Marriott signs Ritz-Carlton Baku, Zagulba and Le Méridien Tbilisi

PASHA Real Estate Group and Marriott International have signed an agreement for three new hotel and residential projects across Azerbaijan and Georgia. At its centre is The Ritz-Carlton Baku, Zagulba, a beach resort on the Caspian Sea. Alongside it are two residential projects under The Ritz-Carlton name in Baku and a new Le Méridien in the heart of Tbilisi.

The announcement, made on 3 September 2026, adds to a partnership that already shapes much of the luxury hotel scene in the Azerbaijani capital. Marriott and PASHA’s existing Baku portfolio includes The Ritz-Carlton Baku, The St. Regis Baku and JW Marriott Absheron Baku, among other properties. The new agreement carries that relationship to the city’s coastline and, for the first time in this collaboration, across the border into Georgia.

The most interesting of the three for travellers is the resort. The Ritz-Carlton Baku, Zagulba is planned with 80 guestrooms and suites on Zagulba Beach, north of Baku on the Caspian Sea. The plans include a beach club and a Ritz-Carlton Club Lounge. With only 80 keys, it is an intimate size for the brand, and it offers a seaside base within reach of the capital. Anyone who has known Baku only through its city hotels will find this a new way to see the country: a stay on the shore, with the city close by.

The resort will sit beside The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Baku, Zagulba, which comprises 282 luxury apartments and villas. Residents will have a clubhouse, a cinema, a kids club and private beach access. Branded residences next to a hotel of the same name are now an established model for Ritz-Carlton. Owners get the brand’s service standards in a private home, and the hotel next door provides a steady stream of guests and activity.

The third project is in the city itself. The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Baku opened in 2023, and a new tower will now extend it with 238 further luxury residences. The scale of the extension suggests that demand for serviced luxury living in the capital has kept pace since the first phase. Marriott describes that demand, for premium hotels and for luxury residences alike, as the reason it sees the Caucasus as a key growth region.

In Georgia, the agreement brings Le Méridien to Tbilisi. The hotel is planned with 152 contemporary guestrooms in the Chugureti district of central Tbilisi and will include the Le Méridien Hub, the brand’s lobby concept, which works as a café, meeting place and social space in one. Chugureti puts guests within the city’s historic core, and the brand’s design-led, discovery-minded style suits a capital known for its food, wine and creative scene.

The agreement was signed at The Ritz-Carlton, Baku, in a ceremony attended by Ozgur Geter, Chief Executive Officer of PASHA Real Estate Group, and Neal Jones, President of Marriott International for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Holding the ceremony at one of the partnership’s flagship hotels underlined how closely the two companies’ plans for the region are linked.

What should a discerning traveller take from this? The announcement gives no opening dates, so none of the three projects can be booked yet. Its value is as a signal of where the region is going. Baku already has a solid base of internationally branded luxury hotels, and a Ritz-Carlton on the Caspian coast adds a resort option to what has mostly been a city offer. Tbilisi gains a well-known lifestyle brand in a central neighbourhood. Together they make a two-country trip through the Caucasus a more natural plan for travellers who expect a consistent standard of service, and for Marriott Bonvoy members who like to stay within one programme.

For now, the existing Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis and JW Marriott hotels in Baku remain the places to stay. We will report on the Zagulba resort and Le Méridien Tbilisi as timelines, design details and reservations are confirmed.

Source: Marriott