Hotels, my view on them!

I've done the exact opposite as I was planning to do, I have hardly camped and spent most nights on hotels and B&B's. It was the right call tho, my adventure, my rules eh? No seriously the thing for me was always to see things and experience things from a bicycle point of view. Camping just got in there in the speed of things mostly because I expected accommodation to be horrible. But considering how tired I've been some nights after difficult roads, long days or both it was the right call in my book.

The only thing I regret is dragging a lot of gear around that wasn't needed however that's me in a nutshell, I always pack too much.

So, these are my views of the places I've been staying at so far just sorted from first to most recent;

Hi Skopje Hostel was quite nice even if it were cold before the handyman came and bled the radiators in addition to putting in an electric one. Good, clean bed and actually quite a good breakfast consisting of some sort of bun with herbs and some yogurt-type-thingy. It was cheap and the staff was friendly.

Hotel Hilton in Gostivar was really nice, big room, minibar (I only had a Snickers), a tub and shower and breakfast was ok in their restaurant on the top floor. Slightly more expensive of course but still I only think it was 30 Euro per night.

Hotel Srna in Mavrovo was also really good, helpful staff, clean if a bit small room. Only bad thing was no hot water so showering was done fast, beautifully situated near the abandoned church and the lake. Cozy restaurant/bar with an live fireplace.

Hotel De Lago in Ohrid was great, big room with two beds, several windows, a big bathroom and breakfast in an restaurant next door was ok, as many places here you order what you want instead of being served a lot of stuff. Helpful staff though only one of the three I saw in the reception could talk English well enough to hold a conversation.

Hotel Tomorri in Gramsh, Albania was ok, the staff didn't speak English at all but was very helpful in making sure my bicycle was safe. The room was clean and had AC, two beds and WiFi as almost all hotels do it seems, kind of weird when you think about it even if performance and coverage vary quite a lot.

Vruho B&B in Berat is among the highest rated hotels on Tripadvisor.com for that region, was it gonna hold up to the reviews? Hell yes and then add some sugar on top of that! It was hard to find but once I did, with the help of a local guy who showed me the way, I was in heaven. Nasho and, what I presume to be his wife, Patricia Vruho showed me a room with massive stone walls, really romantic and cozy. Outside was a garden with a spectacular view. The two days spent here is probably the most relaxing and best so far on the trip .Patricia served an excellent breakfast and I got to say hi to her mother. Nasho was very friendly and gave tips of a excellent restaurant nearby as well as the B&B I am currently at in Gjirokaster.

Hotel Osumi in Corovode was nothing special, the town was bleak. The hotel was clean tho and offered a decent place to sleep.

The hotel im Kelcyra, Albania was about the same as the rest, clean room, good bathroom and hot shower. I can't remember the name nor can I find it on the internet but it had a bar downstairs with strong wifi signal and good coffee and Red Bull, helpful staff even if slightly hard to know who was working there. Bad thing was that it was a ladder outside of my room and the roof in the corridor was leaking water near the ladder, no big thing tho the room was good enough, clean and with AC. A store right where you excited the hotel with good stock and a restaurant next door that was really good, see earlier posts in blog about that.

I will make a final top ten list once I am done with my trip. So far I am positively surprised about the standard of hotels here even if my expectations was rock bottom I am very happy with the general level of accommodation so far. Tho the stay in Berat beats them all in price, service, atmosphere, breakfast quality, staff and room quality.