Prepared by Sakhva Travel Georgia Guide, a tours and travel platform for Georgia. Sakhva Travel office: 14 Merab Kostava St, Tbilisi.
Tour on this topic: Telavi, Alaverdi and Ikalto with a guide — from ₾185
We are not affiliated with the resort and do not sell its rooms. This is an overview based on public information: the award page, the resort's website and reference sources, all listed with dates at the end. The Kakheti around it I describe from my own experience: I take guests there on my tours.
What is the award and how did Lopota win it?
The World Travel Awards are an annual international prize in travel and hospitality, often called the "Oscars" of the industry. They pick the best in each country across categories such as hotel, resort, boutique hotel and spa. The 2026 Europe winners were announced on 17 October 2026 at a gala ceremony in Kotor, Montenegro. Eight resorts were nominated for Georgia's Leading Resort 2026, and the title went to Lopota Lake Resort & Spa. It is a first for Kakheti: until now the award had only gone to resorts in western Georgia and in Borjomi.
| Year | Georgia's Leading Resort (World Travel Awards) | Region |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Sairme Hotels & Resort and SPA | Imereti |
| 2021 | Sairme Resort | Imereti |
| 2022 | Paragraph Resort & Spa, Shekvetili | Guria, Black Sea coast |
| 2023–2025 | Crowne Plaza Borjomi | Samtskhe-Javakheti |
| 2026 | Lopota Lake Resort & Spa | Kakheti |
The other 2026 nominees were Ambassadori Kachreti Golf Resort, BIOLI Wellness Resort, Crowne Plaza Borjomi, Dreamland Oasis Hotel, Paragraph Resort & Spa Shekvetili, Sairme Resort and Sevsamora Resort & Spa.
How is Lopota different from past winners?
The previous winners are all about water and wellbeing. Sairme is a spa resort with mineral springs in the mountains of Imereti. Paragraph in Shekvetili is a beach hotel on the Black Sea. Crowne Plaza Borjomi is in Borjomi, next to the mineral water park (see our Borjomi guide). Lopota is a different kind of place: a lake in the forest, vineyards all around and a winery on site. People come here not for treatments or the sea but for a quiet break in a wine region that is a convenient base for Kakheti's monasteries and family wine cellars. So choose by the purpose of your trip: mineral water means Borjomi or Sairme, the sea means Shekvetili, wine and the valley mean Lopota.
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Where is the resort and how do you get there?
Lopota sits on the shore of its lake near the village of Napareuli in Telavi municipality, about 100 km from Tbilisi and 26 km from Telavi. Around it are forest and the vineyards of the Alazani Valley, with the Greater Caucasus on the horizon. The drive from Tbilisi takes about two hours.
- By car or taxi. Two roads lead from Tbilisi to Kakheti: the shorter one over the Gombori Pass and the longer, flatter one via Sagarejo. In winter there can be snow on the pass, and drivers take the detour.
- By minibus to Telavi from Ortachala bus station: departures roughly every 45 minutes from 08:15 to 17:00, about 2 hours on the road (per GoTrip), then a taxi to the resort.
- With a guide. If you want to see Kakheti on the way rather than just the highway, combine the trip with a tour.
More on the route and timing: Kakheti day trip from Tbilisi.
What does the resort offer?
According to the resort's website, Lopota is not a single hotel but a small village of 16 buildings around the lake. It describes itself as a four-season resort: in winter the spa and indoor pool are open, in summer the outdoor pools and the lake.
| What | Details (from the resort's website) |
|---|---|
| Rooms | 310 rooms in 16 buildings: Superior (double, king, triple, family and quadruple), Deluxe (standard and View), Junior Suite, Executive Suite and two-level Duplex Suite |
| Restaurants and bars | Kakhetian Corner (local cuisine), Oval Restaurant, IKE Asian Fusion, Château Buera restaurant, Rooftop Bar, Jazz Club |
| Spa | Forest Spa with Valmont products, a Russian-style banya, indoor and outdoor pools |
| Activities | tennis, horseback riding, quad bikes, fishing, Green Aqua water park |
| Wine | Château Buera winery on site |
The resort's website does not list prices: rates appear in the booking system for your dates. Rooms go early for holidays and the Rtveli harvest season, so book September and October a few weeks ahead.
Who is Lopota for, and who should skip it?
Good for families with children, couples on a weekend break, groups and corporate retreats: there is plenty to do without leaving, from pools and the spa to horses, fishing and several restaurants. A good choice if you want two or three quiet days by the water away from Tbilisi while staying half an hour from Alaverdi and Tsinandali.
Not for you if you want the atmosphere of an old Kakhetian town or a small guesthouse at a winemaker's home. For that, Sighnaghi or Telavi are better. And if you only have a week in Georgia, the resort will take a day or two you could spend in the mountains or other regions; in that case it makes more sense to see Kakheti in one full day from Tbilisi.
Lopota, Kachreti or Sevsamora: which resort to choose?
