When we first met in Gudauri and the question arose about booking accommodation, certain difficulties arose. About 250 options were offered on booking services and it is not clear what is where.
If the comfort of the rooms can still be judged from photographs and reviews, then much was not clear about the distance to the slopes, lifts, shops. Therefore, on the next trips, we tried to figure it out and, if possible, tell about the village of Gudauri, mainly about housing near the cable cars.
The difficulty in choosing housing is that the resort mainly rents out apartments, and each such apartment is rented separately, that is, in one house they offer several options under different names.
The largest and most comfortable area of the village. Most of the apartments are rented here.
Apartments in New Gudauri. Several high-rise buildings are located near the gondola lift "Gudaura".
Next to the cable car. 
Cableway Gudaura. The first floors of the buildings are restaurants, cafes, equipment rentals. There is a casino.
View of New Gudauri from the cable car. Prices are completely different, rooms too. But on average, the pricing policy is higher than in other areas of the village. But if the information about the rooms says “New Gudauri” “New Gudauri” - be sure that the location is good and the rest will be comfortable.
The center of the village is the gas station area. There is a small market, supermarket, bus and taxi stop.
Village center. Gas station, shop, stop. Above the track is the Pirveli chairlift. It is she who works for evening skating. The track is illuminated until late in the evening.
Green track and Pirvelli cable car. This section of the route is illuminated in the evening and the lift is open for evening skiing. Near the ski lift hotel "Marco Polo". The prices here are quite high, there is a pool. The location is very good.
Above the slope are Gudauri Loft apartments. The location is great - the exit is right on the slope. There is parking for cars, a cafe. When booking, just like in New Gudauri, there are different room names.
Apartments Gudauri Loft. Exit directly to the track. Another 200 meters to the side - a large house, it is called the apartment "Burjanadze's House". We recognized it only from photographs, as well as the names, again, each apartment has its own. The number will have to be chosen from the photographs, each apartment has its own owner.
Apartments house Burdzhanadze, and behind it a two-story hotel "Club 2100". We lived in this house last year in February. The place is good, we skied down the slope, and we had to go back a little. There are several cafes in the house, 15 minutes walk to the supermarket.
Apartments house Burdzhanadze and the hotel "Club 2100", from them exit to the ski slope to the Pirveli cable car. Near the Burjanadze House is the Club 2100 hotel. This is exactly the hotel, on the ground floor there is a cozy restaurant, rental and shop.
Another good area where apartments for rent near the Pirveli cable car is located next to the Marco Polo Hotel. Several, ordinary-looking, residential buildings. You can ski to them. Near shops, rentals. The location is convenient for skiers.
It looks like ordinary residential buildings, they also rent apartments, not far from the cable car. 
View of the apartment from the road. You can drive straight to the entrances. 
Home to the will of the cable car. Apartments. Right there, close to the center and to the ski lift, the three-star Donata Hotel is located on a slope near the highway.
Three-star hotel Donata. This is the area at the entrance to the village from the border. There are small hotels and no apartments. You need to carefully read the information on the booking services so as not to run into a hostel.
The upper part of the village. There is a chairlift "Shino", but in the immediate vicinity of it there is only one hotel and a small hostel.
Hut Rezo, a new hotel directly next to the Soliko cable car. All other guest houses and hotels are located on the other side of the track or at a certain distance from the ski lift. Many offer transfers to the cable car.
Hostel with bath. Very close to the cable car. We lived in this area in the Abu hotel, we liked everything, but we went to the ski lift by car every morning, it was a long walk. There are also problems with parking - a very steep climb to the mountain, and the roads are often not cleared of snow.
Abu hotel, followed by Alpina. Near the hotel "Alpina", near it there is a ski lift, but we were there during heavy snowfalls and it did not work.
Hotel Alpina. Another place to stay that we liked is located near the upper station of the Pirveli lift and the lower station of the Suliko cable car.
The upper station of the Pirveli cable car and behind it is the Time Out cafe. On the second floor above the cafe is a small hotel, right next to the cable car. In this place there are two cable cars and several ski slopes. Several restaurants, one of them, our favorite "Time Out", where there was a relatively normal Internet, and delicious cuisine. And above it is a small hotel with the same name.
Vista apartments. Free parking nearby. And the “Vista” apartments are very well located. They are all called the same as you like, you need to look for information with the name of the apartment or from photographs. Here everything is nearby - tracks, ski lift, exchangers, restaurants, rentals.
The price may not always depend on the location of the hotel. It even happened to us that we booked accommodation through booking, and upon arrival we monitored all the offers, found options much cheaper. Through the same booking.com. Therefore, we advise you to look at the prices of hotels that we recommend. These will be those hotels that will be in close proximity to the ski lifts.
