The story behind Lopota Lake Resort & Spa is one of Georgian legend... It began in 2008 with the dreams of Goga Maisuradze, a man with a vision to turn a building on one of the forgotten fishing lakes in Kakheti into something more. It started with a seven-bedroom family hotel, built around the lake, and step by step has become one of the country’s most unique and beloved resorts, now home to 232 rooms, a château, vineyards, seven swimming pools, pedalos, horse stables, a spa and a Slavic bath. Sadly, Goga passed away last year, but his legacy lives on, the resort very much a family affair, run and managed by Goga’s wife and children (and the family dog, Bobby), with guests travelling from far and wide to steal themselves a slice of his Georgian magic.

The journey here is an easy one, just a windy two-hour drive through the countryside from Tbilisi and into Kakheti, a region known for its topography and wineries. In fact, Kakheti is considered Georgia’s premium wine region, so if you like a tipple you’ll be in the right place.

Enveloped in pine trees and weeping willows, the one-kilometre lake marks the central point of the resort, with everything else wrapping around its banks. Swans and ducks share water with pedalos, a popular guest pastime, especially at golden hour.

Rooms and suites are dotted across different layers of the resort, with ‘Building 15’ the most recent and therefore modern and premium addition. Our suite is vast and filled with natural light streaming in from the balcony. Designed to be contemporary yet cosy, it’s all oak wood flooring, leaf-printed walls, velvet greens and gold and brass-light fixtures. The bedroom, living room and bathroom are more than ample for the two of us, but we find ourselves most drawn to the balcony, where we sit every afternoon to pour over books and lake views, sip local wine and listen to the beautiful wood pigeons chattering in the trees.

We do our best to steer away from schedules, booking just a few things in advance, but we learn that a leisurely pace of life is best at Lopota. After breakfast on our first day, sat in the sun at the Dining Hall, we go exploring. The secret up Lopota’s sleeve is that there’s so much more to the resort than meets the eye. Because it’s been masterfully planned out, nothing sits on top of one another, and while the resort is at full capacity when we visit, the only time it feels busy is at breakfast. The rest of the day, the multiple pools, bars, restaurants and activities spread over the resort’s 40 hectares are plenty enough to divide and conquer the crowds.

You can stroll around the resort easily or take to two wheels and hire some bikes. Or those wanting a rush of adrenaline can trace their way through Kakheti’s landscape on a Quad Bike Tour or through one of the resort’s hiking trails. We keep our feet on terra firma for most of our holiday, until we stumble across the stables. We spend a rather lovely 30 minutes in the company of Aramas and Cupcake, strolling along paths and under pine tree canopies: goats and sheep chewing grass on one side, and rows and rows of the château’s bright green grape vines on the other.

Château Buera is a thing of beauty, its white-washed silhouette and spires as stunning against Georgia’s blue skies as it is all lit up at night. Built in 2018, the château is home to five hectares of vineyards, an elegant outdoor terrace, indoor restaurant and wine cellar, which houses 50,000 bottles and 32 qvevris - large earthenware vessels used for the fermentation, storage and ageing of traditional Georgian wine. Guests can learn about Buera’s wine-making process on a tour with sommelier Gabriel Menabde, or sip a bottle of Orbduri rosé on the terrace, while Bacho Dvali - a pianist who has played at Lopota for almost 15 years - captivates guests as the sun dips behind the Caucasus Peaks.

One afternoon, while my daughter plays in the Kids Club, a lovely little wooden building on the side of the lake, I venture up the hill to the forest spa for a Vinotherapy treatment, where red wine is poured into a bath to help detoxify and tone. The bath is outside, and the views over the lake are breathtaking.

The rest of the time, we pedalo, swim, swing in hammocks, watch butterflies, feed ducks and stroll around smelling the roses that cloak the resort - the peach-coloured petals proving deliciously potent. Behind our building sits a huge vegetable garden, filled with everything from artichoke and zucchini, lettuce and sunflowers. We’re handed a cucumber plucked straight from the ground by a kind gardener, its earthy taste as fresh as you’ll get.

For food, we flit between noodles and sushi at Ike Asian Fusion restaurant, pizza and pasta at Oval, cocktails and coolers at Old Bar and a wine-pairing dinner at Château Buera. Kakhetian Corner sits on the side of the lake, the views rivalling its Georgian dishes, with its clay oven fired up and churning out shoti bread that is devoured the second it hits the table.

Our three days are long and languid, typified by early nights and early mornings spent revelling in the outdoors. We’ve done so much yet seemingly not enough. When we leave, we hanker to return, already missing the pace and peace of Lopota and the warmth of its people. Hopefully a legacy Goga would be proud of.