Tbilisi: Do Not Miss the Aesthetic Wonder that is the Stamba Hotel

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Rarely would I ever top a city’s must see list with a hotel, but the Stamba Hotel is more than just a hotel. It is a place to eat, drink, sleep, shop and marvel. At every turn, there is a new and interesting vignette, an aesthetic feast and a stop in your tracks wonder. It might actually cause stimulation overload, but at the same time you can’t get enough.



Once a large publishing house, the warehouse building is now a boutique hotel that feels more like a living, breathing art gallery. The rooms seem like upscale loft apartments sprinkled with unexpected, decadent fixtures, like gold plated free standing bath tubs in the middle of the room or on the balcony.



In a nod toward the building’s history, the walls of the rooms, the bar and the lobby are ceiling to floor bookcases. The original beams and conveyor belts are all gloriously exposed. Thought provoking art hangs in the rooms and the common places and just when you think there is no way one building could house so much visual stimulation, you realize how wrong you can be in your expectations.



There are scene stealing gold bathtubs in each room, along with a gold shower that almost needs to come with instructions. There is the rainforest shower head, a knob for the rings around the entire shower that shoot little sprays of water from head to toe and then a lower knob just for washing feet. It is all intriguing and fun until you realize your shower has created a pond in the middle of the bathroom, but honestly it is worth it.



Rooms come equipped with features you didn’t even realize you needed until you arrived, water heated towel warmers, in-room espresso machines, high end receivers and speakers that fill the rooms with tunes.



We debated as to which feature we would like in our home if granted a designer wish. Debates rattled around about the textured red tile in the bathroom, the exposed concrete beams and sleek gold light features. After the first shower, the gorgeously erratic shower was taken off the list.



The Stamba is the sort of place that makes you momentarily consider realigning your itinerary so you don’t have to leave the city. Filled with cozy corners, texture rich eating places, useful work spaces and enough foliage to feed anyone’s Savannah Syndrome, it offers places to relax over a cuppa, music thumping dining and dark cocktail drinking dens.



The greens for the restaurants are supplied by the pink glow grow station near the garden. The coffee and chocolates arrive fresh under the banner of bean to table. The menus aren’t overly abundant, but there are more than enough options for snacks, dinners and any sweet tooth.



Undoubtedly, the real draw of The Stamba is the decor and unique use of interior textures. The indoor living spaces transition effortlessly into outdoor dining and green spaces.
Never have I been in a place that speaks to my desired design aesthetic. I lean toward the industrial farmhouse look, but The Stamba’s strong commitment to the luxurious, yet gritty industrial look makes me question my own identity.



The Stamba is not perfect, as I suppose there is no such place. The outdoor terraces are dominated by Georgians’ love of smoking, making them nearly intolerable by anyone who doesn’t smoke. The obstacle can be overcome by eating at a covered terrace where smokers are directed to step a few feet from the terrace to smoke their endless number of cigarettes. There is no spa or pool, but I am not sure it needs one. The. service in the restaurant is friendly and knowledgeable, but can slow.



All of these minor short comings are quickly forgotten with each corner, hallway or terrace explored.



Of all the hotels I have experienced in my humble history of travels, The Stamba takes the cake for most aesthetically appealing and unique and for this I consider it a Tbilisi must see. If staying here is not an option, at least stop by for a drink, dinner and a tour of design excellence.



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Comments

[David Brock]

Abodes
Wow! Almost exactly like the hayloft home at Shamrock! Ok. A little different, but of similar fascination and international design. I'll take them both.