Everyone who comes to Upper Svaneti sleeps in Mestia at some point, because the vans end there, the ATMs end there and the walks start there. The question is which Mestia: a guesthouse on the lanes behind Seti Square, a hotel with a buffet breakfast and a terrace facing the towers, a timber chalet ten minutes up the hill, or a village under Ushba that is quieter than any of them. Our Mestia guide covers the town, the museums and the day trips, the Svaneti guide covers the region, and the where to stay in Georgia page shows where three Mestia nights sit in a two-week trip. This page is only about the bed.
Quick answer
Two or three nights for the towers, Ushguli and a walk: a family guesthouse within 500 m of Seti Square, where Guesthouse Mountain View had a double with its own bathroom for 80 GEL (about $31) with free cancellation and nothing to pay in advance, or on the lanes above the square, where Nadia Guesthouse was 75 to 108 GEL. A proper hotel with breakfast and a view: Hotel Lamish at 180 GEL or Hotel Ushba at 390, both on Ushba Street and King Tamar Street. A car and a week: a chalet on the slopes from 250 GEL, or Mazeri, 20 km before Mestia under Ushba, where Peak Mazeri Guest House was 77 GEL with breakfast. One night in Ushguli at 50 to 100 GEL is the night most people regret skipping. Every price is what Booking.com showed us on 12 October 2026 for one night, two adults, Saturday 17 to Sunday 18 October 2026.
- Listed for our night
- 285
- Guesthouse double
- from 40 GEL
- Hotel with breakfast
- from 180 GEL
- Dearest room seen
- 545 GEL
The five areas in one table
Booking.com listed 285 properties in and around Mestia for our October Saturday: 133 guesthouses, 50 hotels, 35 apartments, 21 holiday homes, 17 chalets, 9 villas, 5 lodges, 7 homestays and 3 hostels. 166 of them were within 1 km of the centre, 232 had a private bathroom, 268 had parking and only 44 included breakfast, which in a Svan guesthouse is a 25 GEL add-on worth paying for. The ranges below are the rooms named further down, read that day; they are examples for a late-season weekend, not averages.
| Area | Best for | Room, GEL |
|---|---|---|
| Seti Square and the centre | Two or three nights, vans and cafes at the door, no car | 36-450 |
| The lanes above the square | The classic family guesthouse among the towers, five minutes from everything | 45-159 |
| The hotels on Ushba Street | Breakfast buffets, terraces, a bar, the only reception desks in town | 180-400 |
| Chalets and cottages | Families and groups with a car, a week, self-catering | 130-545 |
| Mazeri and Becho | Quiet, Ushba from the window, drivers and walkers, a first night | 50-387 |
Seti Square and the centre: within 300 m of the vans
Seti Square is where the vans stop, the cafes put out their deckchairs and the yellow trail signs start, and Tamar Mepe Street runs through it with the cinema, the shops and the bank machines. Anything Booking.com describes as under 300 m from the centre is on or just off this axis. The advantage is obvious at 07:30 on the morning you leave: the Tbilisi, Kutaisi and Ushguli vans are a two-minute walk with your bag. The trade is that the square has traffic until late and the towers are on the slope above you rather than outside your window.
Guesthouse Mountain View at 3 Chartolani Street, 250 m from the square, is where we would book first: a 16 square metre double or twin with its own bathroom for 70 to 80 GEL (about $27 to 31) depending on the rate, breakfast 25 GEL, free cancellation until 14 October and nothing to pay until you arrive, scored 9.7 from 363 reviews with location 9.8, five rooms left for our Saturday. Old Town, 250 m out and scored 9.4 from 196 reviews with location 9.9, had a deluxe double with two double beds for 62 GEL with free cancellation and no prepayment; there is a second listing of the same name at 4 Avtandil Ioseliani Street by the river, scored 9.5 from 105 reviews, where a triple with a shared bathroom was 55 GEL, or 35 on its cheapest rate. Barbara, 300 m out, scored 9.7 from 170 reviews with location 9.8, a triple with a mountain view for 71 GEL, down from 75. Guesthouse Lala, 50 m from the square and scored 9.6 from its first 13 reviews, a triple with a private bathroom for 75. Ailama Guesthouse, 300 m out and scored 9.3 from 219 reviews with location 9.7, a small double for 72 with extended free cancellation and one room left. Guesthouse Pele, the Jafaridze family house 250 m out with location 9.8, a budget twin for 45; Guest House Nana, 400 m from the centre and scored 8.9 from 100 reviews, a standard double for 40 GEL with free cancellation, the cheapest private room we saw near the square. Jeiran Japaridze's Guesthouse, 450 m out and scored 9.0 from 245 reviews, had its last budget double or twin for 55 with extended free cancellation.
