Lake Ohrid, Albania (Peace at Last)

A family-owned small hotel made this stop one of a kind.

If you’ve been following along, you know we are on a road trip through parts of Europe and the Balkans. Yes, we’re driving, and no, we have no reservations. (Every time I say this, I feel like Anthony Bourdain.)

Our Turkish friends suggested we stay somewhere on the lake in Ohrid, North Macedonia. Yet when I started looking for a place to park ourselves, I decided the entire lake could be a possibility, given how large it is.

If you haven’t been to this part of the world, think about going.

We booked one night at Hotel Demoli on the edge of Pogradec, Albania. After meeting the hotel owner, my husband immediately decided to book a second night. He and Dimitri, the Greek/Albanian owner, had a lot to talk about. Dimitri treated us like family and immediately upgraded us to a larger room with a big balcony.

I learned later that this hotel treats almost everyone that way.1

Although the beach was public, the hotel treated it like its own. The beach was cleaned every night, and the lounges were cleaned every morning.

We relaxed, swam, and ate at the hotel. Other than taking our clothes to a laundry service (again, thanks to Dimitri's help), we never left the place. Breakfast was included, lunch was bruschetta, and dinner, even with a limited menu, was always good. We had a modern, clean room with AC that was COLD.2

So, you need to understand how I see things. While I am a Turkish citizen, I am originally from the United States. I am very privileged, and when traveling, generally spoiled by my spousal unit who has more Hilton points than God himself. I am not into hostels or bedbug palaces. If there is no room at the inn, I’ll sleep in the car.

Seriously.

Many small hotels either don't have air conditioning, even this far south, or their air conditioning doesn't work well. The beds, unless you stay in the high-priced (usually foreign) hotels, are low to the ground and can be uncomfortable. For most of the months, this isn’t important. But we all know about climate change, the 99-degree days here in Europe, and the sweltering humidity.

What wasn’t important before is now important. Be forewarned.

Things are usually old, and even in the larger hotels, we found they weren't necessarily well maintained. We try our best to stay at locally owned places, but sometimes we cannot. This time, luckily for us, we could.

We also learned that Dimitri has a brother who owns a similar small hotel on the island of Santorini. I see a vacation in order. Oh, but wait. I have to deal with the Greek border guys again…

Most of Pogradec is like the photo below. Green and by the sea. The town is small, with helpful people who prefer that you not use Euros but change your money into Albanian Leks (which they pronounce LAKS).

Just a nice place to stay. Should it be on your future travel list? Yes, I think so.

Except for the Russian lady who had used way too much Botox and picked a fight with or complained to EVERY employee in the hotel.

Yes, I know I sound very American. But with a heat wave and disagreeable thyroid medicine, my heart cannot take the heat.