My first night in Albania was spent at the VH Belmondo Durres Hotel & Beach in Durrës, which is now known as the VH Eurostar Durres Hotel & Beach. Despite all the research I did — including viewing photographs and location — the stay was not worth the very low room rate which I paid in advance for a number of reasons.
VH Belmondo Durrës Hotel & Beach in Albania. Not Recommended. Hotel Review.
After picking up the rental car late in the afternoon at Tirana International Airport, I drove to this hotel property. The building of the VH Belmondo Durres Hotel & Beach looked nice enough from the outside.
I then parked the rental car in the garage, whose entrance is on the side of the hotel property.
Parking the car was not easy due to the beams and the narrow aisle — as well as no lines to mark the delineations between parking spots. Moreover, each space for parking a vehicle was somewhat tight — but at least no extra fee was charged for parking.
I was looking forward to a good night’s sleep that night…
…which was not going to happen.
I prepaid for the stay; so I was expecting to simply get the key to the room and wind down after traveling. I attempted to check in at the front desk in the dark and spartan lobby; but I had to wait at least 15 minutes until the person behind the front desk was off the telephone. After she finished her telephone call, the woman behind the front desk could not find my prepaid reservation. At least an hour elapsed until I was finally able to straighten everything out and get to the room, as she eventually found the reservation after I provided her with some codes.
I was then forced to go across the street and withdraw €100.00 as a deposit on the room, which was not stated at all in the reservation.
This was not a good start to the stay — and it was about to get worse.
We took the old decrepit elevator up to the floor on which the room was located. The buttons were the topic of this article, which is part of the What Is Wrong With This Photograph? series of articles.
The Bedroom — Part 1
The wall that surrounded the light switches adjacent to the entrance to the room was strangely scuffed and had paint chipped from it…
…as was the wall around the thermostat. Perhaps a lighter color of paint should have been chosen for the walls?
The bedroom was actually rather spacious — but that was basically where the positive aspects of this stay ended.
A closer look revealed that stains were in the linens of the bed. Some of the stains were rather obvious.
I looked at the sheet and the pillowcase on the bed. VIVI LA VITA was embroidered on the sheet; and HOTEL A&A was embroidered on the pillowcase. What hotel property was I at again?!?
An old brown couch which had seen better days was one of the pieces of furniture in the room. It looked rather worn.
The room had a chair and a basic desk with one drawer. A flat screen television was mounted on the wall above the desk. Plenty of storage space was available in the unit across from the bed — as well as a safe, a miniature refrigerator, and an extra comforter.
At first, the chair at the desk looked okay…
…but a closer inspection revealed multiple stains and hair on the chair.
The Bathroom — Part 1
The bathroom had a basic vanity with an electric hair dryer that was mounted on the wall.
Two tubes of Fresh Feeling shampoo, one small bottle of mouthwash, and a couple of small bars of soap rested on the vanity along with a spare roll of toilet paper. A glass rested in a metal mount on the wall.
The shower stall was one of those annoying infamously inexplicable European showers with a partial partition enclosure.
A closer inspection of the bathroom revealed numerous areas with mold, grime, and rot.
I asked to be switched to a different room.
The Bedroom — Part 2
After being given the key to a different room, I noticed that the walls in that room were not in any better condition than those in the first room.
In fact, the walls were in even worse condition in some areas of the second room, with peeling and chipped paint and plaster.
The bed was not very comfortable. Worse is that during the night, I could not breathe. I was actually constantly choking. I have never experienced anything like this at any time in my life before or after staying in this hotel room. I was forced to turn off the air conditioning system and open the glass door to the balcony to get some fresh air into the increasingly warm and stale room. At least I was able to breathe again.
The room included a desk and two chairs — as well as a flat screen television that was mounted on the wall. The chairs had no fabric on them; so no stains were embedded in them.
An ash tray on the desk in the room is usually not a good sign of a clean room. We also had at least one unwanted visitor in the room.
The Bathroom — Part 2
At first glance, the bathroom seemed to be fine…
…as two extra rolls of toilet paper, a couple of small bars of soap, and a couple of small bottles of generic shampoo rested on the vanity…
…but when I used the faucet, it was loose — so loose that water sprayed out of it. The faucet had to be carefully positioned whenever it was used to mitigate the spraying of water.
This shower was also in one of those annoying European showers with a partial enclosure which had mold in it as well.
Views
A balcony with a chair was available outside of the room. The view to the left of the balcony was not exactly the best view I have ever had from a hotel room…
…but the view straight ahead had a glimpse of the Adriatic Sea.
Breakfast
Breakfast was included in the room rate at the VH Belmondo Durres Hotel & Beach. The dining area was expansive and seemed clean — and eerily empty…
…and no one seemed to be behind the counter, as no employees of the hotel property were anywhere in sight. Guests signed in on the paper near the water cooler.
Bowls of assorted dry cold cereals and toppings were available; but they did not appear to be all that appetizing.
Some sort of dry cakes were available as well.
The “fresh” fruit consisted of oranges and apples which were past their prime.
After approximately 20 minutes, breakfast was suddenly served without ordering it, which was the first time we saw a human being in the dining area. I will take responsibility for being picky; but this breakfast of assorted cheeses, wet eggs, overripe tomatoes, bland cucumbers, a greasy sausage stick of some kind, and some fried blob of something did not appeal to me at all.
The sliced bread and croissants were not much better. I am not sure what type of flaky pastry was served with them; but the baked goods tasted dry and bland at best.
Final Boarding Call
I absolutely do not recommend staying at VH Belmondo Durrës Hotel & Beach in Albania. Hopefully, the change in the name of the hotel property to VH Eurostar Durres Hotel & Beach also included a renovation of some sort. This hotel property has a lot of potential with some care and an extensive refreshing if members of the management team paid more attention to it.
Even more confusing is that this hotel property may now be under new ownership or management as Ajsel Hotel. If that is true, I am not sure when that happened — although it appears to be recently.
Do not be fooled by the name of the hotel property, as it is located at least one block from Durrës Beach — and guests must cross the busy Rruga Pavaresia to get to the beach. This hotel property is not a beach resort; so forget about towels, chaise lounge chairs, and ordering food and beverages from the hotel property while on the beach. At least one convenience store is located nearby if provisions are needed.
We visited Durrës during the off season; so many stores, restaurants, and coffee shops were closed for the season — but that does mean that the beach will not be crowded if the weather permits enjoying some time on the sand and in the waters of the Adriatic Sea.
I did not check out the fitness center, the lobby bar, or the rooftop bar and lounge of this hotel property.
The total cost for the room for one night was $26.10 in United States dollars — including all taxes and fees — but not even the low rate could save this hotel property. The cash deposit of €100.00 was returned to me upon checking out of the hotel property. I guess the old adage applies here: “You get what you pay for”.
VH Eurostar Durres Hotel & Beach
Rruga Pavaresia 193
Durrës 2003
Albania
+355 069 208 4516
Limited free parking is available on site.
All photographs ©2022 by Brian Cohen.
