How this surprising country became Europe’s luxury stay at best value

This is not necessarily what you would imagine when you think of Albania, a nation that was cut off from the world by communist rule until 1991. In recent years, Europe has – bounded by Montenegro and Greece – made headlines as a low -cost beach destination. It was destined to take a while for the Balkan nation to emulate success with its Greek neighbor on the hospitality front, but Albania seems to be catching up.

A growing high-end scene along the coast delivers luxury and cool for less. Investors also fluctuate in: Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, who have spent summers on yaching between Albania’s beaches, was jammed to build an Aman-labeled hotel in Sazan, Albania’s largest island. Several international brands – Melia, Radisson, Marriott and Hyatt – have also created a store, and an airport of £ 88 million set to open in VLORE, a city on the coast, will focus on Albania this summer.

My friend and I were shown the country’s stylish side of Elton Caushi, the founder of the tour operator Albanian tour, over a long weekend in September. For my first visit, I would see Albania with a guide who knows it as well as Caushi, and he had promised to show us the popular coastal towns of Sarande, Dhermi and Ksamil as well as some smaller spots such as Gjiro Kasters in the mountains.

Caushi, 48, has spent decades taking visitors to history and nature trips in his country, but he says things are changing with increased demand for advanced trips.

Driving is the best way to explore the coast, though buses are available if they are rare (hiring a car costs about £ 20 a day). On a 40 -minute drive from Tirana Airport to Golem, a resort city on the central Adriatic coast, Caushi was honest with this new market. “We are an ambitious nation, but we had to develop quickly to survive and luxury is a new concept,” he said. “Our top hotels are brand new, but they still learn. I think we compensate for it because we do it with heart, with authenticity and that is our point of sale. ”

• 10 of the best places to visit in Albania
• 11 of the best hotels in Albania

We arrived at Boutique, family -owned Ever Hotel on the cooled Golem Beachfront, with time for lunch. The restaurant in the beach is a favorite among “the elite of the Albanian community,” says Caushi. Food here was prominent-seabass in Puttanesca sauce, Ohrid Trout Carpaccio with Mojito-flat foam, Cacio E Pepe Linguine (the main network from £ 8.50) -like the moreish white wine from Pogradec in eastern Albania (£ 3.50) .

The hotel has Scandi-style, pared-back rooms, an underground spa and a roof terrace. With prices from £ 75 including breakfast it is excellent value (eter.al). This was a theme throughout our trip: Losty hotels that would cost quadrupled the price in Greece due to the cheaper work and living costs in Albania.

In Dhermi, a town about 80 miles south of Golem, we stopped to admire the terracotta-roofed old town and beautiful beaches. Glitzy travelers go to Sanur Beach House, a Bali-inspired beach club in the adult Empire Beach Resort (B&B doubles from £ 117, Day passes £ 17; Empirebeachresort.al). The private beach is rocky, but the clear sea and the fashionable restaurant (the main network from £ 11) compensate for it.

“We have only begun to focus on advanced tourism in recent years,” Mirela Kumbaro, Albania’s tourism minister, told me. “If you had visited Albania five years ago, you would not have found any international brands, but today it is a very different landscape.”

International brands are there, but you will find the most discerning crowd at homework hotels like UJI in Ftohte, where we spent our second night. The modern property is in the mountain town of the tea, a two-hour drive inland from DHHMI, and what made it so nice was how calm and discreetly luxurious it felt. Prices are low for bright rooms with spectacular views of the mountains and the Drinos River (B&B doubles from £ 80; ujiiftohte.al).

The UNESCO-mentioned mountain town of Gjirokaster, a two-hour drive south of UJI in Ftohte, is increasingly becoming trendy. Here, Kerculla Resort has become a hotspot for influencers thanks to its Instagrammable Split-Level Infinity Pool (B&B Doubles from £ 66; Kerculla.al).

Gjirokaster is a model of the Albanian authenticity mentioned by Caushi with taverns on cobbled streets serving excellent wine and food. I loved Taverna Kuka (Mains from £ 3), an Alfresco -Restaurant with Friendly Service, decorated with FE -Light. Here we ordered some Balkans dishes: QIFQI (rice balls), Dolmas (grape leaves filled with meat and herbs), and Oshaf, a dessert made using sheep’s milk and figs.

We continued south from Gjiro Kasters to Ksamil, bordering Greece. The 37 mile driving was a delight along smooth clifftop ways past mountains and turquoise colored lakes. Our next stop was Sarande. It’s more about nightlife than luxury on this southwestern coastline, but trendy beach clubs are everywhere. The thrownest of these is lost the sea, also a popular hotel and restaurant (B&B doubles from £ 86; Lostseaside.al), and Demi Lounge Club, part of Demi Hotel where we stayed (B&B doubles from £ 91 ; Demi. The atmosphere of Sarande was lively and we spent an entertaining evening people looking at the boardwalk.

Sarande also has a handful of relaxed hangouts. Those who knew, Head to Harmony Hotel, a family -owned store with 16 cute white rooms, to its Mediterranean restaurant serving small plates. I am still thinking of the tunric rice, Panko-covered mussels and Tangy Seabass marinated in orange sauce we partyed at (the main net from £ 8, B&B doubles from £ 41; booking.com).

But nowhere we visited Ksamil competed when it came to beaches. The city on the southern tip of Albania was our last stop before driving back to Tirana and the bays here, all white sand and electric-blue water, was ridiculously beautiful. There are plenty of hipstrand clubs, among them Mykonos-Vibe Principotes Beach. As for fancy hotels, there is the aforementioned Kep Merli a 15-minute drive north of Ksamil-Where we spent a morning swimming and feeling significantly shabby next to our Chanel Bag-Toting Colleague guests.

But most KSamil hotels do not come with KEP Merli prices. The cool kids also stay at Arameras Beach Resort. Five years ago, this country was a forest, now it is a scattered hilltop hotel with 70 detached villas, a sandy beach reached via golf bugies and a curved infinity pool overlooking Corfu (B&B double from £ 140; Arameras resort. eel).

Apart from the low prices and beautiful resorts, what makes Albania’s sprouting exclusive scene so impressive how incongredient it is with how the country was under communism. At one of our coastal drives, Caushi told us how he, when he grew up in the 1980s, was illegal. But chewing gum was also a status symbol for those who could get their hands on it. When Caushi managed to grab a stick of chewing gum that had been smuggled in, he chewed it for two weeks until it was dissolved, stored it in a glass of water while sleeping and eating.

So for Caushi, who has witnessed his country’s dramatic transformation since the days of smuggling rubber, luxury goes beyond distinguished beach hotels. “The real luxury here is freedom,” he says.
Claudia Rowan was a guest at Albanian tour who has two nights’ entire board – one at Uji Il Ftohte and one at Demi Hotel Sarande – from £ 750PP, including guide and transfers (Albaniantrip.com). Fly to Tirana

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