Grand Hotel Europa

There was a music festival right next to the hotel and the music was unbelievably loud up until midnight. The hotel refused to move us, even though they had rooms available on numerous hotel booking sites. The calls to prayer from the adjacent mosque began at Dawn so we had virtually no sleep.

I booked this hotel because it advertised as having a swimming pool. It does, but was closed whilst we visited and apparently is closed most of the time. The public areas are very lavish. Rooms are on the small side…certainly not 5 stars. Staff very helpful.

Located in the centre of town is a very plush offering. The lobby is all marble, chandeliers and velvet furniture. This extends to the room filled with big dark wood coloured furniture and marble bathroom. Our room had a view over the park and lots of natural light. The room had a musty smell but this was managed by airing the room out by opening the window. Some of the bathroom fittings, like the towel racks, were a bit loose. The shower in a bath is a big step out and I guess the bathroom fittings were nearby grip points. Wifi access and speed was fine. Breakfast was fine, a standard continental breakfast set of options. The pool and spa didn’t appear to be operational.

This is a beautiful hotel right in the center of the city. A grand lobby with classical style decoration is very impressive. The room is well equipped and the bathroom is good in condition. Grateful to the staff for their attentive care at the breakfast lounge. They offered us additional byrek (Albanian traditional food) the most delicious of all I tasted in Balkan countries. I like them serve famous local dessert trilece both at dinner and breakfast. If you have to leave the hotel early in the morning, get up early to avoid the queue at the elevators. Overall, it was a good experience to stay here with high quality service.

The hotel provides very good services. Rooms are clean, cozy and comfortable. The hotel location is perfect, you can go on foot to get whatever staff you need. The hotel is surrounded by variety of restaurants, cafes, bars and shops. It also provides SPA services.

Stayed only one night in Shkoder. This hotel was perfectly fine. The receptionist was on top of things and very friendly. I just wondered why she had to keep our passports overnight. The room was otherwise comfortable -- with a queen-sized bed, a small desk, wooden floors -- except that it was rather stuffy. I couldn't get the A/C to work, which was probably because they had already switched it to heating. I slept with the window open, to be woken up by the muezzin calling the faithful to prayer before sunrise. The hotel décor, including in the room, was quite busy -- some might say kitschy -- but it had its charm. For instance, in the lobby, there was a large bust of a gorilla (don't ask). The location is smack in the middle of the small town. The university where we had most of our meetings is just across the street. There's a lively walking street just behind with a decent selection of restaurants and cafés (the Italian one we found was excellent). Interestingly, when we returned to the hotel just after 10 pm everything was dark: the lobby, the reception, the bar... We had to let ourselves in and forget about any notion of a nightcap. All in all, if you happen to be in Shkoder, do take the opportunity to stay at the Grand Hotel Europa.