Located within the range of 15 m to 1,300 m above sea level, Makhinjauri possesses humid subtropical climate, with warmer winters and cooler summers compared to Batumi.

Makhinjauri functions as a seaside climatic spa and is part of the group of resorts on Georgia's southwestern Black Sea coast located around Batumi.

[2] The toponym "Makhinjauri" (also transliterated as Makhindjauri and Makhindzhauri) is derived from the Georgian word makhinji, meaning "ugly" or "mutilated".

[3] Owing to its subtropical climate and sulphur springs, the then-village Makhinjauri was developed into a resort under the Imperial Russian rule around 1904.

[2] In 1906, during the revolutionary upheaval in the Caucasus, Makhinjauri was the scene of a resounding murder of the British-American diplomat William Horwood Stuart.