The Orbeliani Baths are the most recognisable building in Abanotubani — the blue-and-white Persian-style tiled facade with its pointed archways appears in virtually every photograph of old Tbilisi. Behind the facade, the bathhouse operates exactly as it has for centuries: natural sulphurous hot water feeding underground stone pools, with private rooms available by the hour.
Book a private room rather than using the public section for the full experience: you get a large tiled room with a hot pool, steam, and the option of a mekise scrub (a vigorous exfoliation with a coarse mitt, followed by a soap massage). The sulphur smell is powerful at first but fades; the skin-softening effect of the mineral water is real. A private room runs 60–100 GEL per hour, scrub extra.