Hotel Colombo

Super babuc beratiiiiiiii

We stayed two nights at Hotel Colombo during our trip from Corfu to Himarë, Berat and Tirana. The hotel is modern, the rooms are spacious and clean. The reception staff were very helpful when Hotels.com (through a third party) mistakenly booked us into the wrong hotel. We chose this hotel partly because Hotels.com stated that laundry facilities were available. After travelling for over a week, this was important to us. We were told our clothes would be washed gently at 30°C, but were not informed they would be tumble dried. When the laundry was returned, several of my new T-shirts had shrunk. Reception later confirmed they had been tumble dried. Clothing worth around 30,000 LEK was ruined, making this by far the biggest disappointment of our stay.When I raised the issue with the reception the receptionist wanted to call the staff member who had washed the clothes. We did not want to create problems for an individual employee, as we considered this to be the hotel's responsibility rather than the employee's. We also found the information about lunch confusing. Although the hotel's website states lunch is served from 1–4 PM, the restaurant staff seemed unaware of this service when we asked. The situation gave us the impression that lunch service was not a regular part of the hotel's operation. Breakfast was decent but offered a smaller selection than the 3-star hotel we stayed at in Himarë. We were also surprised that hotel guests had to pay extra to use the swimming pool.

Looks pretty on photos, good parking spots, clean big rooms. Slightly under average and plain breakfast. Had to pay an extra fee for the pool, the pool is great tho. Gym was actually decent. Would have probably stayed in a more local hotel in the old quarters if we were to come back, but we had a great stay nonetheless.

Lovely lady on reception was very helpful and couldn’t do enough for us especially when our transport for an excursion didn’t turn up. She helped us contact them and sorted it out. Very friendly. The rooms were very clean. Had a lovely view of the pool.

Advertised as a 4 star hotel, but this rating feels very generous. Unless your standards are fairly low, it’s difficult to consider this a true 4-star experience. The hotel is located around a 10-minute walk from the start of the old town and close to the pedestrian street, which is convenient but somewhat away from the best part of Breast. The building itself is certainly impressive from the outside, with large faux Greco-Roman columns and grand architecture with massive dome at the top . It was originally built in 2009 with the intention of becoming a university, which perhaps explains the unusual design. Guests enter via a red-carpeted staircase leading up to reception. Unfortunately, the welcome was underwhelming, as the receptionist was not particularly friendly or welcoming. The room rate only included parking, accommodation, and breakfast — notably, there was no included access to the spa or pool. In fact, both were closed during our stay. We were told the spa would cost an additional €40 unless booking a treatment, while pool access was €10 per person. The interior corridors on the first floor felt tired and dusty, with a lingering smell throughout. Even after check-in time, there was visible housekeeping activity, with bedding and supplies left outside rooms while cleaners continued working. We were upgraded to Room 110, described as a suite, although it was really just a larger room with a seating area and table. The room did include a coffee machine. The king-