Hotel President

Although it's called “Hotel President,” we were treated like peasants. The service was AWFUL, especially the young girl who behaved badly toward us. While unpacking, I found a lot of ants in the room. I reported it to the manager, but he wasn't accommodating and simply said they would go away. I tried the food despite the somewhat high prices, but even the steak, which should be hard to get wrong, came out as dry as the service. I wouldn't return.

The service was very good, and the restaurant is close to the beach, but the food was mostly terrible. My wife enjoyed both her house salad and carbonara. My fish soup, however, was extremely small even though it wasn't cheap, and the four-cheese pizza was awful, with very dry dough and no more than two cheeses, really. I wouldn't eat there again.

A friend and I stayed here last month and left disappointed, although there were some good points. The location is excellent, right on the beach and close to the fair, while being outside the noisy city center. Rooms were acceptable and had most things needed for a week, though ours was a little tight. The buffet food was generally well prepared, some staff were polite, the towels were changed daily, and the Wi-Fi worked reasonably well through separate room and lobby or restaurant hotspots. Hot water was always available with good pressure, which isn't something every hotel manages. The main problem was hygiene. Our bathroom floor looked as if it had not been cleaned since the tiles were installed, and the toilet was dirty when we arrived. Some sheets and towels had holes. During the final three days, ants invaded the room, and the quilt in the wardrobe smelled as though it had not been washed since May. Cleaning happened around 2-3 p.m., when people might be resting, and the room was only mopped for a minute or two, spreading the dirt around instead of properly vacuuming it. The buffet had very little variety, with the same ten items morning and night. There was almost no fruit, apart from melon, green peaches, and occasionally a badly cut watermelon. Salt, pepper, and ashtrays were strangely difficult to find and keep. It also seemed absurd that the outdoor water and juice dispensers could not be used outside restaurant hours. The waitress running the indoor dining area, the one with the bad eyeliner, was extremely catty and rude, and some outdoor waiters were lazy. There was nothing to do at the hotel besides sleep and eat, so I don't understand the four-star rating. Compared with hotels in other resorts outside Albania, it feels more like two or three stars. The beach seating is assigned by room number, too. If a larger group has rooms far apart, they cannot sit together unless they share just two sunbeds and one umbrella.

The sea-view rooms gave us a wonderful, uninterrupted view and a very pleasant way to wake up. The rooms were clean, the terrace was enjoyable, and being able to eat right by the sea was a real plus. The location is directly opposite the beach, and the staff were always willing to help. Highly recommended.