Ruzanna Malkhasyan and Hotel Alex Raising Standards in Abkhazia

The road from Russia into Abkhazia makes a turn a few kilometers after the border and follows the mountains in a southeast direction towards Gagra.  The. views from the road are spectacular.  On the left are the steep mountainsides of the Caucasus and to the right the traveler can see many kilometers to sea and down the coastline to Gagra.  After about 20 minutes, the road descends into "Old Gagra" where the town fills the narrow gap between the mountains and the sea. Gagra has many rustic guest homes, several modest hotels and a few outdated Soviet-era resorts. Last year, the Hotel Alex opened; It is the best property in northwest Abkhazia and perhaps the entire country.  It also sets the standards for service and amenities for all of Abkhazia.  No other hotel can boast a seaside pool, a spa, up-to-date designer rooms, a restaurant and bowling alley, not to mention western-level service.

 In December, I spent time with Ruzanna Malkhasyan, who is a manager at the Hotel.  I was impressed that day because the staff called her as soon as I entered the hotel and within minutes she arrived, despite the fact it was an off day for her. When I asked Ruzanna about this, she laughed and told me that while working to build the hotel's reputation and its expanding list of services, there is little free time, so whenever the chance to promote the hotel appears she wants to capitalize.

Ruzanna told me about the development of the hotel, which is owned by Russian investor Alexander Lebedev. She said that the hotel opened in April of 2010 and that the building process took less than a year.  This is quite rapid by local standards, but the quality has apparently not suffered.  The structure sits just off the beach and has 80 rooms, a spa and a bar/ restaurant in 5 stories.  Most rooms have unobstructed views of both the spectacular mountains and glassy seas.  The modern design, colors and brightly lit reception area, with its service-oriented and English speaking staff, are a contrast to other properties in the area, but a sure sign of much more hotel development on the way to Abkhazia.  The hotel also has a beautiful pool area, a bowling alley and, on its extensive beach front, another restaurant and snack bar are being opened.  Weddings, parties and conferences are held here because of the level of service and the attractive, comfortable rooms.  The spa is often busy, with a sauna and beauty and skin treatments that are not available in other hotels in Abkhazia.

I have visited the Alex a number of times and it is always busy. During the summer peak season, occupancy runs very close to 100% and even during the winter months, the hotel is usually about 50% occupied. Abkhazia and the Hotel Alex offer a beautiful and less expensive alternative to Russians for corporate outings, especially when most of Russia is blanketed in cold and snow.  For example, on a visit last fall, I saw a conference of executives from Renault auto dealerships in Russia.

Ruzanna was recruited to work for the Alex because of her unique background.  She was born in Gagra, but her family left because of the conflict caused by Georgia's invasion in 1992.  They moved to Saint Petersburg,where Ruzanna eventually studied at the Saint Petersburg Technical College of Management  and Commerce and received a degree in international economics and tourism, specializing in hotel management.  Ruzanna worked during her University days and after graduating, took a position with Limak Group in Turkey, where she started out as a waitress at the Cornelia Resort Golf and Spa, but quickly rose to Assistant Guest Relations Manager. When her present employers heard of her desire to return to Abkhazia for family reasons, they quickly found a role for her in the Alex.  Ruzanna is Reception Manager at the Alex and she also works in the sales department and is very involved in the planning process with Hotel Manager Vyacheslav Chernyshev as the property has developed its bowling alley, bars and restaurants.  Her multi-disciplinary education and work experience have come in handy with all of the hats she wears at the Alex.

Ruzanna and I walked to the new Hemingway Bar during my visit in December and she showed me the Hotel's plans for expanding to fill the service gap in Abkhazia.  I have been telling investors for several years that Abkhazia is ripe for hotel development because of its unique climate, spectacular coastline and proximity both to an Olympic city (Sochi) and to the large Russian market.  The Hotel Alex is proof positive that the model of providing high quality rooms and service will attract guests to Abkhazia. The Hotel is already establishing a reputation as a "cool" weekend getaway for Sochisiders and a destination for those from colder climes who wish to fly to Sochi, take a quick trip across the border and relax in subtropical comfort.

Ruzanna is emblematic of a new generation of energetic Abkhaz professionals who have acquired an education and linguistic skills.  They see those tools as a springboard for personal opportunity and to help their country rise from impoverishment to the Black Sea's most unique and beautiful destination.

Ruzanna Malkhasyan (right) and Hotel Alex employee

The Hotel Alex sits at 1 Zvanba Ulitsa in Gagra.  Winter rates start at 2,200 rubles for a standard room, 4,800 rubles for a suite, with a deluxe suite priced at 5,800.  Summer rates are higher.  Readers may contact me for further information.

Distances to Sochi

I like this interactive map of distances to Sochi from other cities in the Black Sea Region.  It illustrates distance very well and shows cities such as Yevpatoria, Ukraine are not far from Sochi.  There is ferry service to Sochi from Trabzon, Turkey and other cities including Tuapse, Russia and Gagar, Abkhazia.  It is assumed that by 2014 there will be more ferry service offered from Black Sea cities to Sochi.

What the map does not show is how overland distances translates into travel time.  For instance, the city of Svetlograd is about 195 miles.  Svetlograd is some distance past the more well-known southern Russian city (and original home of MIkhail Gorbachev) of Stavropol.  Stavropol is about 150 miles directly from Sochi. To a North American, it would seem that a trip to Stavropol would take about 2 hours.  However, on the train it is about 10 hours.  The bus trip is about 12.  A car trip would probably around 10 hours due to circuitous roads and traffic.  The map does not show that there is only one road (and one railroad) leading to Sochi from the rest of Russia.  The Caucasus Mountains come very close to the sea at Sochi and the road was constructed along the seacoast and so avoided the difficulties and expense of mountain construction.  

For this reason, security for the Olympics, Paralympics, World Cup and Formula 1 are not the issues that are assumed by many that are unfamiliar with the region.  It could take 24 hours or more to reach Sochi from the restive regions of Russia's North Caucasus.  And since there is only one road, the checkpoints and potential checkpoints make infiltration by those with destructive power very difficult.  And with a mountain range in between the two, it would very difficult to make an overland journey.

There is no place immune from security risks, but because of Sochi's location it is no more of a risk than any other high profile destination.

Investor Tour to Abkhazia

Last week several investors, Mitch Hancock of Canada and an American representing several deep pocket and institutional investors, joined me on a tour of Abkhazia.  We met with officials from the government, including Prime Minister Shamba.  

First, we spent a few days in Moscow before heading to Sochi and Abkhazia.  Moscow was full of people for the Victory Day holiday weekend.  The streets in the center were blocked off to vehicular traffic on May 9 and with warm and sunny weather, millions of people were out to enjoy the day.  My guests were really impressed with the parades and the spectacle of Moscow on Victory Day.

May 10, we flew to Sochi and traveled to Abkhazia.  We drove down to Sukhum from the border. Both visitors were impressed with the beautiful coastline northwest of Gagra.  We stopped several times to take photos. On the way, we stopped at Pitsunda where I showed them the resort.  We spent about an hour walkng the grounds and beach of the resort.  The comments were very positive about the prospects for development at Pitsunda and nearby.  We had a long talk about how to draw in large investors for what appears to be mutliple resorts at the grounds of the current resort. 

After we arrived in Sukhum, we had dinner at Aqvafurta and talked about what we had seen in Abkhazia.  The next afternoon, I showed Novy Afon Monastery and Stalin's dacha to my guests.  The views from the dacha of the central coastline are very dramatic and both of my guests remarked on the beauty and development potential of the location.  

Later that day, we met with Prime Minister Shamba and his advisors in his office.  Tim Post traveled from Krasnodar for the meeting and he and I spoke about the English language tourist application that we have developed for Abkhazia.  Then the American investor spoke about the lack of credit and debit card processing and potential solutions in Abkhazia.  He also said that there was a dearth of English language information on the investment projects in the Republic of Abkhazia.  Then Mitch Hancock made a presentation on Canadian playground equipment.  Earlier, he read about President Bagapsh's interest in acquiring quality playground equipment for Abkhazia's children.  Mr. Hancock believes there are multiple opportunities to pursue in Abkhazia and said that if the government was prepared, he would put together proposals for modernizing the port facility.  Mr. Hancock has a long international track record working with transportation and shipping.

We planned on a helicopter trip to see Abkhazia's coastline and mountains, but weather did not permit. Still we spent several days in Abkhazia and everyone was impressed with the opportunities there.  Both of my North American guests felt that there is tremendous potential for development in Abkhazia.  There were favorable comments about the leadership "They plainly understand the issues and want their country to develop" and about individual projects "this is a winner" (on Pitsunda).  The spectacular beauty also impressed both visitors. After we visited Novy Afon, favorable comparisons to the southern California coastline were made.  All three of us believe there was the potential for a 5 star resort there.

I have spoken to both parties since they departed several days ago.  Mr. Hancock is interested in pursuing opportunities in import/export,shipping, port redevelopment and air service.  His American counterpart is talking to  investors in the US about real estate development projects in Abkhazia.

The Hotel Alex, Gagra -Wednesday, May 3

Today is a beautiful day in Abkhazia.  The temperature is about 24 (75 Fahrenheit).

The Alex Hotel (photos above and below) recently opened in Gagra.  The hotel, with an English-speaking staff, sits directly in front of the beach and within a short walk of central Gagra. It is possibly the best hotel property in Abkhazia.  There are both indoor and outdoor pools, a spa and 80 rooms.  The hotel features a restaurant, bowling alley and billiards. Rooms are comfortable, modern and clean.   Hotel rooms enjoy mountain and sea views.   Service is the best that I have seen in Abkhazia.

This is the kind of hotel development that I expect to see much more of in Abkhazia.  The hotel is modern in design and very inviting to the eye.  It is plain there is a market for it. The hotel was 100% occupied for virtually the entire month of April, even with colder and wetter than normal weather.  With the coming tourism boom, there is room for many hotels in Abkhazia.  

 

Border Crossing

I have heard from several sources that the border crossing between Russia and Abkhazia will be rebuilt in the next several years.  This is welcome news to me and will be to the millions of tourists who are and will be crossing to enjoy Abkhazia's mountains and beaches.  The existing border crossing is swamped during the tourist season with waits of several hours for the tour buses and pedestrians crossing.  Last year, the passenger train between Adler, Russia and Gagra, Abkhazia reopened for service twice a day.  Ferry service will also ease the congestion.  But with more tourists coming to Abkhazia's, the improvements are necessary.