Graphic Hotel Batumi ★★★★

Batumi Without the Tower Block

Batumi built its reputation upward. The seafront skyline is a run of glass towers, casinos and thousand-room resorts, and much of what is sold as a Black Sea holiday here happens inside them. Graphic Hotel sits a street back from that, on Griboedov in the Old Boulevard district, in a building of seven floors and sixty-three rooms. The scale is the point. You come down to a breakfast room where the staff know you by the second morning, and you reach the sand in the time it takes to finish a coffee. The interior follows the same logic: contemporary, clean lined, with the balconies left to do the decorating.

Why It Works

Two things earned it a place here. The first is the address, which trades a seafront frontage for a quieter street and gives the minutes back in walking distance rather than lobby queues. The second is the room mix. Classic and superior doubles and twins cover the standard stay, and above them sit junior suites and a corner suite with the panorama, which means a couple upgrading for an occasion and a family needing space are served by the same building. Add a restaurant that cooks Georgian alongside European, a bar with tables outside, and a spa and sauna, and the hotel holds a whole day when the weather turns.

Why This Location

Old Boulevard is the original end of Batumi's seafront park, the stretch planted in the nineteenth century and still the best part of the promenade to walk at dusk. From Griboedov Street the beach is about four hundred metres, which is under ten minutes at a holiday pace. The old town, Europe Square and the Piazza sit a similar walk inland, so dinner does not require a taxi. Further along the boulevard are the Alphabetic Tower, the dancing fountains and the bicycle lanes that run most of the coast. Batumi airport lies a short drive south, close enough that a late arrival is not a problem.

Fast Facts

• Price: Premium

• Vibe: Contemporary, low key, walking distance

• Rooms: Sixty-three across seven floors, from classic doubles and twins to junior suites and a corner suite with panoramic views, many with balcony or terrace

• Best For: Couples on a Black Sea week, families who want space without a resort, travellers who would rather walk than drive

• Our Favorite Thing About the Hotel: The corner suite panorama, which takes in the city and the sea in one turn of the head

• Dining: On site restaurant serving Georgian, European and international dishes, bar with outdoor seating, full breakfast

• Amenities: Spa and wellness area, sauna, balconies and terraces with sea or city views, children's meals and a family buffet

• Attractions: Batumi Boulevard and beach, the old town and the Piazza, Europe Square, the Alphabetic Tower, the Botanical Garden up the coast

Rooms That Sell the Balcony, Not the Square Metres

The room list reads plainly and that is a virtue. Classic doubles and twins form the base, superiors add space and a corner position, and the junior suites are the ones to take for more than a few nights. The suite with the panorama is the room the hotel is known for: a corner, two aspects, the city on one side and the sea on the other. Most rooms open onto a balcony or a terrace, which changes what an evening looks like in a town where the good hours are the late ones. Ask which way a room faces when you book, because the difference between city and sea here is not a small one.

The Spa, the Restaurant and the Rainy Afternoon

Batumi has weather. The coast is subtropical and generous with rain, and a hotel that cannot hold you for an afternoon becomes a problem in a way it never would in Kakheti. This one can. The spa and wellness area with its sauna is the obvious answer, and the restaurant carries the rest, cooking Georgian dishes next to European ones and putting out a breakfast worth sitting over rather than clearing. Families are catered for specifically, with children's meals and a buffet arranged around them. The bar keeps tables outside for the hours the sky cooperates.