Stone City Hostel is a small, beautiful hostel in the center of Old Town Gjirokastër. Because of its small size, comfortable atmosphere, and high-quality facilities, it's a wonderful place to stay.
The Location
Gjirokastër itself consists of two parts -- the New Town (down by the highway) and the Old Town (located on the hill, full of old buildings and winding alleys). The bus station is on the highway in the New Town, and the hostel is a twenty-minute walk uphill. There are very inexpensive buses, however, that run up to the Old Town. The whole city is located on the slope of a hill, though, so some hill walking is unavoidable.
The hostel is located in the center of the Old Town, with easy access to the major tourist sites such as the castle, the traditional houses, and the old bazaar. Within a two-minute walk are several tasty restaurants, a few small shops, and ATMs. The New Town is an easy, downhill walk with supermarkets and other stores nearby.
Rooms and Bathrooms
The hostel is kept very clean. The rooms are spacious and comfortable, with sturdy bunk beds and nice mattresses. Each bed has a well-placed outlet and light, as well as a large locker underneath. The double room and the six-bed dorms have a great view of the city and castle.
The bathrooms are nice and clean. The showers have hot water, good pressure, plenty of hooks, and room inside to change. Both the toilet and the shower walls extend up from the floor, giving a good sense of privacy. Laundry facilities are available for a fee.
Common Spaces
This is no party hostel, so if a party atmosphere is important, then this is not the right place for you. That said, Stone City Hostel is a great place for socializing and provides a lot of opportunities to meet people. The layout of the hostel feels like a home -- the kitchen, dining area, and sitting area form a common space where people tend to gather to talk, eat, and play games. Beer, wine, and raki are available, as well. The patio is also a great place to soak up some sun. The kitchen is fully equipped for cooking a complete meal, though it can get busy if a lot of people are cooking. The hostel provides a nice, free breakfast, too, and it's served family style, so it offers a great chance to talk with other travelers and make plans for the day. Wi-Fi works well throughout the hostel.
The atmosphere is really relaxed and friendly. The owner is a traveler and has a lot of knowledge about the area. He organizes day trips to more obscure sites, like ancient ruins, abandoned monasteries, hot springs, and good places to hike. He also takes guests on free walks through the city to point out some less-famous sites.
Summary
Overall, Stone City Hostel offers great value for this price. The combination of a good location, beautiful facilities, the social aspects, and the opportunity for fun day trips makes it an excellent place to stay and a difficult place to leave.
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How is Stone City Hostel rated?
Stone City Hostel Reviews
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Jen
Hostelz.com Staff Reviewer
Published on Jun 6, 2017
Location and Contact
Location
• On foot (you're brave!): Buses leave you close to the round-about where the highway and the central boulevard of the new town meet. From here the old town is a short but very steep walk up. Walk up 'Bulevardi 18 Shtatori' in the new town to another round-about (next to the football stadium). Take the road going up on the left side of the building with the 2 pharmacies (Laboviti st.). Turn left after 50 meters (you can see the castle straight ahead of you), when you've climbed this street for 300 meters you turn right at the crossing (with an Alqi Kondi street sign right in front of you), another 200 meters on this street and you're there.
• Bus: To get from the new to the old town take a bus heading for 'Dunavat', 'Palorto' or 'Sh. Cerciz' (30 lek only). The buses leave from an area on 'Bulevardi 18 Shtatori' across the street from the Raiffeisen bank. It's slightly confusing, but these buses go down to the highway again and take another road up. Get off at Cerciz Topulli square in the old town (the square with a car parking and another Raiffeisen bank). Walk up the main road, take the first right, walk to the end of this little street and go right again, 100 meters down and you're there.
• By car: do not go up Alqi Kondi street as it is one way (going down),do not park in the pazar itself. Go up to the old town either via Laboviti street or Gjin Zenebisi up to where the 5 streets of the pazar meet and go down Alqi Kondi street. Park your car on the lower half of the street where the hostel is.
• Taxi: A taxi from the new town to the old town should cost about 200-300 lek.
Map
Address: Rruga Alqi Kondi, Pazar, Gjirokastër (Gjirokaster), Gjirokastër, Albania
Distance to city center: 0.04 km
Stone City Hostel is listed on the following booking sites:
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Phone Number:
+355693484271
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Facilities and Amenities
Party Hostel
Solo Traveller
Bedsheets
Breakfast
Towels
Wi-Fi in Lobby/Commons
City Tours
Lockers in Lobby
Luggage Storage
Parking
Air Conditioning
Bar
Board Games
Clothes Dryer
Cultural Tour/Class
Entirely Non-Smoking
Evening Entertainment
Gameroom
Hair Dryers
Hot Showers
Laundry
Lounge Area
Movie Library/Rental
Walking Tours
Credit Card Payments
Curfew: No Curfew
Reception Hours: 24 Hours
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