erinandbryan

If you are a day hiker, through hiker, or backpacker and have begun research on the Balkans then Theth is already on your radar and, more than likely, on your itinerary.

However, if you DON’T see yourself enjoying a 1,000 meter climb to the peak of a mountain, you should instead picture yourself enjoying a romantic evening with a bottle of wine and lively conversation as you and your partner watch the sun go down behind a panoramic view of surrounding mountain peaks.

Put Theth on your itinerary to get the benefits of simply being there. The awesome beauty of the alpine mountains doesn’t require you to climb them. We have traveled across the United States and been to 95% of its National Parks. The magnificence of Theth’s mountains is on par with the best of these parks. Theth is one of those places where photos simply cannot capture the actual beauty of BEING there. You will take something special away from your visit.

We lucked into booking one of the twelve (12) rooms at Villa Molla (Vila Molla is the Albanian spelling) and encourage you to make the same choice. We recommend staying here because:

1. Villa Molla provides world class accommodations with the personal touch of a family run guest house
2. The view is spectacular and the best in the valley

The front lawn of Villa Molla is the best place to take in a 360 degree view of the surrounding mountain peaks. It is a comfortable place to do so as well because it is tastefully furnished with patio couches and 2-top tables. Here is where you’ll enjoy that aforementioned romantic bottle of wine later, but first a welcome drink of Prosecco. Our room also had an impressive view; but the view from the window of our room’s private balcony couldn’t compete with the immersive view from the front lawn.

The architecture of Villa Molla combines the authenticity of the original home (e.g., beautiful original stone walls on the ground floor) with the comfort and luxury one expects from a boutique hotel. The Molla family spent three years renovating and upgrading their traditional family home to transform it into the Villa you will enjoy today. The twelve guest rooms are on three newly constructed levels built directly on top of the former family home which now serves as the ground floor. The renovation was completed in 2021 and at the time of this writing Villa Molla has only been open two seasons.

The Molla family themselves are perhaps a more important part of your stay than the historic structure. They are the ones who welcome you in as if you’re family and take care of you during your stay. We not only got to meet Mr. and Mrs. Molla, but one of their adult sons was home helping out with the property as well. They are the reason Villa Molla feels simultaneously like a boutique hotel and a guest house. Mr. Molla was born in Theth and grew up in the original house. Mrs. Molla grew up in a nearby mountain town. She runs the kitchen and its possible to enjoy all your meals on the premises in their beautifully decorated dining room. We opted to enjoy a dinner and breakfast that she prepared. You definitely should take her up on her offer to prepare you dinner. She prepared a wonderful table for both of our meals. The breakfast spread is quite a treat to wake up to.

For dinner (€15 per person) we were given the choice of a traditional Albanian meal or an Italian meal with pasta. We had been traveling in Albania for a week eating either traditional cuisine or fish so we opted for the Italian option… all the better because in addition to being Albanian, the Mollas spent decades in Florence, Italy. That was the clincher for choosing the Italian option. The Mollas are proud to tell you the furnishings and provisions that they’ve imported from Florence. At the table this includes olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and Italian wine including Chianti Classico and other Sangiovese wines. They offer an affordable house wine by the class, but we indulged and purchased a €30 Chianti Classico (and were thrifty by not opting for the €80 Barolo). The meal came with a wonderful salad, cheese, and homemade bread. We ate our fill not realizing that the meal also included a secondi of a pork chop and grilled vegetables! Another perk of their love for Italy is that Villa Molla serves a great espresso and cappuccino.

At €100 for balcony room, Villa Molla is more expensive then other guest houses you can find in Theth which might cost €25-50 per night; but the design and quality construction of the rooms are worth the extra expense.

Up to this point we have suggested you can get a great benefit from being in Theth without leaving the villa property, and this is true, but the experience only gets better if you’re open to some walking.

We suggest taking the country trail that leads down a road to the adjacent Guest House Molla property (Mr. Molla’s nephew operates this more traditional guesthouse that has been in service longer) and then through farm land where we saw cows, goats, chickens and pigs. Take some funky bridges over the magnificent and glacial blue Theth river and go onward either to the Theth town center are the valley’s base – or – if you are a hiker start the ascent to summit the peak of Mount Valbone. We’ve been told that hike is typically a 3 hour ascent.

I’ve mistakenly included a couple of pictures in this post, but as I said before there is no comparison between the actual experience and ANY photo. Much less to the snapshots from this untrained photographer.

To get to Theth and Villa Molla you will likely come from either Albania’s capital (and airport) Tirana, or you might arrive from Shkoder. Either way it will be a couple hours on the road. You may choose to drive a rental car out to Theth or take one of the many private vans/buses/turgons that make daily runs to and from Theth each morning. We arrived via Shkoder where and a nice Sprinter van was arranged by our darling hostel, the Green Garden Guest House. You will be astounded by the scenery as you drive into the mountains… it gets more wondrous with every turn and the greatest reward is arriving in Theth Valley. I would say pay attention to the diversity of mountain types that are visual as you take in a 360 degree view: take in a dead-ringer for Yosemite’s Half Dome, the snow capped peak of Valbona, and evergreen crowned granite peaks all with just a swivel of your head.

I hope this has convinced you to spend at least one night here at Villa Molla while in Albania. While we intended to hike the peak, the valley captured our hearts and it was quite the struggle to hop on the Sprinter less than 24 hours later. Let us know if you go by tagging us on Instagram @erinandbryan. Ciao for now!

Click to book your stay at Villa Molla now! (This is not an affiliate link, we just are eager to drive people to stay at this property given our experience there.)