Reviews of Guest House Gjelaj

The Staff were so friendly! They cooked us two amazing meals, looked after us and were incredibly helpful! There's also a kitten and many animals staying at the house which was amazing.

Was quite a long walk from theth, however this meant it was secluded and easier to get to theth-valbona.

We felt so welcome and at home. The staff were amazing!

It was a bigger walk to get up the accomodation. And not accessible by our car. This isn’t an issue, just a heads up.

Guesthouse Gjelaj was perfect. The house / yard were beautiful and peaceful. The meals were delicious and you eat looking out onto the mountains and valley. There was a very nice shower and the beds were comfortable. I would absolutely stay here again. It was also very conveniently located for someone doing the Peaks of the Balkans trail.

This property is located a couple miles outside of town, and will give you a head start on the Theth to Valbonë hike. It is ran by a mother daughter duo. They were very accommodating. The guesthouse offers family style dinner at 7pm for 15Euro/Person.

Beautiful view of the mountains, friendly and helpful staff, coming home to a homemade dinner was the perfect ending of a hiking day :) perfect location to the hike to valbone. On our last day we started at 6am and the hosts offered us some tea :) which was very kind

Nothing

The cottage's location was perfect for the Valbona trail, right at its start. Everything was very clean, hosts extremely helpful and kind, the food was fantastic.

It's a little bit pricy, but the location and the excellent food made up for it.

The staff was very friendly and helpful. We came from valbona and the guesthouse is located on the trail (30' before Theth) so we could skip the last part downhill. In case you do the hike to valbona, you have a head start on all the people leaving from theth city centre. The view over the Theth valley is amazing. The shared bathrooms were clean.

The location is not ideal if you want to visit Theth, but perfect for the hike and the relaxing vibe on the mountainside. The bed was quite small, and our room (1 double bed) was not much bigger than the bed itself)

wonderful location with great views, welcoming host family, delicious vegetarian dinner on request with lots of choice

The room had beds and one shelving unit. It would be nice to have a chair and some hooks or hangers in the room.

A beautiful guest house overlooking Theth, about 30-45 mins uphill from the town (directly on the Peaks of the Balkans trail). This is a lovely, tranquil spot with very kind hosts. Dinner was served on the terrace overlooking the mountains - fantastic food, and lots of it. Guests can help themselves to cold drinks and settle up in the morning. I had a small, pleasant room upstairs, with a bathroom shared between 3 rooms. The guesthouse had two beautiful cats - one adult, one kitten.

The bedroom was very hot overnight and, despite a small fan, I had an uncomfortable sleep. There had been a heatwave at the time of my visit in August 2025.

Le calme

L'accessibilité de la guest house

Amazing view, nice room, friendly hosts and lovely local food

Comfy room, friendly owners and the best food. We stayed here at the start and end of the Peaks of the Balkans trail. I gave a rating of 9 after the first stay but will upgrade that to a 10 now that I have more of a reference having stayed at other guesthouses.

Check that you know the location before you arrive. You can't get here with a normal car but it's directly on the Peaks of the Balkans trail.

Host was super friendly, we arrived late but she still made us a feast for dinner. The rooms are very tidy and the view is beautiful!

Friendly staff, great views, excellent food. The best place to stay at.

It was quite far up the hill, but that was part of it's charm.

Beautiful location. Great facilities. Great food. Friendly and helpful staff.

I'd mistakenly assumed that I could drive here. My own mistake. Definitely need to park in the village and walk up, 25 minutes or so. If you are walking the Peaks of the Balkans then this is on the path to Valbone, so just need to plan knowing this.

Super guest house the owner very friendly and kind delicious food prepared by the lady of the house felled like home

Best regard’s.

Guest House Gjelaj was a home from home, in a beautiful location surrounded by the high mountains, a couple of kilometres up the Valvona track from Theth. We ate delicious food, including the hosts' vegetables and eggs, in a garden enjoying ia spectacular view. After a two day stay we felt like members of the family and we were sad to leave. Thank you for a very special two days....never to be forgotten.

Nothing....

Such lovely hosts and the best views! An amazing way to end the Theth - Valbona hike, we felt so looked after.

Nothing! It was like staying at family’s

Beautiful views, charming simple guesthouse (just a bed in the room but all you could need), kind and sweet couple who seemed to own and run the place. It’s quite a walk from town uphill but nice to be away from other tourists and makes finishing the hike from Valbone very easy!

The breakfast (included) and dinner (cost not included) were excellent - delicious food, massive portions, and a great way to try traditional Albanian food! The family was incredibly helpful and kind, and went out of their way to make us feel at home.

The location is beautiful and you get a great view of the mountains (although it is a hike to get up from Theth, which does make the hike to Valbone easier).

Comfortable bed, clean bathroom, huge diner and breakfast. Adorable cat and serene garden

The room was a bit warm at night as it only has one window. In the evening, you have a limited view of the mountains due to the direction of the sun. There's no storage space in the room

A wonderful family ran guesthouse. As you descend from Valbona this is the first guesthouse before entering Theth. Very clean and comfortable with a garden and beautiful views over Theth. Dinner (15 euro) was a delicious and unique culinary experience. The hosts kindly offered us complementary wine.

Differently from dinner, breakfast was very plain. Also not really a criticism, but just a fact: bear in mind that the guesthouse is a 30 minute descent to Theth and one hour ascent back. We didn't mind, but just something that you should be mindful of.

Lovely guesthouse in a beautiful location in the mountains, when the weathers clear there’s a wonderful view over the Theth valley. The owners were so welcoming and friendly, despite not speaking English. Delicious food (absolutely loads of food!), comfortable cosy rooms. There was a fire in the dining area which was very welcome and handy for drying stuff when it rained. Only 1 bathroom between 7 hikers but this didn’t cause any issues. It’s approximately 40minute walk from centre of Theth, steep uphill. This isn’t the most convenient for accessing Theth but it’s great for the Theth-valbona hike as it’s right on the trail so you get to miss a chunk of steep assent, so it depends what you want. We did get a 4x4 taxi once in a thunderstorm for €25.

Food a bit expensive at €15 per night, but it was great food with huge portions and Theth is expensive generally so not a big issue.

Location, view, garden

Breakfast is poor.