Izumrud Palace Hotel

We needed somewhere urgently at 17:00 after VRBO put us in a hotel that was closed for renovations, so this place worked well for two days. The room was a good size for a basic hotel, the bathroom worked fine, and the nice windows in our corner room were a plus. TV was YouTube only, though we could find some English news. The breakfast room was the low point, crowded, with flies buzzing around and lots of people coughing, which made it unpleasant. Decent value overall, and you could do much worse for $80 a night.

The complimentary breakfast is amazing, and the staff are so helpful that nothing seems like too much trouble. It’s been family-run for generations. I’d definitely recommend it.

This hotel is in a good area, with lots of restaurants nearby and the main sights about a 20-minute walk through the park. The staff were eager to help, which made the unfinished state of the hotel feel like a shame. Our room was on the fourth floor, and there’s no elevator. My partner and I are in our late 50s, so going up and down was a bit of a challenge. The air-conditioned bedroom was decorated fairly nicely, but details were missed. There were bedside lamps with nowhere to plug them in. The shower curtain left barely enough room to move when closed, and the floor drain wasn’t done properly, so water sat all over the floor. Breakfast was very basic, though they’ll cook eggs the way you like.

We booked two nights through Booking and arrived at 11 a.m. Since our room wasn’t ready until the 2 p.m. check-in, we left our luggage at reception and went into the city center. When we returned at 2:30, the hotel boss, Beq, told us there was no room for us after all. He said the hotel was overbooked because he lists rooms on almost every booking platform without requiring prepayment. Apparently, it’s first come, first served.