any time. Gala Boutique Hotel at 14 Newport Street, 250 m from the fountain, scored 9.3 from 145 reviews with location 9.7, had a 16 square metre double with a balcony for 220 GEL, breakfast 20 GEL. Hotel Georgia at 17 Tsminda Nino Street, 350 m from the fountain and 400 m from the bridge, scored 8.5 from 79 reviews with location 9.7, a 20 square metre superior twin for 84 GEL; Chveni Qalaqi on the same street, scored 8.7 from 263 reviews with location 9.6, a twin with a kitchenette for 89 GEL, down from 99.

The two design hotels. Newport Hotel Kutaisi, at 1 Newport Street 200 m from the fountain in the old Catholic quarter, is the hotel with the roof terrace that every list of the city names, scored 9.1 from 1,843 reviews with location 9.7. For our Saturday it had one room left, a 38 square metre superior king suite with breakfast for 445 GEL (about $171), down from 581, non-refundable; for the following Saturday its standard twin with breakfast was 305 GEL, down from 399. Hotel Memoire at 5 Newport Street, scored 8.9 from 1,191 reviews with location 9.7, was sold out for our night and 203 GEL for a deluxe double the week after. Kutaisi Inn at 2 David Agmashenebeli Street, the big hotel 100 m from Kutaisi I station, scored 8.2 from 2,461 reviews, was full too; 208 GEL for an economy double with breakfast on 24 October, down from 300.

Budget rooms by the fountain. city point at 2 Merab Kostava Street, 200 m from the fountain, scored 9.5 from 527 reviews with location 9.9 and value for money 9.8: an 18 square metre budget twin with a kitchen for 105 GEL (about $40), free cancellation, no card. Budget Home at 6 Tbilisi Street, 150 m from the fountain, scored 9.4 from 177 reviews with location 9.8, a 12 square metre double for 55 GEL and a single for 35. Edmar Boutique Stay at 22 Gogebashvili Street, 500 m from the fountain towards the station, scored 9.2 from 42 reviews, a 17 square metre double for 103 GEL.

The White Bridge and the museum streets

Walk from the fountain down Tsereteli Street towards the river and you reach the State Historical Museum and, below it, the White Bridge, the pedestrian crossing everyone photographs, with the old houses hanging over the water on the far bank and the cable car above. The streets around the museum, Tsereteli and Pushkin streets and the lanes between them, hold the best-value small hotels in the city, most of them in 19th-century houses with a courtyard. It is 450 to 900 m to the fountain from here, which in Kutaisi is a seven-minute walk, and the river is the quietest thing to sleep beside.

HOTEL VLADi on Pushkin Street, 200 m from the bridge and 300 m from the museum, is the best room for the money we have found in any Georgian city: a 15 square metre deluxe double or twin for 73 GEL (about $28), free cancellation until 16 October, no card, scored 8.8 from 519 reviews with location 9.8, and four rooms still free for the Saturday. HOTEl MKUDRO at 5 Pushkin Street, 150 m from the bridge and the museum, scored 8.5 from 306 reviews with location 9.5, a 20 square metre deluxe double with a balcony for 72 GEL. Pushkin street Pearl, a sixth-floor apartment on Sagaradze Street 200 m from the bridge, scored 9.1 from 232 reviews with location 9.7, a 24 square metre deluxe double with a kitchen, balcony and river view for 111 GEL. Hotel BABU at 9 Pushkin Street, 40 m from the museum, scored 8.9 from 215 reviews with location 9.7, a 15 square metre double with a balcony and breakfast for 195 GEL, down from 255.

