Three Jugs Bed and Breakfast Yerevan

Desire something different on your trip to Armenia?  If you are interested in staying in a Bed and Breakfast in the capital of Armenia, you may want to consider the Three Jugs in the Jrvezh District, which is approximately 15km from the centre of Yerevan – ideal if you don’t want to be located in the middle of a bustling city. This is a family house, which offers a truly alternative place to stay - it is set in an apricot garden in the heart of the countryside and, as well as bed and breakfast facilities, it also offers arts tours and activities, a venue for art exhibitions and/or sales, seminars, workshops and authentic Armenian meals. 

Three Jugs Bed and Breakfast

Arrival Information

Both check in and check out are at 12 noon, with a 24 hour cancellation policy for any booking.  As there are no card facilities on the premises, payment is by cash only at arrival.

Services and Amenities

Although it does not offer the same modern range of facilities as the more luxurious hotels, this Bed and Breakfast does offer a unique, restful environment as well as a range of services, including: 24-hour front desk, concierge service, shared lounge/TV area, laundry and ironing service, luggage storage, meeting/banquet service, complimentary breakfast, room service, packed lunches, airport transfers (both ways), safe car transportation when needed, free private parking, children’s playground, garden, sun terrace, designated smoking area, restaurant, bar, snack bar, full camping facilities, hiking, trips and excursions, guide, interpreter, gift shop, plus cuisine, arts and crafts packages.  Also, it admits pets upon request and the Internet is available in all areas via modem at a charge per 24 hours.

Guest Rooms

There are four different room rates available at Three Jugs: Economy Single Room, Double Room with Shared Bathroom, Double Room with Balcony and Family Room with Balcony and room rates start from 7,938 AMD per night, rising to 32,412 (as of January 2014), but children under 5-years-old stay free.  Rooms are comfortably-appointed, carpet, allergy-free, heated, but are strictly ‘no smoking’.

Trip Advisor Rating and Testimonials

Three Jugs is the highest ranked of all the Bed and Breakfasts/Inns on Trip Advisor, which is high praise indeed, as the ratings are given by independent guests.  Overall, this Bed and Breakfast has been awarded 5 out of 5 stars on Trip Advisor, although this rating is not broken down.  Some of the guests said the following:

                ‘Literally like a home to me!’

                ‘Great place to stay!’

                ‘Quite a paradise...’

                ‘Three Jugs is simply the best!’

It seems like this is quite the Bohemian home from home!

Golden Palace Hotel Yerevan

Golden Palace Hotel Yerevan

Looking for a luxurious, 5-star stay in the capital of Armenia?  Have you seen the Golden Palace Hotel in Yerevan?  This hotel is located a few minutes from the city centre, near Haghtanak Park and a short walk from the Opera House and the National Gallery of Armenia.  There are 66 rooms based in a very modern and stylish-looking building, which is renowned in Armenia for being a very prestigious and relaxing place to stay as a tourist or if you are on business.

Arrival Information

The minimum age for individual check-in is 18.  Upon arrival, this hotel offers: check in at 12 noon and check out at 2pm; and payment by Visa, MasterCard or American Express.

Services and Amenities

The Golden Palace offers a wide-range of services and amenities, including: complimentary continental breakfast and an Italian restaurant called Al Dente, which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner; recreation – an indoor heated pool, spa tub, health club and a sauna; a spa, which provides massages and facial; a bar, 24-hour desk, air conditioned public areas, airport transport for a surcharge, an arcade/games room, free wi-fi, laundry facilities, and a limo or town car service.

Guest Rooms

There are four different room rates available at The Golden Palace: Deluxe Room, Diplomatic Room, Ambassador Suite and Presidential Suite and rates start from 126,339 AMD (as of January 2014) per night.  This is definitely one of the most expensive hotels in Armenia.  However, you are definitely getting what you pay for in this well-appointed, luxury hotel.  Each basic room features: an attractive view of the city and Mount Ararat, 27 sq. feet of space, custom-designed furniture, room service, a digital TV with a DVD player, a balcony, air conditioning and climate control, a private bathroom, bathrobes, slippers, complimentary toiletries, make-up/shaving mirror, bathroom phone, bathroom scales, in-room safe, daily housekeeping, an iron and an ironing board and blackout curtains/drapes.

Trip Advisor Rating and Testimonials

Unfortunately, there is no Trip Advisor rating for this hotel, despite the fact that visitor have left reviews.  However, there is a rating on Booking.com.  Overall, on this website, this hotel has been awarded 8.6 out of 10 (written by independent visitors to the hotel).  When broken down, the hotel received: 7.9 stars for location; 9.7 for comfort, 9.2 for cleanliness, 8.3 for facilities, 9.3 for staff service and 8 for value.  Some of the guests said the following:

‘The staff of Golden Palace Yerevan grants their guests a pleasant stay with a warm welcome and typical Armenian hospitality which gave me an irresistibly warm feeling.’

