Telegraph Hotel: another use for a Tbilisi landmark

A former communications building offers a hotel more than a substantial shell. It carries a memory of public use, which can make its adaptation a question about urban life as well as accommodation.

WAYFARER’s October 2025 account described Telegraph Hotel on Tbilisi’s Rustaveli Avenue. The pale-stone façade, geometric lines and generous interior volumes remained the starting point for its new use.

Structure and interior

The original building was associated with Georgian architects Lado Meskhishvili and Teimuraz Mikashavidze. Neri&Hu’s interior design introduced black metal divisions, high ceilings and a controlled material language within the inherited scale.

The archive described 239 rooms and several dining spaces. Italian cooking at Philosophico, Thai food at Laan Thai and Georgian references at Grand Café gave the building more than one culinary register.

A wine library and outdoor bar supplied further places for gathering. The Tatuza Jazz Club and rooftop programme extended its use beyond the routines of arriving guests.

The source’s claims that these spaces were category-wide firsts are not repeated without independent verification. Nor is Tbilisi reduced to an analogy with another European capital.

The hotel is more interesting on its own terms: an existing city landmark returned to use, with its scale providing room for several kinds of activity rather than being concealed behind a generic hotel interior.

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Adapted from the WAYFARER Brazil archive, first published 2025-10-24. English adaptation: 6 October 2026. This is an archival account, not a report of a new visit. Exhibitions, collections and menu details are described in their original context, not as current availability.