The cheapest beds. Guesthouse am Museum, 400 m from the centre on the museum side of the river and scored 7.2 from 139 reviews, had a twin with a shared bathroom for 36 GEL, the lowest price in town; Mestiatour Guest House, 200 m from the square with location 9.5 but scored 8.2 from 335 reviews, a twin with a shared bathroom for 50; Eka and Nino Guest House, 100 m out and scored 8.3 from 170, a twin for 55; Kachal Guest House, 300 m out and new with 9.0 from nine reviews, a double with a private bathroom for 40; Guest House Memory, 300 m out and scored 9.0 from 97, 42; Bees Guesthouse, 450 m out and scored 9.3 from 68, 47. The scores tell you which of these to pick.
The hotels on the square. Hotel Mestia Inn at 4 Senaki Street, 200 m from the centre and scored 9.2 from 524 reviews with location 9.7, is the big one: a 25 square metre standard double for 320 GEL (about $123) with breakfast, free cancellation until 18:00 on the day of arrival and payment at the property, seven rooms left, a triple 450, and quadruples for four at 320 to 352, down from 400 to 440. Hotel Old Seti, 150 m out and scored 8.8 from 324 reviews with location 9.6, a standard double or twin with breakfast for 210 GEL with free cancellation; Hotel Elite House, 200 m from the square and scored 9.0 from 177 reviews with location 9.7, a standard twin with breakfast for 192, down from 240, free cancellation. Hotel Ailama, 150 m out and scored 9.3 from 218 reviews, 196 GEL; Suntower Hotel, 350 m out and scored 8.8 from 190, a double with a balcony for 176; Lasiim, 350 m from the centre and scored 9.5 from 19 reviews with location 9.7, 205 GEL on a late-escape deal, down from 256. Cheaper hotel rooms exist: Hotel Svanseti, 150 m out and scored 9.0 from 112 reviews, 100 GEL; Hotel Maria, 300 m out and scored 8.9 from 65, 80; Daeli Hotel, 50 m from the square and scored 7.9 from 129, a twin with a bathroom for 70. Seti Mestia Hotel sits right on the square with location 9.5 but scored 6.6 from 49 reviews, at 198 to 220 GEL with breakfast; we would not.
The lanes above the square: Lanchvali, Lekhtagi and the tower quarters
Climb any lane north of Tamar Mepe Street and within five minutes you are among the towers: Lanchvali, the quarter of tower houses on the slope above the square, Lekhtagi beside it, and Ushba Street rising at right angles to the main street with the classic view of towers staggered up the hill. This is where the family guesthouses that people come back to are, 400 m to 1 km from the centre, which means five to fifteen minutes downhill to the vans and the same uphill after dinner. Rooms are quieter, the balconies face the towers, and the host's mother cooks. Booking.com's distances are from the square, so 700 m here is a steep 700 m.
Nadia Guesthouse at 2 Lanchvali, 700 m from the centre, scored 9.5 from 493 reviews, is the house we would book on this side: a standard double for 75 GEL (about $29), a 16 square metre double with a terrace for 82, a double with a balcony for 92, a 20 square metre double or twin with a mountain view for 108 and a deluxe double with a balcony for 159, breakfast 25 GEL, free cancellation until 15 October and payment at the property, with one room left at the lowest price for our Saturday. Lanchvali Inn at 8 Lanchvali Street, 900 m from the square and scored 9.9 from 110 reviews with location 9.6, the new small hotel in the tower quarter, had a 25 square metre standard double or twin for 140 GEL (about $54), pay at the property, seven rooms left. Galash-R, 700 m out and scored 9.4 from 449 reviews with location 9.7, a twin with a mountain view and breakfast for 150, free cancellation. Nino Ratiani's Guesthouse, 500 m from the centre and scored 9.1 from 244 reviews, a double or twin with a private bathroom for 100 with free cancellation. White House Nakani, 500 m out and scored 9.5 from 252 reviews with location 9.8, the boutique guesthouse wander-lush rates first in town, had only a quadruple left for our night at 100 GEL, two rooms, no prepayment. Mestia Panorama, 500 m out and scored 9.7 from 378 reviews, a twin with a shower for 95 GEL with free cancellation, two left. Irina Lextagi, 450 m from the centre in Lekhtagi and scored 9.4 from 252 reviews, a room for 45; Spardishi Tower, 900 m out and scored 9.7 from 87 reviews, 50 GEL, three left; Guesthouse Neno, 600 m out and scored 9.5 from 154 reviews, a double or twin with a private bathroom for 70 with free cancellation; Art House Mestia, 600 m out and new to the site with 9.2 from 12 reviews and location 9.8, a double with a private bathroom for 70. Manoni Ratiani's Guesthouse, 1 km out and scored 8.8 from 184 reviews, a large double for 70, and Cottage Woodside, 400 m out and scored 9.4 from 88, a double or twin with a shared bathroom for 65 with free cancellation.
