Hotel Balkan

The restaurant was the best part for me: when we managed to get a table, the food was delicious, though it took a while to arrive. It gets busy at lunch and dinner, and smoking is allowed outside. The location is also a plus. The room badly needs renovation, heating and ventilation. The AC didn’t work at all, the bath wasn’t very clean, and the room smelled of food each evening, presumably from the restaurant kitchen. Even though smoking is banned, the hallway stank of cigarettes and sometimes weed. I realize other guests were breaking the rules, but management didn’t do anything to air it out. Reception service was disappointing too. I paid for a double room but was given a single. There’s no room service. Reception said they only had the restaurant manager’s phone number, but she wasn’t a waitress and wouldn’t take orders. To get food brought to the room, I had to find a waitress in the restaurant, persuade her to take the order, then wait for a call to come collect it. Breakfast was a joke. I tried it twice during my four-night stay. Both times there was white and yellow cheese, ham, chopped tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, butter, jam, a few slices of bread and cornflakes. The coffee and milk jugs were empty and weren’t refilled while I was there. There was no water, yogurt, tea or hot water. I stayed at Hotel Balkan because I had to. If you can choose somewhere else, don’t pick it.