All three were 2026 nominees. How they differ, according to the resorts' websites and the National Tourism Administration:
| Resort | Where | Rooms | What stands out |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lopota Lake Resort & Spa | Kakheti, Napareuli, on the lake | 310 | Forest lake, Valmont spa, its own winery |
| Ambassadori Kachreti Golf Resort | Kakheti, Kachreti (Gurjaani) | 205 | Georgia's first professional golf course, 25 ha |
| Sevsamora Resort & Spa | Saguramo, near Mtskheta | 45 | Small, villas with private pools, close to Tbilisi |
For wine and trips around Kakheti, Lopota or Kachreti make more sense; for quiet close to Tbilisi, Sevsamora, with Mtskheta next door.
What is there to see nearby?
Napareuli is a convenient base for the northern part of Kakheti. Alaverdi and Tsinandali are about 22–23 km away, roughly half an hour by car (OpenStreetMap routing):
- Alaverdi. The 11th-century Cathedral of St George, over 55 metres tall, was Georgia's tallest church for almost a thousand years, until Tbilisi's Holy Trinity Cathedral was consecrated in 2004. The monks make their own qvevri wine.
- Ikalto. A monastery and medieval academy where, according to tradition, Shota Rustaveli studied.
- Telavi. Kakheti's main town, with the 17th-century Batonis Tsikhe palace-fortress and a plane tree about 900 years old.
- Tsinandali. The estate of the poet Alexander Chavchavadze, with a park and one of Georgia's oldest wine cellars. It has hosted the Tsinandali music festival since 2019.
- Nekresi. A 6th-century monastery on the slope to the east, on the same side of the valley, near Kvareli, overlooking the whole Alazani Valley.
Alaverdi, Ikalto and Telavi are on our Telavi day trip from Tbilisi, and Tsinandali can be added on request. It starts from your hotel in Tbilisi; if you are already staying at the resort, we run the same route from Lopota for ₾400. For the whole region, see Kakheti 2026: wineries, routes and what to see.
How much is a Kakheti tour from Lopota resort?
If you are already staying at the resort, there is no need to go back to Tbilisi for a tour. We run the route of our Telavi day trip from Lopota too: the guide picks you up at the resort by car and brings you back in the evening. A private Kakheti tour with pickup from the resort costs ₾400 per trip for 1–4 people. Lunch (about ₾25–40 per person) and the winery tasting (usually ₾10–20 per person) are paid separately.
- 10:00: departure from Lopota resort.
- 10:30: 11th-century Alaverdi Cathedral, 30 minutes.
- 11:30: Telavi, Batonis Tsikhe fortress and the 900-year-old plane tree, 1 hour.
- 13:00: lunch with Kakhetian food.
- 14:30: a family winery with qvevri and a tasting.
- 16:00: Ikalto, a 6th-century monastery with a 12th-century academy, 30 minutes.
- around 17:00: back at the resort.
We can shift the start time to suit you and swap one stop for Tsinandali. Book on WhatsApp.
Which wine to try: Château Buera and Napareuli
Château Buera is the winery on the resort grounds. It was founded by Goga Maisuradze; the vineyards are certified organic and the wines are made in small batches. It lies in the Napareuli micro-zone, one of Georgia's official protected wine appellations, used for a white wine from Rkatsiteli and a red from Saperavi. Try both, then compare them with family-made wine from a marani, where it is still fermented in qvevri, the method on UNESCO's intangible heritage list.
The easiest way to do that comparison is a wine tasting in Kakheti. To get to know the grapes and styles beforehand, read our Georgian wine guide.
A 2–3 day plan: resort plus Kakheti
- Day 1. Leave Tbilisi in the morning over the Gombori Pass, stopping at viewpoints over the valley. Check in, evening by the lake, dinner at Kakhetian Corner.
- Day 2. Alaverdi early, before the groups, then Ikalto, Telavi with its fortress and plane tree, and Tsinandali. Spa or banya in the evening.
- Day 3. A free morning at the resort or a trip to Nekresi, with a marani tasting on the way back to Tbilisi.
If you only have one day, it is simpler to tour Kakheti from Tbilisi with a guide and be back in the evening, leaving the resort for another trip.
When should you go?
- September–October: Rtveli, the grape harvest, the liveliest time in Kakheti. More in Kakheti in autumn.
- May–June: a green valley, not too hot yet, warm enough for the outdoor pool.
- July–August: hot, but cooler by the lake and in the forest than in Tbilisi.
- Winter: quiet and calm; the spa and indoor pool are open and the Caucasus is white on the horizon.
«Wonderful trip to Kakheti! The wine was amazing, everyone should visit Georgian vineyards at least once in their life. Thank you so much for such a wonderful time.»
Sources
- World Travel Awards: Georgia's Leading Resort 2026 — winner, nominees and award history (gala 17 Oct 2026)
- Breaking Travel News: Lopota Lake Resort & Spa — Georgia's Leading Resort 2026 (October 2026)
- Lopota Lake Resort & Spa official website (checked 22 Oct 2026)
- Georgian National Tourism Administration: Ambassadori Kachreti Golf Resort (checked 22 Oct 2026)
- Sevsamora Resort & Spa official website (checked 22 Oct 2026)
- GoTrip: How to get to Telavi — minibus schedule (checked 22 Oct 2026)
- Wikipedia: Lopota Resort
- Wikipedia: Alaverdi Monastery