On these lanes you book by WhatsApp with the daughter and eat with the grandmother, and English runs out at the table. Learning a few Georgian phrases before you go is what turns the 25 GEL dinner into the evening you remember: gamarjoba at the gate, madloba for the kubdari, and the word for enough when the chacha comes round again.
The hotels on Ushba Street and King Tamar Street
Mestia's real hotels, the ones with a reception desk, a breakfast buffet and a restaurant, sit mostly on Ushba Street and King Tamar Street, 500 to 600 m above the square. They cost two to five times a guesthouse and give you heating that works in both directions, a bar in the evening, lunch boxes for the trek and someone at the desk at 06:00 who can call a 4x4. For a honeymoon or a first night after the van, they are worth it; for a week of walking, the guesthouses are the better buy and the better story.
Hotel Lamish at 42 Ushba Street, 500 m from the centre and scored 9.6 from 377 reviews with location 9.8, is the room we would book: a 20 square metre economy twin for 180 GEL (about $69) with the buffet breakfast, down from 200, payment at the property, one left for our Saturday; its 24 square metre double with a terrace was 243, down from 270, and a double 252, down from 280. Hotel Ushba in Mestia at 9 King Tamar Street, 600 m from the square and scored 9.7 from 232 reviews with location 9.8, whose reviews call it the best hotel in town, had a 34 square metre deluxe double or twin with a balcony for 390 GEL (about $150) with breakfast, free cancellation until 18:00 on the day and payment at the property, and a 29 square metre double or twin with a balcony for 360 to 400. Lahili Boutique Hotel, 500 m out and scored 9.3 from 349 reviews with location 9.4, the design hotel that wander-lush's Mestia guide puts five minutes from the museum and the cable car, a standard twin with breakfast for 329 GEL. Further out, Sella Mestia, 1.7 km from the centre and scored 9.6 from 66 reviews, had a room for 148 GEL, down from 250, and Kakhri Resort, 1.6 km out and scored 8.2 from 57, a double with a terrace and breakfast for 240.
Chalets and cottages: in town and on the slopes
The newest thing in Mestia is the chalet: timber A-frames and two-bedroom cottages with a kitchen, a terrace and a view, some of them inside the town among the towers and the rest 3 to 4.5 km out on the slopes, where you need a car or a taxi for every dinner. They make sense for two couples or a family staying a week, for winter, when a wood stove and a kitchen beat a guesthouse room, and for anyone who has done the guesthouse circuit already. Booking.com listed 17 chalets, 9 villas and 21 holiday homes for our night.
Inside the town. Pele's Cottages, 200 m from the square with location 9.9 and scored 9.4 from 61 reviews, had a one-bedroom house for 130 GEL (about $50) with free cancellation and no prepayment, the cheapest whole place we found. Villa Dabderr, 400 m out with location 9.9, a one-bedroom villa for 160; Cottage Cozy Side, 600 m out and scored 9.7 from 59 reviews, a one-bedroom chalet for 189; Little House Katia, 350 m from the centre with location 9.9, a two-bedroom house for 191; Cottage TowerView, 600 m out and scored 9.8 from 54 reviews, a one-bedroom villa for 231, down from 330, free cancellation; Tetnuldi River Chalet, 450 m from the square and scored 9.7 from 34 reviews with location 9.9, a two-bedroom chalet for 306, down from 340. Guesthouse Venera, 250 m out and scored 9.1 from 363 reviews, lets a whole two-bedroom house for 350, and Cottage Location Lanchvali, 700 m up with location 9.9, a four-bedroom house for 200 GEL, the best value for a group of six or eight. Svaneti Apartments, 1.1 km out and scored 9.4 from 221 reviews, had a flat for 102, down from 160.
