Villa Amsterdam

The biggest problem was the way we were treated. There were nine of us in Ohrid for a treasure hunt, and we brought little gift bags with a can of Coca-Cola and a tiny 0.15ml bottle of Jack Daniel’s for a toast. When we got them out to begin, the owner remarked, “the only thing you didn’t bring was soup.” It felt rude and left us uncomfortable and unwelcome. A large dog roamed the property without a leash. It wasn't aggressive, but often lay in the hallway, making it awkward to get past. The rooms were dated. The old windows let in noise and had no mosquito nets, so insects bothered us at night. The fridges were plugged in but barely cooled anything. The AC dripped all evening, left stains on the walls and made an annoying sound. There were ants in our bathroom too. The pool was off limits after 8 pm, which was frustrating since we expected to use the facilities on our own schedule at a villa. We'd also booked expecting to have the freedom to cook, but staff said outside food and self-catering weren't allowed. We were instead pushed to buy overpriced food and drinks at the onsite cafe, which was basically the villa kitchen, where an espresso cost 3 euros. Air conditioning also came with an unexpected 5 euros per day charge, a nasty surprise in the heat. The listing said beachfront, though the lake was several blocks away, and the advertised “pool with a view” was misleading if you expected a lake view. Those misleading claims, added costs and unpleasant staff interactions made the stay a letdown. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone expecting the privacy and flexibility of a villa.

We slept well in a three-bed room with two close friends. The beds were comfortable, and we really enjoyed the pool. Staff were kind and helpful. There isn't a restaurant, and the kitchen is shared, but you can walk to places to eat. The center is about 15-20 minutes away, or a one-way cab ride costs around 250-300 dennars.

We stayed a week and our holiday was a disaster. After visiting around 100 places through booking, I have never had an experience like this. She was so rude and ruined the vacation. Please think twice before booking here, or you'll regret spending your holiday this way. Before we even left for Macedonia, the full amount for all rooms was charged, even though my reservation said I'd pay in local currency or euros on arrival and the card was only to secure the booking. My card was in pln, so the MKD-to-EURO-to-PLN exchange left me short by 163Euro. I contacted booking before travelling and heard nothing. The owner refused to return the money. On arrival she asked for another 30 euros for air-conditioning, despite nothing about this in the reservation. booking confirmed in a separate case that there was no AC charge. When I brought the 30 euros the next day, she demanded 60Euros and said she'd take the AC remotes if we didn't pay. I paid the next day, still without confirmation from booking that it was free, and am trying to get the money back through booking, though I doubt I will. We felt watched around the clock, as if we were in prison. There was no drinking water in the room, no kitchen even for boiling water, and we were yelled at several times. Toilet paper was limited, and after the first day we were told we couldn't use any kind of inflatable mattress. The kids were humiliated. She came into our rooms without permission and checked or moved our belongings under the excuse of cleaning. Pet excrement was all around the pool, and cats used the area under the hammocks to dig in their shit. The owner also refused to give me any kind of invoice or payment confirmation. She claimed it was all on booking, which isn't true, since booking doesn't provide invoices and she had taken the money. I guess she is cheating IRS, or whatever government office is called there.

The woman was aggressive and kept finding fault with everything. She said we had only paid for accommodation. We weren't allowed to drink, eat, walk in the corridors or use mattresses in the pool. She didn't make the breakfast we'd ordered, saying she was tired. Then she came into our room without asking and yelled that we'd covered the balcony with expensive quilts. I've never had such unprofessional service, even though I travel several times a year. I really recommend avoiding it. She was not fit to host at all, and in the last few days I had to camp outside and only come back at night.