A Night at Tskaltubo Spa Resort, Georgia’s Restored Soviet-era Sanatorium

Tskaltubo, Georgia’s partially abandoned Soviet spa town, is undoubtedly one of the most unique places in the country.

It’s only a quick drive from Kutaisi, but if you’re into architecture and urbexing, you’ll find there’s more than enough to see and do in Tskaltubo to warrant an overnight stay. If you have room in your Georgia travel itinerary, I highly recommend spending the night.

Tskaltubo’s glory days are far behind it, yet the town’s still-functioning radon thermal spas continue to attract holidaymakers. There are plenty of new resorts and guesthouses to accommodate visitors, but if you ask me there is really only one place to stay in Tskaltubo – and that’s the old Military Sanatorium.

Rebranded as Legends Tskaltubo Spa Resort, this is the only Soviet-era sanatorium in Tskaltubo that’s been restored. Walking the manicured grounds is like stepping back in time to the days when this was the USSR’s most desirable place to ‘take the waters’. It’s also an insight into how different things could be if the other derelict sanatoriums were finally refurbished as planned.

Located on a rise on the eastern side of Central Park, the resort is a massive complex accessed via a very grand staircase off the main street. It’s a priceless relic of the past, and the owners have done a commendable job of bringing it back from the brink.

The history, the atmosphere – spending the night here was truly one of the most memorable accommodation experiences I’ve had in Georgia (or anywhere else). If you’re curious about what it’s like to sleep inside the sanatorium where Stalin (apparently) once laid his head, scroll on for my first-hand account and photos.

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Night and day

Formerly a holiday retreat for members of the Soviet Union’s Ministry of Defense, this sanatorium was abandoned in 1991 like the rest. It reopened as Tskaltubo Spa Resort in July 2011 with 137 new rooms.

What I didn’t realise before my visit is that only half of the property has been restored to its former glory. The other half is virtually untouched and is something of a time capsule.

Better still, the main part of the sanatorium has a symmetrical design, with two identical wings linked to a rotunda-shaped concert hall/restaurant by covered walkways. The northern wing and passageway have been restored while its southern counterpart is untouched, giving you the opportunity to compare old and new.

The walkway on the northern wing (where reception and the new hotel rooms are located) appears much as it must of when the sanatorium was functioning: A beautiful greenhouse, with big windows and hundreds of potted plants.

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The southern corridor, by contrast, has been left to the elements. The tiled floor is bulging with tree roots, the paint inside is flaking, and the outside is overgrown with ivy.

Old fire extinguishers lay about, the original powder-blue radiators (a rare sight in Tskaltubo) are still mounted to the walls, and you can see Russian characters stencilled on some of the doorways.

It’s as if a line has been drawn down the middle of the property. Even the fountains on the southern side of the property have been left to nature, while on the northern side, they look as good as new. I read that the current owners have no plans to restore the other half.

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Stalin’s suite

One of few sanatoriums in Tskaltubo that’s privately owned, the property is closely guarded. You can’t just wander in. After passing security and checking in at reception, we were issued with plastic wristbands, apparently to indicate that we were guests. These granted us unfettered access to the 16-hectare property – guests are free to roam at their will.

This being November, the pool was empty and the outdoor spaces deserted. But that’s not what I came here for, so I didn’t mind. No, I was here for another perk: The chance to see the sanatorium’s restored concert hall, museum, and most of all Stalin’s private suite.

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After sheepishly inquiring at reception (it’s hard to know how to phrase such a request), we were chaperoned by a staff member, Bek, into the ‘secret rooms’ normally reserved only for guests.

Our first stop, the concert hall, is inside the belly of the rotunda building. Its mint-green balcony and ornate domed roof are perfectly preserved. Just like all similar auditoriums inside Tskaltubo’s other sanatoria, it would have seated a few hundred people.

Next we visited a small museum where the owners have placed ephemera found in the old sanatorium. Telephones and typewriters (some with Russian characters, some with Georgian), vinyl records and a wooden box of old library cards are displayed like precious artefacts unearthed during an archaeological dig.

Most interesting is the series of posters, apparently instructions for guests should they need to take refuge in a nuclear fallout shelter. Having seen a bunker on the grounds of Stalin’s Dacha on the opposite side of the park, I’m quite sure every sanatorium could well have had its own subterranean hideout.

Stalin’s private suite is billed as the highlight of this strange tour. As we were led into a locked room inside the sanatorium’s untouched southern wing, I was struck by how modest the suite is. Samovar and tea cups scattered effortlessly on a dining table; an unmade bed – the effect is to make you believe the room hasn’t been touched since the leader last visited Tskaltubo to take the waters in his private spa inside Bathhouse No 6.

I’m quite sure there has been some ‘intervention’ to ‘enhance’ the authenticity, but nonetheless it was quite spooky.

Whether Stalin actually frequented Tskaltubo or not is an unsettled debate. He did of course serve in the Soviet Armed Forces, so it makes sense that a room might have been reserved for him at the sanatorium for military members.

Non-guests might be able to tour the resort for a fee, but it’s at the security guard’s discretion.

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Tskaltubo after dark

By the time we had finished walking the grounds, it was time for a sundown drink on the front balcony (there’s also a projector screen for movie nights). Inside the lobby bar, a TV loops old footage of holidaymakers arriving at Tskaltubo by train from Moscow.

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An onsite spa on the lower level offers radon soaks, mud massages and high-pressure showers (judging from the photos, it’s a much more intense experience compared with the sulfur baths in Tbilisi) – but we passed on a treatment this time. Instead, we went back outside for a walk around Central Park. Having seen the terrible condition of the old sanatoriums in the daylight, it’s quite eerie to see the lights on inside after dark.

Back at the resort, the rooms are luxury in comparison, sparsely furnished with original parquet floors and ceiling roses. The ensuite bathrooms are new, but the bedroom and sitting room furniture is quite retro.

The next morning we joined with the handful of other guests for breakfast in the main dining room: A COVID-era buffet served from behind plexiglass.

Before taking a taxi back to Kutaisi, we took advantage of the midday checkout to walk around the grounds one more time and fly our drone above a few of the buildings.

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Tskaltubo Spa Resort info

A double room at Tskaltubo Spa Resort normally starts from 74 USD with breakfast. We found a great off-season deal (160 GEL/night) on Booking.com.

To get to the hotel from Kutaisi, you can either take one of two regular marshrutky or a taxi (15-20 GEL when booked through Bolt).

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More exceptional accommodations in Georgia

• A restored Soviet sewing factory in Tbilisi
• An abandoned village near Sighnaghi
• A luxury hotel on the grounds of Georgia’s oldest commercial winery
• A 19th century matchmaker’s mansion in Tbilisi