Tsereteli Street. Central Inn at 21 Tsereteli Street, 100 m from the museum, is the most-loved address on the street: scored 9.7 from 714 reviews with location 9.9 and value for money 9.8, a 25 square metre triple with a kitchen and a balcony for 179 GEL, down from 239, free cancellation until 14:00 on the day. Bao Hostel at 18 Tsereteli Street, 100 m from the museum, scored 9.3 from 480 reviews with location 9.8, had a 20 square metre double with its own bathroom, kitchen and balcony for 98 GEL, down from 140, free cancellation at any time; it is the hostel we would send a couple to. Hotel 1887 at 55 Tsereteli Street, in a restored private house, scored 9.0 from 509 reviews, a 20 square metre deluxe double with a balcony for 166 GEL, down from 230. Four Seasons Riverside at number 58, scored 8.4 from 638 reviews, a triple with a river view for 183 GEL. Solomon at 10 Khakhanashvili Street, 300 m from the museum, scored 9.2 from 293 reviews, an 18 square metre twin with breakfast for 188 GEL. Seventh Floor Apartment, 250 m from the museum, scored 9.3 from 108 reviews with location 9.6, a 35 square metre one-bedroom flat with a balcony for 130 GEL.

By the bridge itself. Four hotels stand within 150 m of the White Bridge. Communal Hotel Kutaisi at 21 Galaktion Tabidze Street, the boutique hotel with the restaurant and the garden pool, scored 9.2 from 527 reviews with location 9.5, was sold out for our Saturday and 308 GEL (about $118) for a small double the following one, down from 456, breakfast 40 GEL. Best Western Kutaisi City Center at 11 Grishashvili Street, 50 m from the bridge, scored 8.3 from 964 reviews with location 9.4, was full too, 334 GEL for a standard king with breakfast on 24 October. Ponte at 7 Nikitin Street, 100 m from the bridge, scored 8.6 from 322 reviews with location 9.5, an 18 square metre room with a balcony, river view and breakfast for 155 GEL, free cancellation, no card. City Star Kutaisi at 10 Nijaradze Street, 150 m from the bridge, scored 9.2 from 225 reviews with location 9.7, a 35 square metre deluxe suite with a balcony and breakfast for 159 GEL. hotel Magnolia in the city centre, on Galaktion Tabidze Street 450 m from the bridge, scored 8.8 from 521 reviews with location 9.6, a 20 square metre double with a balcony, river view and breakfast for 180 GEL.

Below Bagrati and the Gelati road

Uphill from the centre, the streets climbing towards Bagrati Cathedral and out along Gelati Street are where Kutaisi's family guesthouses are: two-storey houses with a courtyard under a vine, a mother who cooks and a son who drives you to Gelati. It is 900 m to 1.5 km back to the fountain, downhill on the way out and uphill with the shopping, and the cathedral at dusk, which is the best thing to do in the city, is up the hill from your door. A Bolt covers the hill for a few lari when it rains. Booking.com listed 106 guesthouses for Kutaisi and most of the well-scored ones at 40 to 60 GEL are here.

Daduna's House, on the second Gelati lane 1 km from the fountain, scored 9.3 from 187 reviews, had a double with its own kitchen, a terrace, a garden and a mountain view for 45 GEL (about $17), breakfast 20 GEL, free cancellation until 16 October and no card; the listing mentions film nights. Guesthouse Old Town at 18 Grigol Khandzteli Street, 850 m from the bridge, scored 9.8 from 122 reviews with location 9.3, an 18 square metre double with a kitchen and a patio for 49 GEL, breakfast 15 GEL. Akelvani Guest House at 7 Tsatskhvebi Street, 1.3 km from the fountain, scored 9.5 from 145 reviews with value for money 9.6, a twin with a kitchen for 60 GEL and a triple a few lari more. Sisi Guest House at 18 Erevani Street, which is actually the station side of town and 500 m from Kutaisi I, scored 9.1 from 492 reviews, a budget double with breakfast included for 50 GEL, and Sun Guest House, 600 m from the centre with location 9.6 and scored 8.7 from 167 reviews, a twin with a mountain view for 50 GEL.

Two hotels on the hill. Hotel Green Town at 21 Bagrati Street, just below the cathedral with the view to match, scored 9.2 from 1,237 reviews with location 9.3, was sold out for our Saturday; the following one it had an economy double for 153 GEL, or 171 GEL with breakfast and free cancellation. Veranda Boutique Hotel Kutaisi at 95 Gelati Street, 1.2 km from the fountain, is the other 9.9 in the city, from 202 reviews: a 17 square metre twin with a garden view and breakfast for 324 GEL (about $125), down from 360, free cancellation until 15 October. AUTOGRAPH Kutaisi at 110a Gelati Street, scored 9.7 from 59 reviews with location 9.5, a 12 square metre budget double with a bath for 150 GEL, breakfast 25 GEL.

