Historic Post Office Building

At the corner of Abashidze Avenue and Baratashvili Street stands one of the most beautiful buildings of old Batumi. Today it is the lavish Wyndham Batumi hotel with the OTIUM casino, but its history is full of remarkable twists. It is hard to believe that ordinary soldiers’ barracks once occupied this site.

In 1907, Kutaisi merchants, the Iakobashvili brothers, acquired the plot and decided to construct a luxurious building on the site. The design was developed by civil engineer A. G. Ozerov, and construction was completed in 1913.

According to his design, the building was reconstructed in the Italian Renaissance style with Baroque elements. The corner of the building was crowned by a clock tower by which the whole city set its time, and above the main entrances one can still discern historic symbols: crossed postal horns and telegraph lightning bolts. The interior was equally well-conceived: specialized functional furniture and advanced infrastructure for its time made this branch exemplary.

Following nationalization in 1922 and up until 2010, the building served as the main post office and telephone exchange. In 2004, it was officially recognized as a cultural heritage monument. During recent renovations, the historic facade was completely preserved, while all interior spaces were rebuilt anew for hotel purposes.

You can freely walk up and admire the magnificent facade, take photos, and look for those very post symbols above the entrances. However, only hotel or casino guests can enter inside, but it is important to remember that nothing remains there of the post office's historic interiors.