Hotel Arka

Es wird als Fünf-Sterne-Hotel bezeichnet, erreicht aber nicht einmal 2 Sterne. Meine Gefühle sind wie folgt: ①Die Einrichtung der Gästezimmer ist sehr schlicht und wirkt sehr deprimierend und düster; ②Das Badezimmer ist nicht sehr sauber ... es ist schlecht, dunkel und unhygienisch. Es gibt nur einen Handbrausekopf und das Wasser spritzt überall. Der Schlüssel ist, dass die Halterung nicht aufgehängt werden kann und ich mir fast den Kopf stoße . Ich kann nur mit erhobener Hand duschen, was sehr unbequem ist. Das Waschbecken im Badezimmer besteht aus zwei dünnen gebrochenen Eisenstangen und ist äußerst grob. ③Die Umgebung könnte nicht schlimmer sein, als würde man auf einer Müllkippe leben (im Bild). Man kann die Fenster überhaupt nicht öffnen und muss die Vorhänge geschlossen halten (die Vorhänge sind auch sehr schmutzig und alt). ④Das Frühstück ist durchschnittlich, nicht viele Sorten. ⑤Die Zimmernummer, die uns gegeben wurde, war 405 (Menschen auf der ganzen Welt sollten die Geschichte des Mordfalls 405 kennen, ich weiß nicht, ob es Absicht war). Kurz gesagt, dieses Hotel entspricht überhaupt nicht seinem Namen und ist eine völlige Täuschung. Ich weiß nicht, ob Ctrip jemals eine Inspektion vor Ort durchgeführt hat. Was für eine schreckliche Erfahrung! ! !

The rooftop is amazing! There were some issues with the lights in the room, but no big deal.

Fantastische Bar auf dem Dach mit Blick auf Skopje. Ein entspannender Ausblick, der einen Besuch wert ist. Auch wenn Sie nicht im Hotel übernachten, ist es warm mit entspannender Musik und der Blick aus dem Glas ist brillant. Fallen Sie einfach nicht in den Pool. Wenn Sie bei kaltem Wetter kommen, ist dies die beste Wahl.

First things first, this is not a five star hotel. How any hotel can obtain a five star category without even having a restaurant beats me, but the shortfalls went way beyond that. Arriving at the hotel from the main road it’s easy to miss, since its tucked down a tiny little driveway surrounded by other high rise buildings. There’s a large number of steps to climb to reach reception, but there is a lift to the side which I didn’t initially spot. The welcome at reception was superb. In fact throughout the stay the staff members there were brilliant, being professional yet friendly and nothing was too much trouble for them to help with or offer advice on. There’s a large amount of seating in the lobby area and a couple of lifts (one more rickety than the other!) serving each of the seven floors. My room was on the fifth floor and was an Economy Double with queen bed. It was a fairly good size with plenty of space but, for a supposed five star property, that’s where the positives seemed to end. The four windows overlooked the city but there were no curtains, instead having blinds fitted which even when closed let so much light in - forget ever getting the room dark. The queen bed was two singles pushed together, and with the thin single duvets and firm pillows it didn’t offer the most comfortable of sleeps. The air-conditioning was perhaps the loudest I’ve ever encountered and was only really effective on one side of the room. There was an electric socket at both sides of the bed, and the lighting was controlled by a small remote instead of switches. The wardrobe was a decent enough size but the TV didn’t really match the size of the room and required using two remotes due to the set-top box. There was a mini bar with small range of reasonably priced drinks. On first glance the bathroom might impress - a large corner bath! Until you realise that there’s no shower curtain installed, so using as a shower is impossible without turning the room into a ‘wet-room’, which to be clear it isn’t. The towels were small and rather harsh, the hairdryer practically useless, dim lighting and only the basic toiletries provided. The bathroom door also had glass panels with no form of blind fitted - fine if you’re staying on your own but might be worth bearing in mind otherwise! A couple of chocolates were on the bed when I first arrived, a nice little touch, but that’s as far as it goes for refreshments! There’s no kettle, coffee machine or bottled water. No option of room service or snacks, and even house keeping doesn’t happen unless specifically requested. I’m assuming the latter is a remnant of Covid, but seems a little excessive these days when other hotels manage. One of the reasons I was so excited to stay here was the roof top bar. On the seventh floor it is indeed a fantastic spot, with brilliant views over all the city and nice seating in both the sun and shade as you’d wish. What a shame so much more could be made of the space and instead it lost a

These weren’t met except by the reception staff who were excellent. The hotel is in a great location just off the bazaar. The bed and room was comfortable but the bathroom door was glass, the bath lacked a shower curtain and was really high to step up in to. Downstairs lobby has been modernised but the 7th floor where breakfast is was set up like a wedding/function venue with large tables. There weren’t many guests eating when we were so easy for us to get a table for six to ourselves.Full range of cold/cooked/ cereals/breads/cake/ delicious fruit. Swimming pool in summer is deceptive as it feels almost too hot in the room so put us off a bit. But the water was lovely and cool. Quite small so just for gentle paddling and bobbing about not for doing lengths. The shaded part of the roof top bar was closed for a separate function so there was nowhere to sit in the shade, so never tried it. Worth going up for view of the city though but a shame as it’s one of the things that attracted us to chose this hotel. Taxi from bus station was 110 dinars, just 5-10 minutes away. Try and find ‘tea street’ in the bazaar in the evening, great place for people watching with an iced coffee. It’s parallel to the hotel street about 2 or 3 streets into the bazaar. 3 hours from Skopje by bus to Ochrid town/lake. Well worth a couple of days in each place. Also did Free Walking Tours Skopje which was great and I’ve left a separate review for. Skopje is a fascinating city to visit. Ottoman history and culture north of the river, Balkan culture to the south.