A traditional guest house in Berat's UNESCO-listed Mangalem quarter, with air-conditioned balcony rooms, river views, an on-site restaurant, garden terrace, free WiFi and free parking.
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Hani i Xheblatit is a family-run guest house in Berat, set right in the historic Mangalem quarter along the Osumi River and connected to the Gorica district by the old stone bridge. The house is a listed first-category heritage building, with rooms framed by handmade wooden beams, and guests reward it with a 9.4 “Superb” score across 1,033 reviews.
The rooms are air-conditioned and have private bathrooms, flat-screen TVs with satellite channels, a refrigerator and a balcony looking out over the garden, river or surrounding mountains. Sizes run from a 25 m² double or twin up to a 35 m² quadruple, so the guest house works equally well for couples and for families or small groups.
Downstairs there is a traditional restaurant and bar, a garden and terrace with panoramic views, a shared lounge and an outdoor seating area. A 24-hour front desk, private and express check-in, daily housekeeping, room service, luggage storage, currency exchange and car hire round out the stay, and free WiFi and free on-site parking come as standard.
Hani i Xheblatit has three room types, from a 25 m² double or twin up to a 35 m² quadruple, so it suits couples, families and small groups alike. They share the same character: handmade wooden beams, air conditioning, a private bathroom with shower and slippers, a flat-screen TV with satellite channels, a refrigerator, a seating area and a wardrobe.
What changes is the size and the sleeping layout. The double or twin can be set up with two singles or one king bed; the triple and quadruple add extra singles for families or groups, and each can also be arranged around a king bed with singles alongside. All open onto a balcony, most with garden, river or mountain views over the old quarter.
For a small guest house, Hani i Xheblatit is well equipped. Every room is air-conditioned, with a private bathroom, a flat-screen TV with satellite channels and a refrigerator, and free WiFi — measured at around 41 Mbps — reaches throughout, comfortably fast enough for streaming and video calls.
The character is downstairs and outside: a traditional restaurant and bar, a garden and terrace with panoramic views over the river and old town, a shared lounge and an outdoor seating area. A 24-hour front desk looks after private and express check-in, daily housekeeping, room service, luggage lockers, currency exchange and car hire, and there is a tour desk for walking tours, cycling and trips into the surrounding countryside. Free on-site parking is a genuine bonus in the old quarter.
Hani i Xheblatit sits in the Mangalem quarter on the Berat side of the Osumi River, roughly a kilometre from the very centre of town. Most visitors reach Berat from Tirana, whose Mother Teresa Airport lies about 117 km away, some two hours by road; the newer Vlora International Airport is closer, about 44 km to the southwest and a little over an hour by car. There is no train, so the practical options are a hire car, a private transfer or the regular intercity buses and furgon minibuses that link Berat with Tirana, Durrës and the coast. Once you have arrived you will not need a car in town: the old quarters are compact and best explored on foot, and the guest house offers free on-site parking — a real advantage in a place where the historic streets are narrow and cobbled.
Berat is a UNESCO World Heritage town, famous as the “town of a thousand windows” for the tiers of Ottoman houses that climb both banks of the Osumi. Step out of the door and you are already in Mangalem, the whitewashed quarter beneath the castle; cross the seven-arched Gorica bridge and you reach the quieter Gorica quarter opposite, with some of the best views back across the river. Above them stands Berat Castle, still inhabited, home to the Onufri Iconography Museum and a scatter of Byzantine churches and mosques. Down at river level the pedestrian promenade fills with locals in the early evening, and the surrounding countryside — the vineyards, Mount Tomorr National Park and the Osumi Canyons — makes for easy day trips. Late spring and early autumn are the most comfortable times to visit; midsummer is hot, so start sightseeing early.
