Hotel Brothers

We three British middle aged guys were starting our third tour of Georgia. This was to be our first lodgings in Georgia this trip (been twice before so knew the ropes!). We stayed from 14-16/9, two nights. We landed at Kutaisi Airport 02:45, via a cramped WhizzAir flight from Luton, so emerged from customs at 03:00 to find our contact/driver (Lasha) waiting patiently amongst others with their hotel names on boards. He took us to the car park to meet Lavanir the driver. This lift cost us an extra £6 online but was worth it as we were not in the mood for sorting taxis or buses at that time of night. The 21 km journey was mostly on the unlit wobbly main road, a dog ran across whilst we were speeding along making me grateful for having put my seat belt on in the Suzuki (the drivers insisted it was ok not to wear them in the back, although they were present. Every church we passed they made the sign of the cross, they obviously have faith at 60mph on potholed and bumpy roads! We arrived 'in good speed' at 03:40 to the hotel down a back alley not recognised by my Maps.me route generator. We were taken quietly to our room on the first floor. I asked for the password to the wifi - kutaisi45 - and we explored our accommodation for the next two nights. Thankfully after the cramped WhizzAir flight and back of the small 4x4 we entered a big room with four single beds, as in the picture, big wardrobe, armchair and sofa with a fridge and side tables. I managed to find a power socket by the fridge (not on so quiet) to charge my almost dead iPhone, iPad and power pack. There was another socket underneath the A/C unit with an extension lead. A 15inch CRT TV with set top box was suspended on a bracket over the sofa facing the beds. I'm sure it was well screwed into the wall via the bracket! The ensuite shower room was generous. Both rooms were clean and tidy. We were so tired we just slumped on our lumpy beds, I caught up with my holiday expenses spreadsheet and eventually slept at 04:20. I was nearest the grand door onto the landing with large translucent windows and no curtains, a bit unnerving if changing by the bed. The bedsheets were a bit musty (someone complained before) so I expect they rely on the weather to dry sheets and Kutaisi was experiencing a hot period but we could handle it and it was no big deal (the musty sheets - I've had problems drying in London and it takes multiple washes and drying cycles to get rid of that smell!). We locked the door from the inside no problem (a Russian had problems in 2015). There were no bedside lamps, only the big central chandeliers which were turned off as my friends slept and I tapped away! Overnight was peaceful and my 10:20 alarm was ignored. By then people in and outside of the house were well up and the local happy dog joined in. The typically (for Eastern/Central Europe as they tend to get up with the sun) skimpy curtains let some light in and overnight a storm had brewed (Aileen from the UK caught up with us) and doors were banging around the house. As we got up our own big shower room door banged a few times as the window was open as well as the balcony windows. My friend enjoyed waking up slowly on the hot morning lit balcony, a definite plus! A couple of chairs on the balcony would have helped though. The end balcony balustrade was missing, just don't lean over to look up and down the lane below. The shower had plenty of hot water but no toiletries provided. The front circular glass barrier was missing so a full on shower was not in order for fear of flooding the rooms below. A big mirror with overhead bare lamp over the sink was near the window. A double lamp fitting over the toilet had no bulbs in; both lights were controlled by a switch by the door inside the bedroom. Three pairs of fresh smelling towels were provided. The shower room lightweight blinds flapped about annoyingly in the wind, no big deal. There were not enough hooks though there (four sets of double hooks only, better than some) or the bedroom or anywhere on the balcony. A few coat hangers were in the wardrobe and used for drying clothes. A hairdryer was supplied too, electric socket near the sink as is the S/C/E Europe way! As we left the hotel we met Meuzea who sorted our bill and then entertained us for a few minutes on her piano as she is a music teacher. A nice friendly touch, especially when she called us all 'nice children' as we are middle aged! Second overnight was a late evening of wifi catching up so bed at 01:30. I suddenly noticed peeling wallpaper above the TV! My friends had noticed it immediately the night before. Odd! No big deal but relatively easy to repair! The night was peaceful and no wind or noisy neighbours on the (Saturday) morning. I had booked two of us for breakfast at 9 before we went to the room at midnight. We popped downstairs to the wonderfully decorated dining room to see a table laid with breakfast. The candlesticks are particularly impressive! The breakfast consisted of fresh thick cut loaf of white bread, two frankfurters, eight sides of local cheese, separate tomato and cucumber slices, yoghurt, butter and home made jam. Two tea bags and a small jar of coffee were joined by a coffee pot of hot water (American style cold tea ultimately, a pity). Sugar was available but no milk it seemed (I did not ask). Muzia presented us both with a large omelette. Salt but no pepper was at hand (seems typical that there is no pepper but no problem. The food was tasty and did the trick and the cheese was quite squeaky! In the background was the film Glass Compass dubbed into Georgian and barely audible. A bit distracting in an olde world dining room. No doubt I could have turned it off as we were the only diners there. We finished by 09:45, packed and prepared to leave. Our hostess offered a taxi to collect us for 3.80, a good price, to the bus station, which we took. Within a few minutes of our waiting in her lobby it appeared (meanwhile a tiny stray puppy tried to get into the house which she ushered away).