Villa Bella

Good location, close to the old city. Room was comfortable. On our final morning we had to leave early before the breakfast time and the owner kindly left some of the breakfast items out for us early so that we could have something quick before we left.

The shower cubicle was very small.

A lovely villa close to the main walking street with its beautiful shops, cafes and restaurants with Lake Ohrid’s pier at the end and within a few minutes walk to churches, market, banks and mosques, old town and fort. The el fresco breakfast was nice. The room was very clean, quiet and comfortable. The villa has great views over the town and mountains.

Bed was comfortable, room a decent size. Good to have a balcony which was also quite large.

Location. Up a hill, not suitable for those with mobility issues. Also steps in property were tricky up to the room. Breakfast was disappointing, items left out under a staircase, very few tables in the garden. Unfortunately on arrival we were informed that we could only pay in cash! Nowhere on Booking.com was this mentioned so we were not prepared. Meant we had to withdraw cash from our credit card incurring quite a sizeable fee. Maybe we were a bit naive not having more cash in a country like North Macedonia, but we are well travelled and have never encountered this before. This put a dampener on what otherwise was a good stay in Ohrid which is a beautiful place. There are 2 Villa Bellas in the area and we were originally taken to the wrong one by a taxi driver. Fortunately the lady at that villa was wonderful - made us coffee whilst we waited for another taxi to take us back to the correct one. The lake is beautiful and the scenery spectacular.

There are two Villa Bellas in Ohrid, who knew? Well booking.com did because they’re both on their website and of course the taxi driver took us to the wrong one. On arrival at the one at Nada Fileda we were immediately told that we could not pay by credit card, cash only, which was a great inconvenience and some additional cost. We of course complained but the manager couldn’t care less and blamed the banks and it being low season. In September? The restaurants and boats seemed very busy. Looking at the reviews, especially the ones entered after we had booked this is a very common occurrence, if not the norm. Booking.com website makes no mention of this cash only policy, it just states that no credit card needed, which is not that same as not accepted at all. The room we had was large and comfortable with a view of the lake and an abandoned building site, (obviously not the hotel’s fault). There was a foul smell, but this was cleared by flushing a drain with the shower hose. Breakfast was odd, it was a buffet served from under the stairs, which was cramped if more than two people were there. It comprised of a modest selection of cereals, cold meats, cheese and breads for toasting. Unlimited tea and coffee. Taking it out to the garden was a relaxing way to start the day. The hotel is situated at the top of a steep but short hill, which we knew but should be kept in mind if doing many walks into the beautiful town centre or equally beautiful lakeside.

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