On the slopes. Winterfell Mestia at 79 Kakhiani Street, 3.5 km from the centre and scored 9.2 from 292 reviews, is the premium chalet complex: an 85 square metre one-bedroom chalet for 350 GEL (about $135) and 112 to 120 square metre two-bedroom chalets for 450, payment at the property, and 300 GEL on its July card. Cozy Cottages in the hamlet of Ghvebra, 4.2 km out, scored 9.4 from 89 reviews, a 35 square metre two-bedroom chalet for 250 GEL with free cancellation until 14 October, breakfast 35 extra, six left, and a 240 square metre three-bedroom house for 545, the dearest room on this page; its own page calls it a five-minute drive from the centre. Mestia POV Cabins, 3.2 km out and scored 9.7 from 32 reviews, a one-bedroom chalet for 480 GEL (320 on its July card); Mestia Villas, also 3.2 km out and scored 8.9 from 75, a two-bedroom villa at 405 for July; Glamp Peaks, 4.4 km out and scored 9.0 from 75 reviews, a furnished tent for 185 with free cancellation. Two cabins that wander-lush's Georgia cabins list recommends, Bude Mestia Cottages, A-frames in the forest about 3 km from the square, and Eco Huts, about 200 m from the Hatsvali lift, showed no room for our Saturday; try them for summer.
Mazeri and Becho: under Ushba, 20 km before Mestia
About 20 km and half an hour short of Mestia on the road from Zugdidi, a side road turns up the Dolra valley to the Becho community and its highest village, Mazeri, which sits directly under the twin peaks of Ushba, 4,710 m. It is the quiet alternative to Mestia: a scatter of guesthouses and new lodges among hay meadows, the Shdugra waterfall walk from the end of the road, and no bus stands, no cafes and almost no restaurants, so you book dinner with your host. It suits anyone with a car or a driver, walkers who want Ushba from the window, and a first night in the mountains before the town. Without a car it is a dead end: the Mestia vans pass the junction on the main road and nothing goes up the valley. Booking.com's Mazeri search showed 20 places for our night, with a few more listed under Mestia or Becho.
Peak Mazeri Guest House, in the village 1.5 km from Booking.com's centre point and scored 9.4 from 418 reviews, is the one we would book: a double or twin with a mountain view for 67 to 77 GEL (about $26 to 30) with breakfast, free cancellation until 14 October and payment at the property, a king room with a balcony 79 to 89, triples 91 to 105. Hotel Lamala, scored 9.3 from 186 reviews, a room for 81 GEL with free cancellation, seven left; Lia Jamdeliani Guest House, scored 9.1 from 96, 72 with breakfast, down from 123; Mila Guest House, scored 8.9 from 76, 64 with breakfast; Guest House Waterfall, scored 9.2 from 37, 50; Iason Guest House, 100 with breakfast; Guest House Gulba, new with 9.5 from ten reviews, 80. The cottages: Shikhra Cottages, scored 9.5 from 59 reviews, 143, down from 150, one left; Ushba Cottages, scored 9.4 from 53, 160 with free cancellation; Guest House Ushba Gate, 156, down from 195.
The lodges. Panorama Ushba, the guesthouse with the view everyone photographs, listed under Mestia at 10.6 km from the town and scored 9.6 from 227 reviews with location 9.9, had a 22 square metre twin with a mountain view and breakfast for 175 GEL (about $67) with free cancellation at any time and payment on arrival, and a 60 square metre twin for 225. Grand Hotel Ushba in Tvebishi in the Becho valley, scored 9.4 from 52 reviews, a double or twin with a shared bathroom and continental breakfast for 175 to 199 and a 24 square metre deluxe room with a mountain view for 255 to 279, free cancellation until 16 October. Ushba Hill Panoramic Lodge above Becho, scored 9.7 from 32 reviews, prices its rooms with breakfast and dinner: a 14 square metre twin with a mountain view 252 to 257 GEL, a triple 374 to 378, a family room 383 to 387, free cancellation until 16 October. Dinner is the point there, because the village has nowhere else to eat.
The villages on the main road. Between the Becho junction and Mestia the road passes Latali and the hamlets that Booking.com lists at 7 to 11 km from the town, and they are the cheapest beds in Svaneti: Ecohouse Svaneti, 7.6 km out and scored 9.3 from 291 reviews, 45 GEL; Sarag Family Guesthouse, also 7.6 km out and scored 9.5 from 36, 42, down from 49; Towers Inn Cottage, 7.6 km, scored 9.7 from 27 reviews, a one-bedroom house for 81; Guest House Latali, 8.3 km, 50; Guesthouse Megi, 11.1 km out and scored 9.5 from 63, 54. On the Mestia side of the river, Lagami House, 1.7 km from the centre, scored 9.9 from 58 reviews, 54 GEL for July, and Lam Lha, 1.6 km out and scored 9.9 from 62, 90 for January. All of them need a car or a taxi to get into town for dinner.
