A weekend away (during the pandemic!)/ Travel Box review

Note: I’ve waited a few weeks to post this to make sure that we stayed healthy, weren’t contacted by contact tracers, and didn’t see the hotel pop up in the news as a cluster (and also because I’m kind of a slow writer/photo editor and there’s been a lot going on in the world).

There’s a new Georgian company called Travel Box that I heard about through Facebook, and I wanted to give it a try. I love the “box” concept (beauty boxes, snack boxes, etc)…they’re usually a good deal if themed so you’ll use the products, and getting one feels like a mini Christmas morning. The Travel Box concept is that you get to pick the region for your trip, but which of their partner hotels you get a voucher for is a surprise until you open it. The voucher is for 2 people for 2 nights, and the partner hotels are all 5-star. In the box you also get some accessories (some branded, some not) and beauty products. It looks like they may have added a bottle of wine in recently, as well. Each box is 350 GEL (currently 103 USD). You have to book your stay in advance through Travel Box, and you’re responsible for your own transportation and any expenses other than the room.

I hesitated to buy the box at first because it isn’t a small amount of money–especially-if the voucher gets wasted–but I contacted customer service with some questions before buying and they were very helpful and set my mind at ease about taking the risk. The responded quickly and in English, and all of their policies seemed reasonable to me (free rebooking 10 days before the scheduled trip, can book in someone else’s name, or change the name for free up to 2 days before the trip, rescheduling allowed if COVID regulations change abruptly, etc.). The delivery arrived smoothly and I was quite pleased with the products–the facemask fits me quite well and is a good option for running to open the door or going for walks when I don’t plan to see anyone, the scarf really suited G’s mom, and I found some lotion I quite like. In general it’s a good deal if you’ll be able to use the voucher (our hotel’s advertised price was 300 GEL/night), but would be a waste of money if you don’t, though the products might soften the blow a little.

You book your stay through Travel Box, not the hotel directly, but the booking process was easy and fast, and when I had follow-up questions the Travel Box staff replied very quickly.

We chose Kakheti for our surprise hotel because it’s a short drive from Tbilisi, we thought it would be beautiful with fall colors, autumn is the wine season, and we thought there would be plenty of outdoor activities to keep us occupied in a lower Covid-risk way. Travel Box has lots of partners in Kakheti, so where we would wind up was a surprise. (There are some regions where they only have one partner, so you pretty much know where you’ll wind up, though they are constantly adding more partners so it isn’t a guarantee). Our voucher was for Esquisse Hotel in Telavi itself, which we had never heard of before. I was delighted when I looked at their website and saw a beautiful swimming pool, so we tried to schedule our visit when we might still be able to use it.

When we arrived, the staff were friendly, our room was gorgeous, and they seemed to be doing a good job following the Georgian CDC’s anti-coronavirus protocols. We had a big balcony with an incredible view of the mountains, which also made it easy to air out the room before we spent too much time there (though I did let a fly in. Oops). (I also used my disinfecting wipes on high-touch surfaces before we settled in). G had to do some remote work while we were there, so he was pleased that the desk in the room was comfortable and the WiFi was fast and reliable. That isn’t always the case in Georgia, even in fancy hotels. The bed and shower were luxuriously comfortable, and the whole room was clean and beautifully decorated.

Esquisse has two restaurants on the premises, and the first night we ate at the “modern Georgian” restaurant. The food was very impressive, and we were the only ones there. We had a delicious beet salad with “pink” goat cheese, a Georgian take on beef bourguignon garnished with tklapi (Georgian fruit leather) served over tashmijabi (Svanetian cheesy mashed potatoes) (I am going to try to copy this dish at home this winter), and some m/phkhlovani (khachapuri with greens baked in). Everything was delicious, and the house saperavi was a little sweet and smoky–delicious and unlike other saperavis I’m familiar with–and the pour was generous!

