Galaktioni's Marani

An Eighteenth-Century Cellar, Still at Work

Kondoli is a small village in Kakheti’s Telavi district, unremarkable on a map but anchored by one genuinely rare structure: a wine cellar designed in the eighteenth century by Solomon Lionidze, a diplomat who served at the court of King Erekle II. Galaktioni’s Marani grew up around that cellar rather than the other way round — five rooms, three standard and two deluxe, built close enough to the marani that it reads as the centre of the property rather than an attraction bolted on for tourists. The family that restored it treats the building as inheritance rather than investment.

Why It Works

We chose Galaktioni’s Marani because the history here is structural, not decorative: the family restored a cellar built for a royal diplomat rather than building a themed replica from scratch, and the wine made inside it still follows methods that predate the building’s restoration by far longer than the restoration itself has existed. For a Luxe audience that has seen enough manufactured heritage, a genuine eighteenth-century marani still in daily use is the harder thing to fake, and it shows in details no design brief could invent.

Why This Location

Kondoli sits in the thick of Kakheti’s wine country, close to Kisiskhevi and Telavi but without either town’s growing tourist infrastructure. It rewards travellers who already know roughly what they’re looking for in Georgian wine country — history, a working cellar, a family rather than a brand — over those wanting a resort with a vineyard attached. The village setting keeps the whole experience close to the ground it grows from, with vineyards visible from the property in most directions.

Fast Facts

• Prix: €€€ (Luxe)

• Vibe: historic, intimate, family-run

• Chambres: five rooms — three standard, two deluxe

• Best For: wine history enthusiasts, travellers who want a working heritage cellar over a themed one

• Our Favorite Thing About the Hotel: the eighteenth-century marani designed by royal diplomat Solomon Lionidze

• Dining: traditional Georgian restaurant, Kakhetian cooking classes

• Amenities: historic wine cellar, free WiFi, on-site parking

• Attractions: Kondoli village, Kisiskhevi and Telavi wine routes

Solomon Lionidze’s Marani

The cellar’s origin is the whole story here: designed in the 1700s by a diplomat at the court of King Erekle II, it has survived long enough to be restored by the current family rather than reconstructed from records. Wine tastings happen inside it, among the same stone walls Lionidze would have known, using ancient methods the estate has kept rather than modernised for efficiency. It is a rare case of Kakheti’s royal-era wine culture being not just remembered but still functioning, poured by the descendants of the people who kept it alive.

A Hostess Who Teaches, Not Just Serves

The restaurant runs on the same logic as the cellar: a hostess who treats Kakhetian cuisine as a subject worth explaining, with cooking classes built around the region’s iconic dishes rather than a fixed tasting menu. Guests leave with technique as much as a full stomach, and the five-room scale means the welcome stays personal rather than scripted across a larger property, with the same family often present at both the stove and the cellar door.

What to Know Before You Book

With only five rooms, two of them deluxe, Galaktioni’s Marani books out quickly during Kakheti’s harvest season, when demand for a genuine working cellar peaks. It suits a short, focused stay — the cellar tour, a cooking class, a dinner — rather than a week-long base, and travellers without a car should confirm transfer options from Telavi before arriving, since the village itself has little in the way of public transport.