We spent 10 days at Sol Tropikal in Durrës and left with plenty of great memories. The resort offers clean, modern rooms, beautiful landscaping, and fun activities for all ages. While there were a few downsides – such as the lack of proper air conditioning, issues with the beach facilities, and one less helpful staff member – the overall experience was very positive. For the price we paid, it was well worth it, and we’re already recommending it to friends and colleagues. We’d love to return in the future!
The rooms:
Clean and modern furniture. Our queen sized bed had pillows that were perfectly firm, with a proper filled duvet. The bathroom was beautiful and modern, with sand tiled walls and floor, and a walk-in shower with a rain shower head. Most rooms have a neatly sized balcony, with two simple chairs and a table. There was also a minibar, sofabed, and dressers, plus hangers - so plenty of storage spaces for your clothes. There was also a smart-TV. However, the smart TV produces an awful high-pitched sound when on standby, so I recommend unplugging it when it's not in use. There was also a kettle, and complimentary teabags + instant coffee. No iron.
House keeping cleaned our room every day, but only changed our bed once during our 10 day long stay.
Recommendations for improvements:
The only minus was that there is only a central ventilation system, and no airconditioning in our room. There was a panel which looked like it, but I believe that only was for the bathroom. As we were there only in May, when the temperatures had not yet peaked 24 degrees, I can only imagine how hot the rooms may become during the summer months.
The pool area:
Very aesthetically constructed. Plenty of comfortable sun beds, with a children's pool and an adult's pool. There is a pool bar at the end. For all-inclusive guests, drinks are included. For regulars, it may be a bit pricy. We opted mostly to just purchase our soft drinks at the supermarket located on the right side of the big building at the other side of the roundabout outside the hotel.
Recommendations for improvements:
The pool bar did not offer food (despite the online menu mentioning there is a charcoal bbq). Loud club music from the bar was a minor annoyance, especially for my grandmother. This is, however, something I believe is a cultural thing in Albania, as we experienced this everywhere.
There also appeared to be a problem with some of the water fountains in the children's pool, as the water often ended up turning in the wrong direction, flooding the sun bed area. There is also no life guard, so you need to have an extra watchful eye for your kids and little ones.
The private beach:
The beach has a lot of potensial and room for improvement. Some days, the sun beds and umbrellas were scattered everywhere, with very few actually being usable. The beach bar appeared to be totally abandoned, and there was an unserviced lifeguard tower. The beach itself was clean of trash, but there was a lot of dried seaweed and shells which should be removed. The beach is not steep at all, you need to go quite far into the sea to get a proper swim (this may be a + for families with kids!). There was also tiles from the pool towards the sun beds at the beach, and a freshwater shower to rinse off the sand and salt water.
The food:
We paid a visit to both the Mediterranean restaurant, as well as trying both the breakfast and dinner buffet.
Breakfast buffet:
There was your regular English breakfast, but also a basic selection of cereals, pastries, bread, fruit and yoghurt. It felt a bit bland and boring for our taste, but it was ok. The complimentary coffee machine was greatly appreciated, as well as the soda fountain. The juices, however, tasted more like watered out nectar. I would greatly recommend adding freshly squeezed orange juice, and melons!
Dinner buffet:
I did not try this myself, but my grandmother and sister did. They said it was quite expensive for admission without half-board/all inclusive. They also complained that the meat selection appeared to be more like sliced toppings for sandwiches, and a limited and bland selection, which deserves a bit more love.
The Mediterranean restaurant:
Offers your regular mediterranean menu of pastas and pizza. Very affordable prices, and was beautifully furnished. We highly recommend!
Activities:
The hotel organizes lots of activities at the pool area, such as aerobic and workouts. It was really fun, and the kids loved it. Kudos to the instructors!
There was also a kids' club. My smaller siblings really enjoyed spending time there, and the employees were amazing.
Sports:
There was a great gym, which was greatly appreciated.
There was also a fully sized football field, as well as a tennis court. Keep in mind that the hotel has no sports equipment, so you need to bring it yourself.
The atmosphere:
The landscaping was spectacular, well maintained and stunning. Beautiful Roman pine trees at the driveway towards the reception, beautiful flowers and palm trees. There were, however, some desired paths forming, for instance at the entrance of the resort, which I strongly suggest they accommodate.
There was a serious issue with stray animals all over the resort. Stray, and quite intrusive, dogs and cats were roaming freely on the resort. Neither the staff nor security appeared to take this issue seriously. We even found a dog roaming in the hallway outside our room. When we mentioned it, they appeared to just have accepted that this was an unsolvable issue. They kept ensuring us that they had been vaccinated and were friendly. Keep this in mind before booking.
The resort was quite clean of litter, and there were bins to be found in public areas. We would, however, recommend there being a bin in the reception.
Employees:
Most of the employees was very helpful and service minded. Even the ones who only knew limited English tried their best to be service minded, friendly and helpful. The girls working in the reception provided remarkable service, and the guy working there in to the afternoon. They gave us tips about how to get around in Durrës, as well as how to walk to the beach promenade (GREATLY RECOMMENDED).
However, there was this one young man with a buzzcut who usually was there from the afternoons to the evenings, who we found less helpful and a bit arrogant. Everytime we tried to get assistance, I felt that he gave annoyed and rude answers, making us feel dumb for asking. E.g. when we asked if there were alternatives to Übers, if we could get help finding guided tours to Tiranë, and help ordering taxis.
However, we must stress that most employees were very serviceminded, friendly and helpful, and made our trip so much more enjoyable! The kids even made friends with the bartenders at the pool bar, and bragged that they got free drinks (that was so funny!)
Overall, this resort has a great foundation, and a stand-alone product. There is, however, some room for improvements (but seriously, aren't there always?). For the price we payed for our stay, we would say it was completely worth it. We have only good memories of Sol Tropikal Durres, and will definitely travel back in the future. I have already recommended it to my co-workers, who themselves are now strongly considering visiting!
Good luck with your future business, we can't wait until next time 😊♥️🖤🇦🇱
JorgenDB2025-05-19