The hosts on this hill are families who have let rooms since the budget flights began, and the grandmother who runs breakfast rarely speaks English. Learning the dozen Georgian phrases a traveller uses most before you arrive, gamarjoba, madloba and the words for bread, cheese and enough, is what makes the courtyard the best part of the stay.

The station end and Rustaveli Avenue

Kutaisi I railway station sits about 1.5 km from the fountain, and the bigger, newer hotels cluster between it and the centre and along Rustaveli Avenue, the wide street running out of the centre. You get parking, lifts, a reception that is awake at 03:00 and a 20-minute walk or a 5 GEL Bolt to the river. The trains that matter to visitors do not use this station any more: the fast Batumi trains stop at the airport and the slow Tbilisi train ends at Rioni station on the edge of town, as our trains guide explains, so being next to Kutaisi I is a convenience only if you are leaving on the Batumi or Zugdidi locals.

Rotel Kutaisi at 111 Tsereteli Street, 450 m from the station, the design micro-hotel with the natural wine bar in the lobby, scored 9.2 from 232 reviews, was sold out for our Saturday; a 16 square metre budget twin was 198 GEL (about $76), down from 220, the following one, with free cancellation until 19 October. Hotel Panoramic at 87 Tamar Mepe Street, 500 m from the station, scored 8.5 from 829 reviews, a 22 square metre twin with breakfast for 216 GEL, down from 240. Grand Opera Hotel at 4 Rustaveli Avenue, 400 m from the fountain and the bridge, scored 8.5 from 1,264 reviews with location 9.6, was full for our night and 217 GEL for a superior double with breakfast on 24 October. Euro Hotel Kutaisi at 24 Rustaveli Avenue, 550 m from the bridge, scored 8.7 from 827 reviews, a 17 square metre double for 140 GEL, down from 175, or 196 GEL with breakfast. inn go Kutaisi at 95 Rustaveli Avenue, 1.8 km out, scored 8.7 from 980 reviews, a 20 square metre double with a terrace for 133 GEL, down from 174. Hotel Terrace Kutaisi, 650 m from the fountain, scored 8.4 from 893 reviews, a triple with a balcony and breakfast for 203 GEL on a non-refundable partner rate, 231 GEL direct.

Vazha-Pshavela Street. Two hotels with gardens stand 1 km from the fountain on the quiet side. Green Palace Kutaisi at 5 Vazha-Pshavela Street, scored 9.0 from 412 reviews, an 18 square metre double with breakfast for 187 GEL, down from 208. Lileo Kutaisi Hotel and Winery, on the same street, scored 9.1 from 453 reviews, a 30 square metre twin for 179 GEL on a non-refundable partner rate or a 25 square metre room with breakfast for 220 GEL direct. Hotel Eurica at 12 Kazbegi Street, 850 m from the fountain, scored 9.3 from 789 reviews, a deluxe double with a balcony and breakfast for 180 GEL, and Veranda L&G at 15 Mkheidze Street, 650 m out, scored 9.1 from 804 reviews with value for money 9.4, a 21 square metre double for 82 GEL on a limited-time deal, down from 182.

The airport road and Kopitnari

Kutaisi International Airport is 24 km west of the city at Kopitnari, in farmland off the E60 highway, and there is no hotel at the terminal. Booking.com's search for the airport returned 527 properties, but the nearest were village guesthouses in Samtredia and the farms along the highway, 5 to 11 km from the runway, and every one of them is a Bolt ride or your own car from the terminal and the same again from anything to eat. The honest case for sleeping out here is a flight before 07:00 with a rental car to return; for everyone else the 5 GEL shuttle, a 25 to 30 GEL Bolt and the 39 GEL GoTrip driver all run through the night and put you in the centre in 25 to 40 minutes, which is where the arrival helper will send you for any landing time.

