Arhavi Villas

This was a wonderful stay. Benim, our host, was gracious and friendly. The inn/hotel itself was beautiful—set in the midst of a trout hatchery by a bubbling stream with 18 pools full of growing trout right outside the windows of the hotel rooms. The hotel has an upscale rustic feel—comfortable and sophisticated, but in a surprisingly bucolic setting. Around the hotel are hills covered with fields of growing tea and rimmed by walnut trees. The drive to the hotel is down a road that seems initially disappointing, but when you get to the hotel it turns into a kind of idyllically remote setting. We ate dinner at the hotel. I had trout (freshly taken from the hotel’s hatchery), my wife had a plate of meatballs, a renowned specialty of the region. Both were superb, the trout fresh and delicious; the meatballs like large sausage patties, hot with surprisingly strong seasoning. Don’t think we didn’t like the meatballs. They were superb, but they weren’t at all like what we know as meatballs in America…. Really, this is a remarkable little hotel. I don’t know how many rooms there are—probably less than 15–but it feels intimate and remote. There is also a cabin available for rent. We would highly recommend it for anyone looking for a sophisticated treat of a little inn. Make sure you eat at the restaurant. We were the only guests at breakfast. At dinner, there were four other local guests in the dining room. I suspect the restaurant is much busier when summer comes.