“Beautiful place lovely hotel just noticed the food wasn’t so great but everything else was great”

Location and hotel

The location is perfect to start the track to Theth.

“Disappointing Stay – Book with Caution”

Our stay at Hotel Burimi in Valbonë Valley was, unfortunately, far from what was promised on Booking.com and certainly not worth the price paid. The hotel advertised a 4-star experience and a pool, but what we encountered told a different story. Upon arrival, we were informed that the elevator wasn’t working and we had to climb to the 5th floor. The hotel was under renovation—something not mentioned during booking. While our room was spacious, it was in very poor condition: exposed water pipes and electrical cables hung from the walls, and several power outlets were dangerously open. There was no TV or mini fridge, despite both being listed as included. The mattress was one of the most uncomfortable I’ve ever slept on—extremely hard—and the bathroom was tiny and poorly designed. Water flooded the entire bathroom during every shower, and the drain seemed clogged, forcing us to manually push water toward it. The one positive aspect of the room was the mountain view—Valbonë is beautiful, no doubt about that. Service was another major issue. The staff appeared untrained and unprofessional. They often stood around smoking in front of guests, wearing visibly stained uniforms, and seemed disengaged. When asked about their menu or local wines, they couldn’t provide basic answers. It felt like they had no background in hospitality at all. Breakfast was extremely limited: some cheap bread, a few sliced vegetables, white cheese, fig jam, and water. Coffee was okay. On the second day, we noticed a bowl of hard-boiled eggs, but that was the only change. Lunch and dinner options were just as underwhelming, so we ended up eating at nearby guesthouses, which offered much better, tastier food. A particularly off-putting discovery was the condition of the public restrooms on the ground floor near the restaurant. They were filthy and used by staff for smoking—venting cigarette smoke out through the bathroom fans.