Tbilisi’s Fabrika Hostel Is Cooler Than You (And That’s Why You Should Stay There)
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Libby Ryan
If you’re going to Tbilisi, Georgia and looking for a place to stay, you have to spend at least one night at Fabrika. Part hostel, part hipster neighborhood highlight, Fabrika is so much cooler than the Art Deco Airbnb you could rent in the winding backstreets of the Caucasus city. That Airbnb would be a solo venture or solely shared with your travel buds, whereas Fabrika is a community experience. It’s not just a place to crash for the night — it’s an entire city block full of hostel rooms, cafes, bars, artist studios, boutiques and a coworking space.
Fabrika took over a former Soviet sewing factory, so the raw space is completely industrial and has since been filled with slightly faded furniture, neon lights and greenery. The complex is going for the “old meets new” vibe, and it’s evident in every corner. Your friends with the vintage shopping habit? They’d likely make a deal with the devil to design their living rooms to look like Fabrika’s lobby. Outside, the courtyard is hung with colorful bunting to match the inimitable street art murals covering every inch of the brick walls.
Fabrika is, hands down, the best hostel we’ve ever visited. It oozes cool. It might be cooler than you, especially on those travel-worn days when you just want a chill night in, but that’s exactly why you should stay here. Even if you hang at Fabrika all day, you’ll still get some of the best of Tbilisi’s millennial hipsterdom, from the daily walking tours to the nightlife.
Stay
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Yes, Fabrika is a hostel, but it’s not a grungy, pack-14-people-into-a-smelly-dark-room kind of hostel. There are both apartments and private rooms available here, as well as airy, clean dorm rooms with fairly comfy bunk beds.
The entire property feels more like a hip hotel than a hostel when you’re walking through the halls. Key cards are automated and there are bright murals covering every wall as you wander through the corridors. Inside, the rooms are calm with muted two-tone color schemes and light-blocking curtains for when you might need a morning lie-in.
Fabrika’s apartments are suites that sleep four people with one double bed and two twin beds. There’s a bathroom, air conditioning, a kitchenette and a terrace overlooking the street art-filled neighborhood ($110). The private rooms start at $50 for twin bunk beds or $60 for normal twin beds or one double bed.
But the dorms are an insane bargain, starting at $7 for a bunk in a 12-person dormitory. It’s slightly more for a spot in a four-person dorm, clocking in at a whopping $13 per person per night.
For all your sightseeing needs, Fabrika runs walking tours that start in the hostel lobby. Some are donation-based and some cost a few dollars, but they cover topics like the history of Fabrika’s rapidly gentrifying neighborhood or the remnants of communist architecture in post-Soviet Tbilisi.
Eat
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Food at Fabrika happens inside and outside the hostel. So you can order breakfast right after you tumble out of bed in the hostel dining room, or you can choose to brunch, lunch or dine in the courtyard. Moulin Electrique and Tone both serve traditional Georgian food in a cafe setting with quirky art pieces on the walls and outdoor seating options for the warmer months.
But before you go getting all khatchapuri-happy (one of our favorite Georgian dishes made from bread, egg and cheese), know that Fabrika doesn’t stick to the traditional area foods. There are a handful of eateries on the premises, including coffee shops, sit-down restaurants and bars. Milk Coffee Shop is the spot to grab a cappuccino, PIPES is for burgers, Ukve has fried rice and sushi and, if you’re feeling soup, try Shio Ramen.
Work
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Fabrika is also home to a coworking space, located in the same giant building as the hostel. It’s a branch of the international Impact Hub coworking company, office spaces with 90 locations around the world dedicated to workers looking to make a positive impact on the world.
There’s one big coworking room for those popping in and out, as well as meeting rooms and more permanent private offices for longer tenures. A day pass to the coworking space starts at $9, while a 24/7 unlimited access for a month is about $115. (For reference, a monthly membership at popular stateside coworking space WeWork starts at $300 in New York City.)
Fabrika also hosts events ranging from nights dedicated to other entrepreneurs and creatives sharing their failures and getting feedback on their next steps to seminars about developing eco-tourism ventures right in Georgia. Besides just renting a desk, you can get involved in the community here if you stay for a bit — and if you’re like us, you’ll never want to leave.
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On different nights during our time at Fabrika, we sipped local craft beers, went on a rowdy pub crawl and danced in a warehouse to techno music until 3 a.m. The place has a bit of nightlife for every type of traveler. But the best part about an evening here is that, unlike many hostels, you won’t be solely surrounded by other travelers. If you grab a drink at one of the courtyard bars and jostle for a seat on one of the raw wood picnic benches, you’ll be rubbing elbows with native Georgians, expats who’ve adopted Tbilisi as home and your fellow world wanderers.
If you want to sample some Georgian beers, you can find several beer bars right in Fabrika’s courtyard (although the country is generally known more for wine). Early in the evening is prime for snagging somewhere to sit — as the night goes on and the place fills up, you’ll be lucky to find a good standing spot.
The Fabrika pub crawl is your most touristy hostel activity. Yes, you’ll be corralled around the city with a pack of other travelers. Yes, you might spend a tiny bit more on a slightly less authentic cocktail. But don’t worry — by the third bar of our crawl, our group had gained a handful of new local friends and lost a few of the tourists who weren’t ready for an all-nighter.
For those not looking to leave the Fabrika premises, the party will come to you. Or rather, the party will overflow from the backyard bars into the Fabrika courtyard. You can essentially bar hop all within the one property from hipster basement haunts to wide-open industrial spaces just begging to become a giant dance party. It’s a little too easy to keep pulling the “one more drink” or “one more song” card when your bed is just upstairs from all the fun, but we’re in no way complaining.
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