Batumi’s hotel map is easy to read once you know the two zones. Along the seafront and the Boulevard stand the glass towers: Hilton, Sheraton, Radisson and a dozen apartment high-rises, all within 200 metres of the pebble beach. Behind them, between Piazza square and Europe Square, is the old town, where the hotels are smaller, older and cheaper, and the beach is a five to ten-minute walk. Ten hotels from both zones follow. Each was picked on guest score and review count together. In Batumi a 9 out of 10 from 40 reviews means less than an 8 from a thousand.
A few things to know before comparing them. Beaches here are pebbles, not sand. Season runs from June to September, and July and August prices can be double those of May or October. Batumi airport is 7 km south, a 15-minute taxi. Rain is frequent even in summer. An indoor pool is therefore not a luxury detail here; it is what saves a wet week.
JRW Welmond Hotel
Five stars in the old town. About 700 metres from the lower station of the Argo cable car. Amenities match the rating: a restaurant, a bar, a spa with a sauna, a hairdresser, a wine cellar you can browse. Free private parking on site is the detail worth noting, because parking in central Batumi in August is a daily problem for anyone who drove in from Tbilisi.
Some rooms have a sitting area, and depending on the floor and side they look at the sea, the mountains or the rooftops. Front desk works around the clock. With 2,355 reviews and an 8 out of 10 average it is one of the most reviewed hotels in the city. That makes the score reliable. Not the newest building on this list, but the location between the old town and the Boulevard is hard to beat for a first visit.
Radisson Blu Hotel Batumi
Radisson Blu is the tall glass slab at the northern end of the Boulevard, three minutes on foot from Iveria Beach and next to the Ferris wheel and the Alphabet Tower. It is built around water: one indoor pool, one outdoor, and a rooftop restaurant facing the sea. It holds a Green Key eco-certificate and a Safehotels safety certificate, for those who track such things.
Rooms are on the large side, with wooden floors, French windows and a Nespresso machine in each. Most face the water. Ask for a higher floor, since the lower ones look at the promenade traffic. Score: 8 out of 10 from 1,232 reviews. Of the three international chains in Batumi this is the one closest to the beach and the amusement end of the Boulevard, so it suits families better than the other two.
Sheraton Batumi Hotel
Sheraton occupies the tower modelled on the Lighthouse of Alexandria, on Rustaveli Avenue about 200 metres from the sea and a short walk from 6 May Park. Its spa is the reason to choose it over its neighbours: several saunas, a Turkish hammam, a fitness centre, an indoor pool and a seasonal outdoor one. On a wet day in Batumi, and there are many, that combination matters more than the view.
Rooms are large and contemporary rather than traditional. Fit-out is standard Sheraton. Rated 8 out of 10 across just over a thousand reviews. It sits slightly further from the beach than the Radisson but closer to the old town and Piazza, so it is the better base if evenings in the restaurants matter more than mornings on the pebbles.
Hilton Batumi
Hilton Batumi is pet-friendly, which none of the other five-stars nearby can say. Location is as central as it gets: 200 metres from the coast, 300 metres from the Dolphinarium in 6 May Park, and under 20 minutes on foot to both Europe Square and the Ali and Nino statue at the harbour end of the Boulevard.
Rooms are modern, air-conditioned and finished to the brand standard. Upper floors of the 20-storey tower have the best sea views in this part of town. Airport transfer is 15 minutes each way. Reviews put it at 8 out of 10 from 904 guests. Between Hilton and Sheraton the difference is small, and the sensible move is to compare the rate for your dates and take the cheaper one.
Batumi World Palace
Batumi World Palace stands 150 metres from the coast in the city centre, and the Medea statue on Europe Square is a five-minute walk. Its 9 out of 10 is one of the highest scores on this list, with the caveat that it comes from 141 reviews, a small sample next to the chains above.