That is, you can ski both down to the ski lifts and off the slopes directly to the hotel.
If you want to rent an apartment in Gudauri (they are also apartments), then today it would be best to book it in apart-hotels, which are managed by Red-co. They themselves design, build, and then also manage those apartments, which, accordingly, they managed to sell to someone before. Now it is fashionable to buy apartments and give them to the management of the company from the same developer. That is exactly what happens here.
Who will suit? First of all, snowboarders. Skiers too, but there is a nuance. About him a little later.
I’ll make a reservation right away, Gudauri in the summer is a dull sight. Especially next to Red-co. Dust, permanent construction, workers scurrying back and forth and other joys of preparation for the winter season. In a word, it is definitely not worth going here in the off season. Do you want to visit Gudauri for a couple of days for trekking or paragliding? My advice is to book hotels that are closer to the Georgian Military Highway. Here are my reviews of a couple of such places: (cheaper) and (more expensive).
Gudauri in summer - hotels near the ski lift
By the way, if an Airbnb account already exists, then it is far from certain that those with whom they will travel (wife, husband, friend, girlfriend) have it. They can also book and receive a discount. So, a company of 4 people can get a total discount 8400 rubles if booked separately. There is only one condition - to create a new account using the link (banner above).
I booked through Booking - here's the direct link. It was an apartment for almost 6 people.
In the summer, I paid exactly 100 lari per day (about 2,200 rubles at the current exchange rate). The money was not blocked, although at the time of booking they reserved the right to pre-block. The cancellation fee is 30% of the cost of the entire (!) booking. Cancellation without penalty is possible no later than 7 days before arrival. With all this, payment only in cash on the spot.
35-40$ - low season
90-110$ - high winter season
There is no breakfast. Parking is free. It is possible with animals.
The main advantage of the apartments
The fattest and most obvious plus of the apartments is their proximity to the ski lift. Walk 2 minutes.
Other advantages of the apartments
On a note! A few days before arrival, ask the owner to leave the keys to the apartment at the reception. Otherwise, you will have to write off / call up with him already on the spot, which is not always convenient. And about the Georgian "I'll be in 15 minutes" I, in general, can already compose legends... 🙂
Specifically, about my apartments in Gudauri, you can say this: absolutely nothing supernatural. Kitchen with two burners, 2 bunk beds, large sofa bed, dining table for 4 people, small fridge, microwave, some crockery and TV. In a word, the very minimum set of amenities that any riders need.
According to the layout, they resembled a narrowed neck. The total area of 30 meters, no more.
View from the front door
Very small and sparsely equipped kitchen
View from the window
In the bathroom, not to say, oh, how many things: a mirror, a shaver socket, a glass for toothbrushes and a heated towel rail. All. For example, I have not found a hair dryer. Of the consumables was only an air freshener. Soap, toilet paper and shower supplies will have to be purchased independently. Good store nearby.
Everything looks quite modern and even, one might say, stylish.
A little bit of me
The apart-hotel consists of several buildings, therefore, when booking, it is better to immediately specify in which building the desired apartment is located. Ideally, if there are GPS coordinates. Ask them ahead of time. In the photo below, the building in which my apartments were in Gudauri.
The hotel stands at some distance from the Military Freight Road. As elsewhere in Gudauri, there is nothing noteworthy in terms of infrastructure within a kilometer radius, in general.
On the territory there is a very small playground, cozy and stylish gazebos, a mini market and a nice restaurant right opposite.
The building where the apartment is located - view from the side opposite from the road
View from the window on the neighboring building - a restaurant on the ground floor
View from the window to the veranda
Entrance to the building from the opposite side of the road
On the territory between the buildings there are such cozy gazebos
Let me explain the last point. It seemed to me that Gudauri is generally not a very friendly place for all skiers. If you come with your own equipment and do not order a daily transfer from the hotel to the ski lifts, then you can only move along the road on foot and, sometimes, for rather long distances. There is no public transport here at all. Snowboarders, of course, are ok, but you won’t envy skiers. And now, you live a stone's throw from the ski lifts and, it would seem, happiness is so close! And here on you - you can’t wear boots! Yes, I am a skier and for me this item is perhaps the most unpleasant 🙁
The prohibition to enter the building in ski boots - hangs right on the front door
The blog has a useful article about hotels in Tbilisi. It may come in handy if you are looking for a proven option.
What did you want to say with this post? Whether to choose the apartment described above or not is up to you to decide. But, the second time in these apartments, I would hardly have stopped by. Another thing is the apart-hotel itself. Like it or not, the proximity to the ski lifts crosses out all the above disadvantages that I could dig up, and the apartments themselves are an ideal option for a company. The main thing is to choose a more or less nice apartment. So, for example, on Booking there are similar apartments in Gudauri, but with a much larger number of positive reviews - "Go Gudauri Apartments".
