Hotel Arka

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

標註的是五星級酒店，實際連個2星都達不到，情緒如下： ①客房裝修非常簡易，顯得非常壓抑和暗調； ②衞生間沒施太太太…差了，昏暗，不衞生，衹有一個手持淋浴頭，出水四處亂濺，關鍵是掛不上支架，差點砸到腦袋，衹能一手舉着一手洗澡，非常不方便；衞生間洗手盆就拿兩根細細的破鐵棍焊接了一下，極其簡陋（有圖為證）。 ③環境差到不能再差，拉開窗簾就像住在垃圾場裏（有圖），完全不能開窗，要一直拉着窗簾（窗簾也很臟、舊）。 ④早餐一般，品種不多。 ⑤給我們的房間號是405（全世界的人應該都知道405謀殺案的故事），不知是否有意為之。 總之，這個酒店完全名不符實，完全就是欺X，不知道攜程有沒有實地考察過。真是一次糟糕的經歷！！！

My impression is that Skopje doesn't have a wealth of good lodging, so this may be among the best, especially if you want to stay in the Old Bazaar neighborhood. It's far from perfect, though, and as others have noted its pretensions to be a five-star property are laughable:  Room: This was the best aspect of our stay. We picked a Club Room and it was spacious and fairly attractive, and the bed was large and comfortable. There were quirks, however, including a shower that leaked water onto the floor and only a couple of electrical outlets.  Staff: Folks, if you claim five-star status, your staff should be gracious and friendly. This was not the case here. Staff interactions ranged from indifferent to polite, but we were never asked if we needed anything, whether we enjoyed our stay, etc. At checkout we were treated to a deeply inappropriate harangue by the desk attendant about which ethic groups he considered the worst customers. Location/grounds: The location is perfect for easy access to the Old Bazaar neighborhood and countless restaurants. The view from our second floor room was a bit dismal, but the seventh floor rooftop bar afforded a pretty panorama at night. A couple of general features we found galling: First, the pool, which is tiny, has no changing area, and is located immediately next to the dining area, is only open from June-August. Second, when we asked why our air conditioning didn't work we were told that it hadn't been turned on yet for the entire hotel, even though it was 86 degrees Fahrenheit outside. Even though we were able to stay fairly comfortable by keeping our windows open, and had no desire to parade through the dining area in our bathing suits, this kind of corner cutting is not the hallmark of a superior hotel.  Food: The breakfast (included) was impressive in its range and decent in its quality. There is no hotel restaurant, but there are plenty of nice options within a few minutes of the property.  Overall, I would consider this a reasonable but unexceptional option, and not very good value for the money.

Great room. Outstanding breakfast at the topfloor with great view. Service is excellent. Bar on the roof for cocktails or wine. Pet friendly. Car parking in front of the hotel with camera controle. A minor point: A lot of garbage in the area around the hotel. The lift shaft should be finished, now you're looking at the vanilla concrete as it was placed when it was build. It's of no use to have a glass sided elevator like this. Remember, don't visit during Ramadan. The mosk is yelling several times a day, not very peaceful.

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

Fantastic roof top bar covering Skopje a relaxing overview well worth a visit even if you are not stopping in the hotel it’s warm with relaxing music and glass view out is brilliant just don’t fall in the pool 😅 if you visit in the cold weather it’s got to be the lace to go