Tbilisi, Georgia, Aug. 11, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Development company Pontus, in partnership with international hotel operator Rotana and the Italian architecture studio NOA (Network of Architecture), will develop Caucasus Mandili, the first ski resort to carry the Rotana brand anywhere in the world. The five-star, four-season resort is set in Gudauri, the largest ski resort in Georgia, and is designed to draw travellers and investors from Europe, the Middle East and beyond, giving the destination a year-round identity it has not had before.
Architectural rendering of Caucasus Mandili, the Rotana-branded resort planned for Gudauri.
Rotana’s first ski resort worldwide
Rotana’s portfolio already spans city hotels, beach resorts, desert retreats and mountain properties across the Middle East, Africa, Eastern Europe and Turkey. Caucasus Mandili marks the operator’s first dedicated ski resort and its first move into the winter-resort segment, adding a new category to a group of more than 100 hotels.
The scale Rotana brings is part of the case for the project. The operator runs hotels in 24 countries and 46 cities and welcomes more than six million guests a year, supported by a loyalty programme with over 830,000 members and a booking network used by hundreds of thousands of travel agents worldwide. The Gudauri resort will connect to that system from the day it opens, which the partners expect to translate into year-round occupancy rather than a single peak season.
“A ski resort is a new category for Rotana, and Gudauri is the right place to introduce it,” said Makram El Zyr, Corporate Vice President of Development at Rotana Hotel Management Corporation PJSC. “Georgia’s appeal is growing quickly, the Gulf is only a few hours away, and we are building a destination that guests will want to return to, in winter and in summer alike.”
Why Gudauri
Gudauri sits high on the southern slopes of the Greater Caucasus and has one of the longest ski seasons in the region. Its development began only in the early 1980s, which makes it young beside Europe’s established mountain resorts, and the partners regard that as an opportunity rather than a drawback: space to build to an international standard from the start. In their view the resort stands out not only within Georgia but across the broader region, and it is the potential rather than the present scale that drew them to it.
Accessibility is central. Tbilisi is within a three to three-and-a-half hour flight of the United Arab Emirates and neighbouring Gulf countries, and Gudauri is a further two to two-and-a-half hour drive from the capital. For a market where interest in Georgia as a holiday destination continues to climb, that keeps the resort within a single day’s travel in winter and summer alike, which is the foundation of the four-season ambition and a key reason the partners expect steady occupancy across the year.
A design built around the mountains
Choosing an architect was a deliberate process. Around ten firms were considered before Pontus and Rotana selected NOA, an Italian studio recognised for hospitality and mountain-resort work. Its co-founder, Lukas Rungger, grew up among the ski resorts of the Dolomites, and the partners felt that his background and the studio’s alpine experience matched the project’s ambitions.
NOA has described Caucasus Mandili as one of its most personal projects to date and has emphasised the close working relationship between client, operator and architect that shaped it. The aim is a building that belongs to its landscape rather than one imposed upon it.
“This is one of those projects you become attached to, almost like a first child,” said Lukas Rungger, co-founder of NOA. “Gudauri reminded me of the mountains I grew up in, and the chemistry between everyone involved let us push the design somewhere bold. We are not only drawing ideas; we are bringing them to life.”
A five-star, year-round resort
Caucasus Mandili is planned as a five-star resort of approximately 400 units, including hotel rooms and apartments, but the partners stress that unit count is only part of the picture. Close to half of the complex is given over to facilities designed to keep the resort active throughout the year, among them a spa and wellness centre, indoor and outdoor pools, restaurants and bars, a rooftop venue, a conference hall and family amenities. Rotana will operate the property to its international five-star standards.
“We are not only building rooms,” said Irakli Varshalomidze, founder of Pontus. “Almost half of the development is dedicated to year-round facilities, because our goal is to turn Gudauri into a genuine four-season destination. We want people to leave with a memory and a reason to come back. We are offering emotions, not only real estate.”
A Georgian identity
The project takes its name and visual identity from Georgian culture. A mandili is the traditional Georgian woman’s headscarf and a long-standing cultural symbol: by tradition, a woman casting her mandili between quarrelling men would bring the fight to a stop, an act that made the mandili an emblem of peace, respect and hospitality. “Caucasus Mandili” is conceived as an emotional anchor as much as a place to stay, a destination intended to remain in visitors’ memories long after they leave and to give Gudauri a stronger identity on the international map.
A growing portfolio
Pontus has worked with Rotana for more than three years and is the operator’s exclusive representative in Georgia. Alongside Caucasus Mandili, the company is already developing the Pontus Rotana Resort & Spa in Batumi, the first Rotana hotel in Georgia and the world’s first Rotana hotel with a casino.
With Caucasus Mandili, Pontus and Rotana are positioning Georgia as the home of the next landmark in international mountain hospitality.
——– (distributed by divul.ge)
About Pontus
Pontus is a Georgian development company led by founder Irakli Varshalomidze and Rotana’s exclusive representative in Georgia. Alongside Caucasus Mandili in Gudauri, it is developing the Pontus Rotana Resort & Spa in Batumi, Rotana’s first hotel in the country and the world’s first Rotana hotel with a casino. Pontus is part of the Pontus Capital group of companies, which has been operating in the Georgian market and currently manages more than USD 50 million in assets; the group also includes the advertising company Pixel, the construction company Jevers, the wine-producing company Pontus Land Invest, and others. For more information, visit pontus.ge and pontuscapital.ge.
About Rotana
Founded in Abu Dhabi in 1992, Rotana is one of the leading hotel management companies across the Middle East, Africa, Eastern Europe and Turkey. Through brands including Rotana Hotels & Resorts, Rayhaan, Arjaan, Centro and others, it operates more than 100 hotels and resorts in 24 countries and 46 cities, welcoming over six million guests a year across city, beach, desert and mountain destinations. Caucasus Mandili will be its first ski resort worldwide.
About NOA (Network of Architecture)
NOA (Network of Architecture) is an Italian architecture and interior-design studio founded in 2010 by Lukas Rungger and Stefan Rier, headquartered in Bolzano in South Tyrol with further offices in Berlin, Turin and Milan. A collective of more than thirty architects and designers, it specialises in hospitality and tourism projects and is known for design that enters into a dialogue with its landscape, guided by the ethos of building stories while designing buildings.
From left: Makram El Zyr (Rotana), Irakli Varshalomidze (Pontus) and Lukas Rungger (NOA), the partners behind Caucasus Mandili.
Press Inquiries
Lika Vashalomidze
l.vashalomidze@pontus.ge
+995 558 511 111
https://pontus.ge
A video accompanying this announcement is available here: https://youtube.com/watch?v=uLubtMgUVj8