‘Staff are friendly and polite.’

 

It seems that it is just the place to book, if you are looking for a little luxury during your stay in Yerevan.

Armenia Marriott Hotel Yerevan

Coming to visit the capital of Armenia?  If you want to stay at a renowned internationally-managed hotel brand located in the centre of Yerevan, then you may want to consider the 4-star Marriott Hotel on Republic Square (which is the business and cultural centre of the city, as well as being in close proximity to the Opera House).  As well as its ideal location for exploring the city, it is also based in an historic building, which in itself is a major landmark in Armenia.  This building offers 9 floors, 215 rooms, 11 suites, 8 meeting rooms (with 12, 400 sq. feet of space) and 1 concierge level.

Marriott Hotel Yerevan

Arrival Information

Upon arrival, this hotel offers: both on and off-site complimentary parking; express check-in and check-out (if needed); and high-speed internet access, although not all access is wireless.

Services and Amenities

The hotel offers a wide-range of services and amenities, including: fine dining; fitness and recreation (including a fitness suite and fitness classes, which are complimentary for special guests); a spa, including a beauty and barber shop; a range of breakfasts for a fee; car rental; foreign exchange; concierge desk; gift/news stand; room service, etc.  Additionally, there are extra business services available for business meetings and guests.  However, there may be a charge for some services and not all services are available in all the rooms.

Guest Rooms

There are six different room rates available at The Marriott: Deluxe, Superior, Executive Level, Junior Suite, Vice-Presidential Suite and Presidential Suite and rates start from 55, 250 Armenia Dollars (DRAM) per night (as of January 2014).  Although this doesn’t make it the cheapest hotel in Armenia, you do get what you pay for.  Each basic room features: a mini bar, shower, iron and ironing board, a luxury bedding package, LCD TV with 40 channels, individual climate control, high-speed internet, work desk, ergonomic chair and data port.

Trip Advisor Rating and Testimonials

Overall, this hotel has been awarded 4 stars out of 5 on the Trip Adviser website (written by independent visitors to the hotel).  When broken down, the hotel received: 5 stars for location; 4.5 stars for sleep quality, rooms and cleanliness; 4 stars for service and value.  Some of the guests said the following:

‘Nice hotel...’

‘Excellent hotel with a lot of history...’

‘Great location, functional for business...’

‘Good location but expensive for Yerevan...’

Definitely worth a look if you are planning to visit Yerevan and want to stay in a ‘tried and tested’ world-renowned hotel chain.

The Armenian National Football Team

Armenian National Team

It is a fact that the most popular sport in the world is football (also known as soccer). Football is also a big part of Armenian culture – they have league football, as well as a national team. The Armenian National Football Team (nicknamed Havakakan, which literally means ‘collective team’) is based at The Republican Stadium in Yerevan and its head coach is Vardan Minasyan. It represents Armenia in association football and is co-ordinated the FFA (Football Federation of Armenia), which is the administrating body for football in Armenia.

History
Before the country’s independence from the USSR in 1991, the Armenian SSR used to play for The Soviet Union National Football Team. Following the country’s aforementioned independence, the FFA was established in January, 1992 – fostering relations with FIFA later in 1992 and UEFA in 1993. Playing its very first game against Moldova, which was a goalless draw, is where the true history of the team began. However, they have come a very long way since then and should be extremely proud that they have risen from being ranked 159th by FIFA in 1994 to being ranked 35th in 2013.

Stadium
The now named Republican Stadium was originally built in 1953 and took a year to build. From when originally built (during the Soviet period) up until 1999, it was known as Dinamo Stadium. However, it was renovated in 1999, renamed in honour of the Armenian war hero and former Prime Minister of Armenia (Vazgen Sargsyan) and became the home ground for Armenia in 2000 with capacity for nearly 15,000 patrons. In 2008, in order to meet UEFA standards, the stadium underwent another significant transformation to upgrade the playing surface and construct a VIP section alongside other facilities. Currently, it is the home grounds for two local football clubs: Pyunik Yerevan and Ulisses Yervan.

Current Performance and a Shining Star
In recent years, the Armenian national team has done remarkably well for such a small country. As previously mentioned, last year, they reached their highest ever position in the FIFA world rankings - rising to 35th in the world. In October of 2013, during the teams qualifying run for the 2014 World Cup in Rio, Armenia beat Bulgaria 2-1 at the Republican Stadium. However, the team did not reach the World Cup having finished in 5th place from a group of six, with only minnows Malta below them.

