Your host
Baku, Personally Shared
Created by Kamila Verdiyeva. Personally cared for by the Merci Baku team.
Merci Baku was created by Kamila Verdiyeva, whose personal style, knowledge of the city and instinct for hospitality shape the entire experience. Guests are not simply shown Baku—they are welcomed into it.
Educated in the United States, she returned to Baku to read law and then economics. She began working while still a student — first as an office manager at a logistics company, then at Italdizain, where she took part in establishing the Cartier boutique in Baku. That first view of the luxury world from the inside became the starting point for her own ventures.
The Merci Baku she founded in 2011 has since grown into a restaurant, a floral and event studio, a 24/7 city station and a brand-design bureau. As President of the tourism venture, she shapes the journey, chooses the venues, and sets the tone of the week.
Day to day, you are personally cared for by the Merci Baku team. Kamila designs the journey and stands behind what it delivers.
Kamila Verdiyeva shapes the standards of the journey: the houses we return to, the tables we take, the way a morning should feel.
Day to day, a dedicated Merci Baku host coordinates your programme, welcomes you at breakfast and stays reachable throughout your stay.
Roles and recognition
A life beyond the table
Vice-President, Azerbaijan Dance Association
Serving on the presidium alongside the country's leading choreographers, she helps bring international competitions to Baku — the WADF World Championship, the Baku Flow International Breakdance Championship and the Azerbaijan Dance Festival.
Ambassador, Millionaire Concept
Elected in 2025 in recognition of her achievements in business, her innovative approach and her contribution to women's entrepreneurship.
Founder, the Merci Baku brand
Dining, Flowers & Gifts, 1st Station and Savvy Bureau — four ventures carried under one name, built over fifteen years.
One of Azerbaijan's leading women entrepreneurs
Profiled repeatedly by the Azerbaijani press as proof of what a woman can build in a market where, when she started, working at all was unconventional.
Guest recognition
Reviewed by travellers on TripAdvisor
Merci Baku's dining room has been reviewed by guests from around the world. You are welcome to read them in their own words before you travel.
Read the reviewsThe Archive Collection
Local warmth, international guests
Merci Baku has long been known in the heart of Baku as a place that welcomes international guests. Diplomats, artists, designers and entrepreneurs have gathered at Kamila's table.
This photograph is one of those moments. A meeting with a celebrated guest speaks to the trust the brand has earned and the reach of the doors it keeps open.
Kamila Verdiyeva & Ivanka Trump
At Merci Baku, Azerbaijan
Follow the week
From Baku, day to day
The restaurant, the city and the journeys are documented on two accounts — one for the house, one for its founder.
Chapters
Founds Merci Baku — first as a small idea, then as one of the city's best-known hospitality names.
Opens Merci Baku Dining, the restaurant that would host visiting artists, designers and diplomats.
Founds Savvy Bureau, a brand-engineering and design studio behind many Baku openings.
Adds Merci Baku Flowers & Gifts — floral studio, event decoration, gifting.
Opens 1st Station by Merci Baku, a 24/7 coffee, food and flower station in the city centre.
Elected Ambassador of the Millionaire Concept, in recognition of her work in business and women's entrepreneurship.