THE HEAVEN ON EARTH

The residents of Sheki are well-known for their witty sense of humour. When I asked a white-haired taxi driver how to get to Markhal Resort & Spa, he jokingly replied: "You are on the right track. Just go up a little bit and you will see a bridge over the river. If you go straight, you will get to the church, if you turn to the right, you will find yourself in paradise."

The picturesque nature, rich historical and cultural heritage have turned Sheki in one of the tourist centers of Azerbaijan. It is hard to imagine a foreign tourist, who visited Azerbaijan, without a trip to this area. After all, Sheki is one of the oldest human settlements in the Caucasus. Moreover, to enjoy your travel, one day is just not enough.

Is it possible to visit Sheki and not to visit the local castle, not to take some photos in front of the Palace of Sheki Khans constructed without a single nail, or the Albanian temple in the village of Kish? It is also mandatory to visit the ancient Caravanserai, or the witness of countless wars - the Galarsan-gorarsan Fortress, the medieval mosques Juma and Gileyli. How about tasting the famous Sheki lamb soup, Piti, which one of our Russian guests once jokingly called a "brutal macho soup"? And, of course, the unique Sheki halvah with velvety tea for dessert...

Sheki is also the city of artisans. Stumbling upon a huge variety of souvenirs and other handicrafts, you have to think twice before you make your choice. But where to stop to be able to see everything and relax with comfort?

Seven years ago, when we published the traveler’s notes about this paradise in Azerbaijan, it was too early to talk about the development of domestic tourist infrastructure. In total, there were a couple hotels operating in Sheki, which could not meet the growing flow of tourists to the region. Today, about twenty different recreational centers, including Markhal Resort & Spa luxury hotel which opened this year, provide tourist services.

Open on August 5, 2016, a five-star hotel Markhal Resort & Spa is located just a few kilometers from the district center of Sheki, at an altitude of 1,080 meters above sea level, on the south-western slope of the Greater Caucasus. It is only four hours away from Baku and one hour from the international airports of Gabala and Zagatala.

The order on the construction of this tourist complex was signed by the President of Azerbaijan in 2012. Three years later, President Aliyev personally witnessed the construction works, which were in the final stage by that time.

Just a few months after the opening ceremony, the hotel has managed to receive more than 10 thousand visitors from Azerbaijan, Russia, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Great Britain and other countries. More recently, at the beginning of last December, the 34^th session of TURKSOY Permanent Council was held at the hotel.

A month after the start of activities, the hotel was visited by the famous tourist service Travel.ru, which later included Markhal Resort & Spa in the top five hotels in Azerbaijan popular among Russian tourists.

"They (Travel.ru experts) stayed with us as regular guests. We did not even know that they collect materials for the preparation of the five best hotels in Azerbaijan. However, the visitors were interested in literally everything, taking photos everywhere and asking many questions", told R+ Ilgar Huseynov, Director General of Markhal Resort & Spa.

The hotel is in search of potential customers. Who is the best - Russian, Turkish, Iranian, Arab, European or local tourists? What age category and which season to count on? It will be possible to answer these questions this autumn.

"This is the first operating year. We still study the market and restrict ourselves to ceremonial packages. We need a year to really assess our capabilities and potential in the market place, to find out who our real clients in order to be able to concentrate our forces, to identify and correct our mistakes," says CEO of the tourist complex.

He proudly notes that Markhal Resort & Spa is the only hotel in Azerbaijan, where the entire staff consists of Azerbaijani specialists, including local residents. There is an ongoing training of local population.

"We want to create a purely Azeri concept. And this concept will be Markhal. We have no templates, except for international standards and national legislation. Today we take the top ranks with our cuisine. This is a big advantage, given that the cuisine is one of our main tourist attractions. Here you can order everything from Sheki piti to meals of European and Asian cuisines. One can object claiming that we are re-inventing the wheel. Actually, we are not. We are just tailoring it to our own needs", says Mr. Huseynov.

He also points out that Markhal is almost the only major hotel in Azerbaijan, whose staff consists entirely of Azerbaijani specialists, including local residents.

Meanwhile, competitors are looking back at Markhal when prepare tourist packages, new proposals, and set prices. By the way, a night in a standard double room will cost you 60 manats for two, including breakfast. Paying only €30 euros for two, a European tourist can stay in a beautiful hotel in the mountains with spectacular scenery, a great choice of entertainment and great food. You can book a villa with a living room and three bedrooms for 6-8 persons for only 180 manats, including breakfast.

Another advantage of this hotel is the transport. If you are driving with a large group of visitors, it offers luxury buses completely free. By the next summer, the management expects to launch regular routes from Baku to Markhal.

The managers of the hotel believe that I is important to prove themselves in practice. "We prefer that our guests advertise us, and for this we have to show them our real potential," says Ilgar Huseynov.

Meanwhile, the global Internet booking system Booking.com commended Markhal Resort & Spa based on tourist responses: 9.5 points of ten. "In a nutshell, we liked everything", "Excellent value for money", "Good hotel, especially the location", "Keep it up!", "A great vacation is guaranteed!", "Great hotel!", "A day in paradise", "Amazing", “You definitely must visit this place!!!", comment the users at Booking.com and Tripadvisor.ru.

Markhal Resort & SPA is one of the largest hotels in Azerbaijan by number of beds (522). The tourist complex covers an area of 30 hectares, has seven stories and a total of 172 rooms. It also has 31 villas for families, restaurants for 600 and 250 people, a café, lobby bar, shops, 2 cinemas, a large amphitheater for 500 spectators, conference rooms and children's entertainment. It also operates a bowling center, playgrounds for mini-football, tennis and basketball courts, an indoor swimming pool, water attractions for children. An artificial lake was created near the hotel, which gives the complex a special beauty.

The spa centre deserves a special attention. Along with an indoor swimming pool, sauna and fitness room, the hotel has several rooms used for medical procedures, including salt and sand rooms. The Amber Room functioning at the spa can rightly be considered the pride of the entire tourism industry of Azerbaijan. We were assured that there were only four such rooms worldwide.

"This is a room covered with natural Baltic amber. You will have a positive effect from the treatment of diseases of cardiovascular system, diseases of joints and spine, thyroid, asthma, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, central nervous system, and many others," reads the hotel guide about recreational capacity of the Amber Room.

But the most great advantage of the hotel is its location and natural silence that allows you to simply move away from the city noise and stress. "Wherever, whatever happens, you can just quietly relax", says Ilgar Huseynov.

For outdoor enthusiasts, the hotel organizes free tours to Albanian Church in Kish, cable car station in Gabala, tourist locations in Gakh and Zagatala regions. It is also planned to open off-roader tour to Khan Plateau (Han yaylagy) with picnic organization. So, Markhal Resort & Spa is about to open all the tourist infrastructure of the region for its guests, becoming a regional playmaker.

"So, that is how we are going to promote our hotel. Currently, we access our partners directly, without waiting until they see or hear about us in commercials. At the moment, we are working with more than 50 travel agencies of Azerbaijan and abroad", sums up our conversation Fuad Ilyasov, General Manager of Markhal Resort & Spa - a new address on the tourist map of Sheki - one of the regions of Azerbaijan with great tourism potential.