In January 2014, Armenian forward Yura Movsisyan, currently in the Armenian national squad, is the top target for VfL Wolfsburg in Germany. The club have offered €7.5 Million to Spartak Moscow to bring the Russian Leagues top scorer to the Bundesliga. Definitely a shining star and a point of pride for Armenia!

Interesting Facts about Armenia

1.        The official name of Armenia is ‘Republic of Armenia’.  However, Armenians refer to it as Hayastan because the proper name has always been Hayq/Haqk and the suffix ‘stan’ in Persian means land (so, Land of the Haqk/Haqk).

Armenia

2.       The capital of Armenia is Yerevan, which having been founded nearly 2800 years ago makes it one of the oldest cities in the world; the language spoken is Armenian; and the currency used is the Dram (currently, as of January 2014, there is 661.47 Dram to the Pound Sterling or 402.77 Dram to the American Dollar).

3.       In the 301 AD (the early part of the 4^th century), Armenia was the first state to embrace Christianity and, today, the majority of Armenian citizens follow Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Christianity (one of the oldest Christian communities).  The Armenian Apostolic Church considers the apostles Bartholomew and Thaddeus to be its founders, with its first official governor being St. Gregory the Illuminator. 

4.       Armenia was integrated in to the Ottoman Empire in the 1450s, became a part of the USSR during 1922 before becoming independent in 1991 with the dissolution of the USSR.  It was in 1991 that the country also joined the Commonwealth of Independent States.  However, it did not adopt its own constitution until July 5, 1995.

5.       Armenia is a Unitary Republic, which is a system operated by many states around the world (e.g. France, Italy, England and Japan).  It means that the state is governed as a single unit and that the central government has supreme decision-making powers, apart from those it chooses to delegate to subnational units.

6.       It is currently an active member of more than 40 divergent international organisations, including: The United Nations, The Council of Europe and The World Trade Organisation.

7.       Although it is actually within the borders of Turkey, Mount Ararat is one of the country’s national symbols.  However, the Ararat Valley, in the foothills of the Gegham Mountains, stretches from Mount Aragats in the north to the border of Turkey where it is divided in two by the Aras River (with the rest of it resting within Turkey’s border).  It is an area that is believed to have been inhabited since the Stone Age, making it the one of the oldest colonised areas in the world.  It is also home to a huge underground lake (fantastic if you are interested in the geographical features of a country).  If you want to visit this incredibly beautiful area, the Ararat Valley Country Club is open to public membership – which is surrounded by breath taking scenery in the form of Mts. Aragats, Ararats and Ara.  Definitely worth a visit.

8.       If you are interested in astrology or metallurgy, they are sciences that have been studied in Armenia since 7000 BC, as identified in Metasmor – the excavation and working museum of an ancient city located beside a dormant volcano in Mount Aragats (which is the high point of Armenia).

Armenia – A Personal Journey Part 2

Yerevan

Armenia is a treasure trove of crumbling churches where the landscape changes quickly from mountains to lush forests and then to picture postcard lake scenes. But on his travels across the country the author Trevor Baily said the scenery is only one aspect for the traveller to look for. However, the best thing about visiting Armenia is the Armenians themselves.

Welcome
Bailey goes on to explain: “The Armenians are a warm and welcoming people, in all my visits to this beautify country they have been friendly and so keen to show the very best that their country has to offer travellers.

Christian Heritage
A keen photographer, Bailey has documented the countries Christian heritage whilst taking a pilgrimage through the countries historic ruins. During this time he began documenting his experiences through social networking and here he explains why he finds the counties history so unique.

“Armenia is one of the oldest of the modern countries, so to speak, and Christianity came to it way back in 301AD and the country does refer to itself as the world’s oldest Christian nation. But due to its occupation by the Soviet Union, it is only in recent years (when that Soviet Union broke up and Armenia was given its independence) that the country has been able to celebrate its Christian heritage.”

Yerevan
Baily goes on to point out that if the traveller wants to get an idea of what Armenia is all about then they must visit the capitol city which is Yerevan.

“Yerevan is so much more than the Armenian seat of government. It is the cultural heart of the country; both tradition and modern progressive thought are celebrated through many museums and a modern art scene. People new to Armenia are often shocked to see such a vibrant and modern city, similar in many ways to Paris, Vienna and Prague. The local custom is to while away many an hour over a bottle of Armenian Cognac in the city’s sparkling café culture.”

Café Culture
Bailey’s photography show cases the people of the city and he goes on to explain the best way to understand Armenia people and Armenian culture.

“Forget about your all inclusive holidays to Spain or Turkey, come to Armenia and visit Yerevan, take a seat outside a café and you could easily be in Prague, Paris or Vienna… or even a scene from Casablanca. You will find the locals eager to chat to you over a drink and they will tell you all about their country and how proud they are to be Armenian and if you are lucky you may even get invited to dinner.”