Hotel Nestt

Forty kilometres south of the Lars border crossing into Russia, Hotel Nestt occupies the mountain town of Stepantsminda — known universally as Kazbegi — where the Terek River cuts below the 5,047-metre cone of Mount Kazbek. The Gergeti Trinity Church perches on a spur at 2,170 metres directly above town, a two-hour uphill walk from the valley floor.

With a 9.6 score across 354 reviews, the property is among Kazbegi's most consistently praised addresses. The town's outfitter strip handles glacier trekking, horse hire, and jeep transfers to the upper valleys within easy reach.

Tbilisi's Didube station sends marshrutkas along the Georgian Military Highway daily; the journey runs two and a half to three hours depending on border traffic at Lars.