Dinner in Esquisse hotel’s “modern Georgian” restaurant

The next morning we slept in and went to brunch at the traditional Georgian restaurant. We had thought we would go walk around Telavi or visit some of the surrounding sights, but we were having so much fun at the hotel and the food options were so good, we wound up never leaving! My first reaction walking into the yard was that it would be a perfect location for a wedding (their conference facilities also looked quite nice). The winemakers were at work that morning and G got to talking with them, which led to a few free samples of their wines and chacha. The chicken mtsvadi was particularly good, as it’s prone to dryness and this was especially succulent. We played billiards for a little while, went for a stroll, and then I was happy that the weather seemed warm enough to go for a swim. The pool was beautiful and long enough to actually swim laps in (20m, I believe). There was only one other family swimming, though there were plenty of sunbathers. G’s chats with the winemakers had resulted in the information that there was a free winetasting that afternoon sponsored by Bank of Georgia Solo, so we popped down to attend (no one seemed to care that we aren’t Solo clients). The sommelier was there and she told us about the wines, but it was a Georgian-style wine-tasting with a lot of wine provided and the suggestion “Taste it!” rather than the style where you get little sips of each. The kindzmarauli was our favorite. It’s a semi-sweet wine, but this one was sweet in a very fruity way and pleasant for sipping. G got some advice from the sommelier about his winemaking, and we enjoyed spending time outside absorbing the sunshine and breathing fresh air. For dinner G wanted khinkali, so we ate at the traditional Georgian restaurant again. Their cheese khinkali (კვარამკვარი) were the best I’ve had outside of someone’s home, and the meat khinkali were quite good, though not the best I’ve ever had. The traditional Georgian tomato and cucumber salad was served with dressing on the side! We were very full of good food and wine by the end of the day.

View of the sunrise over the Caucasus range from our balcony

I managed to wake up early Sunday morning to watch the sun rise over the Caucasus from our balcony, and it was beautiful. I got a morning swim in, which was chilly but totally worth it. I was glad to be able to swim twice–it definitely has a positive effect on my mood, as did all the fresh air and sunshine we got that weekend. We had a last meal back in the modern restaurant, and since all the food we tried had been so good I took a risk and ordered a burger (until recently burgers in Georgia have been mostly disappointing, and I hadn’t yet had a decent one outside of Tbilisi). The burger was quite good, and they even managed to get the char-grilled taste. G ordered some excellent khachapuri, and we brought the leftovers home for lunch the next day. Unfortunately we didn’t eat enough meals there to be able to try the tolma with peach, which also sounded amazing.

On our way out of town, we stopped at the Telavi agricultural bazaar to buy fruits and vegetables. The fall foliage along the Gombori pass was really beautiful.

Regarding Covid: Cases were and have remained comparatively low in Kakheti at the time I’m writing this post. At the time we travelled, most cases were still centered in Adjara and Tbilisi cases were just starting to increase. At this time, masks were only required in enclosed public spaces. Mask compliance was generally good indoors, though apart from the staff we were pretty much the only ones wearing them outside (we only took them off to eat/drink and swim and in our own room). I’m glad we invested in some comfortable, reusable filtered masks earlier this summer so we were able to protect ourselves and others while still having an enjoyable time. We did our best to protect the staff and tip them well. I was surprised how crowded the hotel was on Saturday (it was quite empty on Friday), but there was generally enough space to not have too much close interaction with people, even around the pool and at the winetasting. The weather was perfect, so we were able to spend most of our time outside and only ate outdoors. I used the government’s StopCov contact tracing app, as well, to be able to be alerted and alert others to possible contact quickly if it turned out to be necessary. We limited outside contact as much as possible for the 2 weeks before the trip, with only necessary grocery shopping and work, and for 4 days before we left for the trip (the most that work would allow at that time) we didn’t leave the house at all.

I think the Travel Box format is a great way to promote domestic tourism and a creative response to the Covid-19 challenges to Georgia’s tourism industry. It was a good deal at a lovely hotel that we hadn’t heard of before (and would love to return to, though it’s pricey for us). Our experience with Travel Box was very positive, and I would definitely buy a box again, though I’m not sure I will this winter–things seem to be getting worse and worse and it will be more difficult to plan and travel safely. Overall, I’d say Travel Box was a nice way of mixing luxury travel with a bit of adventure and sticking to a budget (though we did spend a lot at the restaurants; we could have eaten much more frugally if we wanted to, though). I don’t know if the logistics of Travel Box would work for first-time visitors to Georgia (though I’m sure their staff would be willing to provide help and advice), but I’d definitely recommend it to folks with some experience in the country. I’ll certainly keep an eye out for similar deals when I travel in the future. If you’re looking for a beautiful and comfortable place to stay in Telavi, I definitely recommend Esquisse: with or without the Travel Box.