Valbona
Pioneering tourism in Valbona since 2005, the Albanian-American–run Rilindja is a fairy-tale wooden house in the forest 3km downhill from Valbona village…
Must-see hotels in Albania
Gjirokastra
This hostel is a fantastic conversion of an Old Town house, created and run by Dutchman Walter. The attention to detail and respect for traditional…
Tirana
Albania's first-ever hostel continues to go from strength to strength. Housed in a charmingly decorated house, with a 1970s air of hazy hippy backpacker…
Berat
This transformed traditional house in the Gorica quarter is home to one of Albania's friendliest hostels. The vine-clad establishment contains a basement…
Tirana
The owners could not have picked a better name for this inspirational hotel. The eight rooms are bright, modern, colourful and all have light summery…
Shkodra
A wonderfully restored old town-house, the Rose Garden is all clean modern lines dusted with touches of old-fashioned class. Rooms are exceptionally…
Tirana
Tirana's coolest hostel is on a small side street, housed in a design-conscious self-contained house with a leafy garden out the back, a bar lined with…
The Albanian Riviera
If you want to escape from the glitzy hotels on the seafront, this unique summer-only hostel housed in the village school at Vuno is a wonderful place to…
Berat
A true highlight of Berat is this gorgeous place inside two sprawling Ottoman houses where all the rooms are beautifully furnished in traditional Berati…
Central Albania
This sleek design hotel would be a surprise almost anywhere in the Balkans, but in a charming backwater like Korça, it's almost unbelievable. Rooms are…
Gjirokastra
Combining modern facilities with traditional touches, this lovely family-run hotel inside a 300-year-old house has rooms with huge balconies and…
Gjirokastra
Fabulous new 11-room boutique hotel housed inside an immaculately restored building that's older than some countries. Rooms mix just the right amount of…
Saranda
Referencing the name given to Saranda during the Italian occupation (Edda was Mussolini's daughter), this hotel is a charming place and about as central…
The Albanian Riviera
Run by a family who learnt the tourist trade in Greece, Villa Kosteli has supersmart apartments decked out in driftwood- and rope- light fittings and…
The Albanian Riviera
This great little set-up is run by two brothers. Each summer they turn the family orange orchard into a vibrant tent city, and the price includes the tent…
Theth
Next to the church, right in the centre of the village, this place has been totally rebuilt from the ground upwards. It is one of the best guesthouses in…
Shkodra
This innovative and hugely atmospheric hotel is as much a museum as a mere place to rest your head. Housed in a painstakingly restored 17th-century…
Berat
This gorgeous Gorica hotel is a careful restoration of an old stone mansion on the riverfront, just over the footbridge from the centre of town. With…
Tirana
This superchilled villa in a side street in the middle of Tirana's old town is a friendly place with five- and six-person dorms, though the basement's 12…
Valbona
Named after one of the soaring mountain peaks nearby, this guesthouse on Valbona's main (well, only) street has freestanding pine huts in a pleasant field…
Gjirokastra
Claiming the crown for the hotel with the best view in town, the Kalemi has big, bright rooms with balconies and large windows from which to admire the…
Tirana
You've got a fantastic location at this 10-room hotel with downlit, stylish rooms that might be some of the city's coolest. Some have balconies, all have…
Shkodra
Shkodra's original hostel is a gorgeous arty space, and with a peaceful garden and open-air bar (selling local craft beers) you'd hardly guess that you…
Shkodra
Frequently appearing in lists of Europe's best campsites, this gorgeously located place is not in Shkodra itself, but on the lakeside 7km from the city…
Berat
From the castle gates, go straight ahead and you'll find this gorgeous hilltop hideaway, run by a friendly English-speaking family. There are just five…
Tirana
A snug six-room hotel rich with royal flushes and an old-fashioned sense of style. The beds have plumped-up pillows and the bathrooms are decent…
Durrës
With an unbeatable location right on the main square, this attractive 1930s Italian villa has been converted into one of the more memorable hostels in…
Berat
Filled with memories of yesteryear, this large and carefully restored Berat townhouse has a wide range of room types (including apartments suitable for a…
Theth
Zorgji is a gorgeous stone farmhouse with big, bright en-suite rooms and a dining room full of drying corn and old farming implements. The garden is…
Saranda
Easy to miss amongst a rash of bigger, glitzier cousins, the sea-facing rooms at the Titania have huge wrap-around windows and terraces that overlook the…
Theth
The friendly Shpella family run their 110-year-old house as a traditional hotel and it's located in an atmospheric environment near to the Kulla. The 12…
Tirana
With an unbeatable location in the heart of the city, the Rogner feels more like a private club than a hotel. Its huge garden contains a great pool and…
Shkodra
With bold statement art, dark tiled floors, subtle colour schemes, giant TVs and sharp, angular furnishings, this modern boutique hotel is easily one of…
Shkodra
Very popular with a young Anglophone crowd, this central and convivial hostel is a great place to hang out by the garden bar and make fast travel buddies…
Gjirokastra
Very central, renovated stone mansion that has some beautiful fittings in its 16 individually decorated rooms. Modern bathrooms contrast with the…
Tirana
Bordering on being a boutique offering, this central 19-room hotel has comfortable rooms with polished wood floors and bunches of flowers adding an…
Valbona
Buried among dense pine forest a couple of kilometres beyond the village, this inviting and surprisingly plush hotel has modern rooms, smart service and a…
Berat
Push open the dark wooden door, clamber up the uneven whitewashed stone steps and enter the home of the loquacious Lorenc, a former opera singer who puts…
Saranda
Your host at Saranda's most central hostel is the gregarious, English-speaking Tomi and he does much to give this place its party atmosphere. The 14 beds…
Saranda
With a prime 8th-floor location, a clean beach at its base and a friendly, helpful atmosphere, this Irish-run backpacker hostel is a good place to chill…