Rooms are done in warm tones with a classic interior, each with a flat-screen TV, minibar and private bathroom. Its restaurant covers European and Georgian dishes and keeps a decent list of Georgian wine, which is not a given even in Georgia’s hotel restaurants. A good option when the big chains are booked out or priced up in August and you still want a full-service hotel close to the water.
Piazza Four Colours
Piazza Four Colours is part of the Piazza complex around the Italian-style square in the old town, about 200 metres from the sea. Every room has air conditioning, cable TV and a private bathroom with a hairdryer and free toiletries. Nothing flashy, the basics done properly, and you step out of the door into the square where the evening concerts happen in summer.
Families get Piazza Wonderland, the complex’s own entertainment centre for children and adults, for an extra fee. Noise is the trade-off: the square is lively until late in July and August, so light sleepers should ask for a room facing away from it. With 892 reviews and an 8 out of 10, this is a dependable mid-range pick.
Piazza Boutique Hotel
Piazza Boutique is built into the clock tower on the same square. Rooms are individually designed. Balcony rooms open onto the square on one side or the sea and the hills behind the city on the other. It is a small hotel, so the tower rooms go first. Book early for summer.
Eating without leaving the building is easy: the Georgian restaurant Mimino, the European Marco Polo, the cafe La Brioche and an Irish pub for the evening. It sits at 8 out of 10 from 521 reviews. Choose this one over Four Colours if the room itself matters to you, and Four Colours if you are travelling with children and want the play centre.
Dzveli Batumi
Dzveli Batumi means “Old Batumi” in Georgian, and the hotel is in the old quarter accordingly: 200 metres from the beach, 400 metres from Tamar’s Castle and about a kilometre from the Dolphinarium. A small, well-kept property rather than a chain, with the kind of owner-run attention that shows up in the reviews.
Rooms have wooden floors and bright colours, each with air conditioning, satellite TV, a fridge and a private bathroom. Streets around it are full of Georgian, Turkish and Ukrainian restaurants, so dinner is a two-minute walk in any direction. It holds an 8 out of 10 from 863 reviews, a large sample for a hotel this size, which is the best argument for it.
Hotel Old Town
Hotel Old Town is exactly where the name says, about five minutes on foot from the coast in the centre. Every room has air conditioning, satellite TV, a minibar and a private bathroom with a hairdryer. Three stars, and priced like it, which in Batumi’s old town means well under half the rate of the seafront towers in high season.
Its restaurant covers European and Georgian dishes. Front desk runs around the clock, useful for late Wizz Air arrivals and the early morning train to Tbilisi. At 634 reviews and an 8 out of 10, it is the reliable budget option for a stay where everything you want to see is within walking distance.
Hotel Phaliashvili
Hotel Phaliashvili works more like an apartment building with a reception than a classic hotel. It is central, about ten minutes on foot from the coast, and every unit has its own kitchen, air conditioning and a balcony facing the mountains or the city. For a stay of a week or more, or for anyone who wants to buy fish at the market and cook it, this format makes more sense than a hotel room.
There is also a shared, fully equipped kitchen with a dining area for guests who would rather cook together than in their own unit. One of the highest-rated places on this list at 9 out of 10 from 742 reviews, a large enough sample to trust. No pool, though. It pairs best with a summer visit when the sea does the job.
Which One to Choose
Pools and a spa built in, for a stay that might include three rainy days: Radisson, Sheraton or Hilton, in that order of distance from the beach. Old town and walking everywhere: the two Piazza hotels, Dzveli Batumi or Hotel Old Town, all within ten minutes of Europe Square and the Boulevard. A week or longer, or a family that wants a kitchen: Hotel Phaliashvili. Full-service hotel without chain prices: Batumi World Palace or JRW Welmond.
Whatever the shortlist, read the review count next to the score. Several newer towers on the New Boulevard show a 9 or higher from a few dozen reviews. Those numbers move a lot in a first season. For July and August, book by May; outside the season, most of these hotels have rooms a few days ahead at close to half the summer price.
