Empire Hotel

The staff at Hotel Empire in Durrës made us feel welcome from the start and were helpful whenever we asked for anything. They even upgraded us to a balcony room, which was a lovely surprise. Juli, our waitress at the beach bar, and the rest of the team were kind and professional every day. The beach bar had a great atmosphere and stunning views. The food was fresh, delicious and nicely presented, and everything was clean and well looked after. Our room was meant to be cleaned every three days, but they came daily, which made it feel like home. Everything was well organised, and the hospitality was top-notch. We’ll definitely return and highly recommend Hotel Empire to anyone visiting Durrës.

Not worth what we paid. I’d call this a two or three star hotel at best, with three already a stretch. The outside is flashy, but basic things were missing inside. There was no kettle, tea or coffee, even though they were listed as room facilities when we booked. The rooms are small, the duvet had no cover, and the room smelled bad once we turned on the air con. The shower soap tray was broken, and we had to fix the chandelier bulbs ourselves. I could keep going.

The roof top pool is usually quiet, and I liked it better than the beach. It gets ruined if someone plays music on a speaker. Cleaning staff were excellent, and the hotel staff are fantastic and always ready to help. The main road location means rooms facing it are pretty noisy. I suspect the rooms facing the smaller street are much quieter.

We moved from a family room with a balcony to a superior suite halfway through our stay, and I can’t fault either room. The superior room was just wow, absolutely amazing. The staff were always smiling and helpful. Breakfast was lovely, with a good variety, and the service was fantastic. The pool was lovely too, a great place to relax. Can’t recommend this hotel enough.