Vlora International

The staff were friendly, and the lobby was clean with an organized check-in. Breakfast was okay and the food edible. The location near the bay is great, just a few steps from the water. But outside, the garbage cans were overflowing. The spacious room had a lock that was hard to open, and the pillow still had makeup from the last guest. I asked for another and got two more, but all smelled like old foam. There weren't enough towels, the fridge was broken and filthy, and there was nowhere to hang a towel or set soap in the shower. The water pressure was good. The balcony felt dangerously flimsy, held together with drywall screws and caulk, and was literally PVC pipe. The TV was unusable because the remote's batteries had exploded. The pool was completely empty, and despite empty floors and no staff at the bar, they were always out of linens. There was no bottled water in the room, so I had to buy some next door. The linens were old and held together with drywall screws. The problem seems to be ownership or management, not the friendly staff. I can't wait to leave.

The location was okay, around a 10-15 minute walk to the beach and 5-10 minutes to shops and restaurants. The town felt somewhat cozy, though traffic was chaotic, with cars going wherever they wanted, so pedestrians should be careful. For the price, the stay was okay, but I wouldn't recommend it now. Maybe it could have potential in a few years after the construction is finished and conditions improve. The hotel was cheap, but I wouldn't return after our week there in July. We arrived in the middle of the night and found it looked nothing like the online pictures, though the front desk staff were friendly and helpful. The view was fine, but it faced an active construction site. Every morning, and all day, there was loud noise that felt like an earthquake. The room looked modern at first but was poorly maintained. One room's AC didn't work and became unbearably hot. The bed was full of sand, the sheets had brown stains, and I slept on the sofa bed instead. The room was dirty and had several problems. Breakfast was very basic, with little variety and poor restocking. It was one of the saddest hotel breakfasts I've seen. We thought there would be an outdoor pool from the online listing, but it was an indoor pool and we were allowed to use it only once all week. It apparently had to be emptied, then was left unused. The “fitness room” was just a treadmill in the pool area, so not really a gym. The parking shown in the booking photos is gone, replaced by a small sandy park with dried-up trees. There were lots of stray dogs outside, eight right in front of the hotel one day. The bathroom was alright, but the shower was dirty. Shampoo and soap were provided, but housekeeping took used towels without leaving clean ones, and we had to track staff down several times for replacements. The room fridge was frozen over inside and very dirty. The construction noise in the day and heavy traffic at night came through even with the windows shut and affected sleep. The hotel might be worth considering in a few years, but for now, it isn't worth it.

The only decent person was Stella (I think that was her name), who worked in the restaurant and was polite. I arrived early in the morning exhausted, but the man at reception yelled instead of helping. The room was filthy and old, with mosquitoes that bit me all over. Breakfast was stale, and most staff were rude and careless. This was the worst hotel experience ever, disgusting and not worth a cent. There are many beautiful hotels in Vlora that treat guests with respect, so don't waste your time or money here. Tensor Veseli

The rooms were clean and the service was amazing. Great location, directly connected to the beach and Lungomare. Much recommended!