If you do stay out: Garden Hotel, Pool and Park and Cottages at Kvitiri, 6 km from the centre on the airport side and 14.7 km from the terminal, scored 8.9 from 612 reviews, a 21 square metre double for 146 GEL (about $56), down from 180, breakfast 25 GEL, with a pool. Europa Hotel-Kutaisi on the E60, 10 km from the centre and 10.8 km from the airport, scored 8.9 from 707 reviews, a 20 square metre twin with a kitchen for 158 GEL, down from 175. Closer to the runway, Blue Guest House in Samtredia, 5.7 km from the airport, scored 9.3 from 555 reviews with value for money 9.5, a double with a shared bathroom and breakfast for 117 GEL; House Ianeti, 5.5 km away, scored 9.8 from 28 reviews, a 70 square metre one-bedroom villa for 180 GEL; Mera Hostel at Partskhanakanevi, 8.2 km away, scored 7.8 from 292 reviews, a double for 40 GEL plus 3 GEL in taxes; Dadu's Guesthouse in Samtredia, 9.5 km away, scored 9.3 from 205 reviews, a triple for 88 GEL. None of these is a bad place. All of them are a worse place to spend a Kutaisi night than a 73 GEL room 200 m from the river.

What a Kutaisi room costs

Kutaisi is the cheapest city on this site to sleep in and the gap to Tbilisi is wide: the design hotel that costs 720 GEL in the capital has a 300 GEL equivalent here, and the 73 GEL hotel double has no equivalent at all. The table is what we read for our October Saturday, one listing per line.

The weekend matters less than in Batumi or Tbilisi: the guesthouses and the small hotels by the river had rooms a week before our October Saturday, but the seven sold-out hotels show that the small design hotels go first on any weekend. Book those two to three weeks ahead; everything else a few days ahead is fine outside the summer holidays.

Getting there and to your door

Every way in is on the Kutaisi guide: the vans from Tbilisi's Didube station for 25 GEL in about four hours, which arrive at the central bus station on the west bank with city bus 1 outside to the fountain; the fast Batumi trains, which stop at the airport station for 34 GEL in second class with a free railway minibus to the terminal; the slow train to Rioni station for 15 GEL and bus 3 into town; and a GoTrip driver from Tbilisi for 244 GEL (about $94) per car, the cheapest car on the day we read it, 10 October 2026, in a Ford Fusion with Toyota Prius drivers from 252. Onward, GoTrip's cheapest cars were 334 GEL to Mestia and 212 GEL to Batumi the same day.

From the airport, the shuttle bus to the centre is 5 GEL by card, every two hours around the clock, about 40 minutes; a Bolt is 25 to 30 GEL; a pre-booked GoTrip driver was 39 GEL (about $15) per car on 10 October 2026, with Toyota Camry and Prius drivers at 52 to 58 GEL, in 31 minutes for the 24 km. The airport transfers page has the coach times to Tbilisi and Batumi for anyone not stopping. Tell any driver the hotel name and the street: the centre's one-way streets around the fountain confuse map apps, and the guesthouses on the hill are reached by lanes a car can only just fit, so the host usually meets you at the corner.

Mistakes we see every week

Booking by the airport because the flight lands at 03:00. The shuttle, a Bolt and a GoTrip driver all run at that hour, and every hotel in the centre will check you in if you tell them the landing time when you book. The centre is 25 to 40 minutes away; the airport-road guesthouses are 10 to 20 minutes away and then you are in a field.

Paying for a chain when the small hotels score higher. The 9.5 to 9.9 scores in Kutaisi belong to Central Inn, Hotel Varla, city point and Veranda Boutique, not to the chains. Best Western and Kutaisi Inn score 8.2 to 8.3 and cost twice as much.

Reading "near the train station" as a plus. The trains visitors use stop at the airport or at Rioni station, not at Kutaisi I. Sleep by the river instead.

Leaving the design hotels to the last minute. Communal, Rotel, Memoire, Green Town and Newport's cheaper rooms were gone for an ordinary October Saturday a week out. Book them two to three weeks ahead.

Skipping breakfast at a guesthouse to save 20 GEL. It is the meal the house is proudest of, and in Kutaisi that means Imeretian khachapuri from the oven in the yard.

Choosing a hotel for the parking and then not driving. If you rented a car at the airport, the hotels on Rustaveli Avenue and Vazha-Pshavela Street have the spaces. If you did not, the centre's hotels without parking are the better addresses.

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