Ushguli: the night that makes the trip
Ushguli is 60 to 90 minutes up the sealed road from Mestia, four hamlets at about 2,100 m under Shkhara, and it is a day trip for most people. It should be a night. The vans arrive late morning and leave mid afternoon, and the light on Shkhara, the empty lanes and the dinner in a tower house all happen after they have gone. Booking.com listed 35 places for our Saturday, nearly all of them guesthouses or small family hotels, and the season was still on in mid October. Our Ushguli guide has the hamlets and the walks; these are the rooms.
Old House, 100 m from Booking.com's centre point and scored 9.4 from 411 reviews with location 9.8, had a deluxe double or twin for 95 GEL (about $37) with free cancellation until 18:00 on the day, breakfast 35 GEL and dinner on request, six rooms left. Gamarjoba Guest and Art House, 800 m out and scored 9.3 from 326 reviews, a room for 76; Chazhashi Guesthouse, 100 m from the centre and scored 8.8 from 123, a double with a mountain view and a private bathroom for 63 with free cancellation; Mtashi, 1 km out and scored 9.2 from 88, 90 with breakfast; Guest House Data, scored 9.2 from 103, 67 with extended free cancellation; Guesthouse Mose, scored 8.9 from 67, 62; Bori's Guesthouse, scored 8.9 from 119, 50; Guesthouse Nora, scored 8.8 from 201, 50; Chvibiani Guesthouse and Bar, 1.7 km out, 40 GEL, the cheapest. With a bathroom of your own: Ushguli Terrace, 500 m out with location 9.4, a double for 100; Family Hotel Twins, 350 m out, a twin with a mountain view for 85; Hotel Tekla, scored 8.6 from 192 reviews with location 9.5, a twin with breakfast for 117; Nanila, 150 m from the centre, 105. Ushguli Cabins, a one-bedroom chalet by the cafe, 200. The Ushguli road is a 4x4-permission road for rental cars and Localrent's permission ends on 30 September, so from October you go up by shared van, up to 70 GEL a seat return, or with a driver.
What a Mestia room costs, by season
October is the cheap end of the walking season and the family guesthouses were 40 to 110 GEL for a double; the hotels 180 to 400 with breakfast; a whole chalet 130 to 545. The table is what we read for our October Saturday, one listing per line, with the July and January figures where the same listing showed them.
Mestia rooms by budget, Saturday 17 to 18 October 2026
| Room | Price | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Cheapest bed, Guesthouse am Museum, shared bathroom | 36 GEL | Scored 7.2; Nana 40 and Kachal 40 with private bathrooms, Pele 45, Irina Lextagi 45, Spardishi 50, Mestiatour 50 shared |
| Family guesthouse double, Nadia or Old Town | 62-82 GEL | Breakfast 25 extra; Mountain View 70-80, Neno 70, Art House 70, Ailama 72, Barbara 71, Mestia Panorama 95, Nino Ratiani 100 |
| Guesthouse with the view and breakfast, Galash-R | 150 GEL | Lanchvali Inn 140, Nadia deluxe with balcony 159, Sella 148, Svaneti Apartments 102 |
| Hotel twin with buffet breakfast, Hotel Lamish | 180 GEL | Down from 200; Elite House 192, Old Seti 210, Ailama 196, Lasiim 205, Suntower 176; Hotel Svanseti 100 and Maria 80 without |
| Top hotel room, Hotel Mestia Inn and Hotel Ushba | 320-390 GEL | With breakfast; Lahili 329, Ushba 360-400 by room, Mestia Inn triple 450 |
| Whole cottage in town, Pele's Cottages to Tetnuldi River Chalet | 130-306 GEL | Dabderr 160, Cozy Side 189, Katia 191, TowerView 231, four-bedroom house in Lanchvali 200 |
| Chalet on the slopes, Cozy Cottages to Winterfell | 250-450 GEL | Cozy Cottages two-bedroom 250, three-bedroom 545; Winterfell 350-450; POV Cabins 480; Glamp Peaks tent 185 |
| Mazeri guesthouse with breakfast, Peak Mazeri | 67-77 GEL | Lamala 81, Lia Jamdeliani 72, Mila 64, Waterfall 50; Panorama Ushba 175, Grand Hotel Ushba 175-279, Ushba Hill 252-387 half board |
| Ushguli guesthouse, Old House | 95 GEL | Breakfast 35; Chvibiani 40, Bori's 50, Nora 50, Chazhashi 63, Gamarjoba 76, Twins 85, Mtashi 90 with breakfast, Terrace 100 |
Prices checked October 2026. Ranges reflect season and operator.
