Garmsar, Iran — now taking shape
My grandfather is from Garmsar. That is where this begins — a town on the edge of the desert between Tehran and the salt flats, with pomegranate orchards, a river that runs thin in summer, and a road that has carried travellers for a very long time. We are building a hotel here for the peoples of the earth: a place to arrive, put your bag down, and be welcomed by people who are glad you came.
Garmsar sits where the mountains let go of the land and the plain opens out. It is not a city that performs for visitors. It is a working town: apricots and pistachios, brick kilns, the railway that has stopped here since the line to the north was laid. People come through on their way somewhere else. We would like them to stop.
The hotel is being built by a family, not a company. The rooms are being planned around what a tired traveller actually needs after a long drive: a cool room, a real shower, a bed that is not a compromise, and someone at the desk who will tell you honestly where to eat. Nothing about it is meant to feel like an airport.
We are opening the doors to everyone — Iranians coming home, travellers crossing the country overland, families on the road to Mashhad, and anyone who has heard something about this part of the world and wants to see it with their own eyes. The door is open to all of it.
One person, one good bed, a window onto the courtyard. Built for the traveller who arrived alone and would rather not be.
From [price] per night
The room most people will book. Two people, a little more space, and the quiet side of the building where the orchard starts.
From [price] per night
For families travelling together, which in this part of the world often means three generations in one car. Room to spread out and to sleep properly.
From [price] per night
The centre of the hotel is not the lobby. It is the courtyard — a walled open space with a tree, water, and shade, in the old way of building in this climate. In summer it is where the evening happens, after the heat has gone out of the walls. In winter there is a covered corner with a stove.
Every evening we set one long table. Breakfast is served there in the morning: bread from the bakery down the road, cheese, walnuts, apricot jam, eggs, tea that is actually hot. In the evening, if there are enough of us, we cook — whatever came in from the market that day — and anyone staying is welcome to sit down.
This is the part of the hotel we care most about. A hotel where strangers eat at separate tables is a place to sleep. A hotel with one long table is a place where a family from Isfahan ends up talking to a cyclist from Belgium about the road they both came in on. That is the whole idea.
Tea and cold drinks are available through the day at no charge. There is a small library of books left behind by guests, in whatever languages they arrived in. The roof is open in the evenings for anyone who wants to sit above the town and watch the light go off the mountains.
| Address | [Street address], Garmsar, Semnan Province, Iran |
|---|---|
| Getting here | Garmsar is roughly two hours by road from Tehran, and on the Tehran–Mashhad railway line. [Nearest station and pickup details] |
| Check-in / check-out | Check-in from [time], check-out by [time]. Late arrivals are fine if you tell us. |
| Opening | We are taking enquiries now and opening [month, year]. |
| Languages | Persian and English at the desk. [Other languages spoken] |
|---|---|
| Meals | Breakfast included. Dinner at the long table most evenings — tell us in the morning if you will join. |
| Payment | [Accepted payment methods] |
| Children & families | Very welcome. Cots, extra bedding and a quiet corner for naps are all available. |
We are still finishing the building, so bookings are being taken by hand for now. Tell us roughly when you would come, how many of you there are, and anything you need — a cot, a late arrival, a room on the quiet side. We will write back with what we can offer.
If you are travelling overland and your dates are loose, say so. We would rather hold a room for someone who is genuinely on their way than fill it with a booking that never arrives.