By car
GPS coordinates: 42°28"07.9"N 44°29"36.5"E
Entrance to the aparthotel
Entrance to the aparthotel
You can park near the neighboring building
Transfer
If you come to ride with your equipment, then it makes sense to book in advance. It will be somewhat more expensive than a taxi, but there are obvious advantages. Upon arrival, the driver will be waiting at the exit with a sign with your name on it. You can pay by credit card from home. So you don’t have to waste time waiting in line at the exchange office (upon arrival, it often accumulates there). You need to fill in the search form: from where - Tbilisi Airport and where - Gudauri Georgia. GPS coordinates for the driver - see above.
There is no transfer from the aparthotel.
Do you have any questions? - ask in the comments.
I wish you cozy rooms and quiet neighbors!
Sergei Prokhorov
New Gudauri, Upper, Central and Lower − these are the names of the districts in the famous Georgian resort located on the Georgian Military Highway. For those who have never been here, it is difficult to understand which area is better. Where to stay in Gudauri?
To begin with, it is worth orienting yourself on the ground in order to evaluate the pros and cons of places of residence and not make a mistake with the choice of housing. To do this, a map from the site http://www.gudauri.ru/map/ is useful. Here you can also see photos and the cost of apartments, cottages, hotels and "hot offers".
The most popular area for many years remains the area New Gudauri, located away from the main road, but attractive in that the new houses are located near the gondola lift. No need to freeze in chair lifts 10 people with equipment fit in the cabins of the Austrian company.
From New Gudauri it is easy to go up or down to other lifts up to 3, 4 and 5 lines or down to 2 and 1 cable cars. There are restaurants and cafes at all lift stations.
The complex of apart-hotels is being built by Red-co over the past few years. In 2019, Loft 1 and 2 buildings were put into operation. The commissioning of new buildings is on the way. This is how the complex looks like at the moment. All blocks are located in close proximity to the gondolas.
New plan of New Gudauri
The apartments are equipped with kitchenettes, differ in interior design and number of beds. Most of the apartments are studios, there are duplexes and very few triplexes. Several more buildings under construction are on the way, where studios are being actively sold.
Instead of the Redisson hotel, a new Suite building appeared, the hotel is being built in another place.
Apartment example:
The complex has everything:
Spas are open in the second and fifth buildings, there are swimming pools and a gym.
Gudauri palace building is located directly opposite the gondola station.
MINUSES : there is only one grocery store in the new Gudauri. The area is quite isolated and quite expensive due to the proximity of the gondola cable car. To move around Gudauri, you must use the xi.
In central Gudauri there are about a dozen hotels of different levels of comfort from Marco Polo (4 stars are declared) to hostels (guest houses) and apartment buildings where 100 percent of housing is rented. All of them are located at different distances from the slopes and lifts, in particular, from the first stage of Pirveli.
Before choosing accommodation, you should make sure that the hotel or apartment suits you according to the main parameters. Most of the apartments are rented out by intermediaries, if they are Georgian citizens, misunderstandings and “overlays” are possible, so when corresponding, specify the details and save screenshots.
There is a little more traffic, cafes and restaurants, and it is easier to get to the Smart grocery store, which is on the main road. The Supermarket has an exchange point, an ATM, a gas station and a toilet.
Upper Gudauri
Upper Gudauri is called so because it is located above the main buildings of all Gudauri, up the Georgian Military Highway. From here to the ski lifts you have to move down the virgin lands or the highway, and then also return to the hotel or guesthouse, which are also quite a lot here.
The owners of hotels and guest houses quite cheerfully take guests to cable cars, shops and restaurants. Just ask!
It is often colder here than in other places, and in April you can still catch fresh snow.
Lower Gudauri
Located below the gas station and Smart store. This is no longer Gudauri at all, although - who cares ..., the kind owners of a couple of hotels and several cottages and hostels will do everything to compensate for all the shortcomings associated with the location.
And they will feed you and take you where you need to, and how much you need. Here the atmosphere is a little different.
CONCLUSIONS:
You can get settled anywhere, the main thing is that you are satisfied with your pastime, skiing, so that you are lucky with the hosts and with the weather.
We know dozens of cases when, out of desperation, people settled in remote hotels and guest houses in Gudauri, and then returned there year after year, despite the opportunity to settle in a more prestigious and convenient place.
Keep in mind that you can settle in a comfortable apartment in New Gudauri for the same or even less money than in all other areas of the resort. But here you will get more European-like comfort and uninterrupted services.
View options and book apartments in New GudauriTrail map of Gudauri:
