Lopota Lake Resort

A resort on Lake Lopota

In 2008 building a hotel by a forgotten lake in Kakheti seemed to many a hopeless idea. Goga Maisuradze opened a small seven-room hotel here all the same, and it grew into a resort of 310 rooms in sixteen buildings, the first resort in Kakheti that people travel to for the place itself. Today it is run by the founder's family, and more than five hundred people look after the guests, some of them here since the very first day.

The lake, the forest and the mountains are still what matters most: olive trees grow between the buildings, there are beehives, animals and birds roam, and the resort's symbol is a dog called Bobby. Seven outdoor pools are spread across the grounds, and there is an indoor pool with panoramic windows, a forest spa on the hillside by the lake using the Swiss brand Valmont, and a Slavic bath with steam, honey and birch branches.

In the Napareuli microzone Maisuradze founded the Château Buera winery: its vineyards are certified organic and its wines are made in small batches. In its restaurant chef Meriko Gubeladze gives classic dishes from different regions of Georgia a new reading, and the terraces look out over vineyards and the Caucasus. The resort also has Kakhetian cooking, an Italian restaurant, the Asian Ike, Japanese for small lake, and a jazz club with live music on summer weekends.