July. For Saturday 17 to 18 July 2027 Booking.com had 187 listings open, a third fewer than for October, because many family houses had not opened their summer calendar nine months out. Of the places that showed both dates, Mestia Panorama went from 95 to 110 GEL, Cottage Woodside from 65 to 90, Mestiatour from 50 to 60, Suntower from 176 to 217 and Glamp Peaks from 185 to 211, while Hotel Old Seti stayed at 210, Manoni Ratiani's at 70 and Winterfell was cheaper, 300 against 350. Summer rooms with breakfast in the 150 to 220 range: Mestia 4 Season 159, Hotel Chubu 160, Latour Mestia 218, Villa Mestia Hotel 220. The listings that showed both dates ran 15 to 40 percent over their October figures, so expect that in July and August and book two to three weeks ahead; the guesthouses that open their calendars late are the ones that fill from WhatsApp.
January. For Saturday 16 to 17 January 2027, the middle of the ski season, 244 places were listed and the guesthouse prices barely moved: Nadia's economy twin 65, Old Town's budget twin 62, Jeiran Japaridze's twin with a mountain view 65, Ailama 70, Lala 75, Galash-R 165 with breakfast. The hotels rose: Hotel Mestia Inn 350 against 320, Lahili 329 for its budget twin, Art House 90 against 70, Kesane 110 against 66. In winter the question is not price but heating and whether the house is open at all: confirm both by message before you pay, and read our skiing guide for the Hatsvali and Tetnuldi dates, which the operator announces in mid December.
Getting there and choosing by how you arrive
Every way into Mestia is on our Tbilisi to Mestia page and the Mestia guide. The short version: from Kutaisi one marshrutka a morning for 45 GEL in six hours, the Budget Georgia shared transfer from 80 GEL, or a GoTrip driver, the price fixed per car before you book, at 334 GEL (about $128) for the 236 km in about 4 h 22 min on the cheapest car shown on 12 October 2026; from Tbilisi the 08:15 train to Zugdidi and a van, the direct 07:00 marshrutka at 60 GEL, the Vanilla Sky flight at 90 GEL when the weather allows, or a driver from 634 GEL. The vans stop on Seti Square, which is the argument for the centre or the lanes if you arrive by van: the chalets on the slopes and Mazeri are a taxi or a car away, and a driver can drop you at any of them on the way in.
If you are self-driving, remember that the road from Zugdidi is fine for any rental car, the road on to Ushguli needs Localrent's travel authorization and is allowed only from 1 May to 30 September, and the chalet tracks above town are steep and unlit; our car rental guide has the terms and the Svaneti loop strings Mazeri, Mestia and Ushguli into one drive. Between Mestia and Ushguli the shared vans are the only public transport, a seat up to 70 GEL return, which your guesthouse arranges the evening before; between Mestia and Mazeri there is nothing public at all.
Mistakes we see every week
One night in Mestia. The van takes six hours from Kutaisi and the towers, Ushguli and a walk each need a day. Three nights, or do not come.
Booking a slope chalet without a car. Winterfell, Cozy Cottages and the POV cabins are 3 to 4.5 km out on tracks with no bus and no streetlights, and every dinner is a taxi you have to call. They are for people with a car or a driver, or a week of cooking.
Paying hotel prices for the square. Seti Mestia Hotel costs 200 GEL for a 6.6 score on the square; for the same money Hotel Lamish gives you a 9.6, a buffet and a terrace five minutes up the hill, and for 80 Guesthouse Mountain View gives you location 9.8.
Skipping breakfast to save 25 GEL. In a Svan guesthouse it is the meal: bread from the oven, cheese, honey, eggs, and the host telling you which van actually leaves. Pay for it, and order dinner too.
Treating Ushguli as a day trip. The best hour in Ushguli is 07:00, when Shkhara is lit and the day trippers are still in Mestia. A 50 to 95 GEL room is the cheapest upgrade in Svaneti.
Booking a winter room without asking about heat. Many family houses close or half-close from November, and a cold room at 1,500 m in January is not a saving. Message the host before you pay, and prefer the hotels and the chalets with wood stoves.
Frequently asked questions
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