The Sveti Sofia hotel is located in Ohrid's beautiful old town. Lake Ohrid is about a 2 minute walk from the hotel and the beautiful Tsar Samueil Fortress and St. Clement Church are very close as well. The rooms are comfortable and decorated in the old style of the hotel. I would definitely recomomend this hotel for anyone going to Ohrid.

Vila Sveti Sofia is a beautiful boutique hotel based in a traditional style house in the centre of the old town.

Having arrived a bit early we were treated to a complimentary drink on the little outside terrace while they finished getting our room ready. The staff on the front desk were welcoming and helpful, nothing was too much trouble. Our room (twin) was very spacious, although the furniture strangely modern in comparison with some of the more traditional decor in the rest of the hotel, the bathroom was lovely and had a high-tech shower (that took a bit of working out!). There was also complimentary fresh fruit in the room which was a nice touch.

The location couldn't be better, right in the middle of the old town but away from the clutch of popular bars that line the water front, so noise was never a problem. We didn't eat at the hotel in the evening as we'd opted for one of the restaurants round the corner with a big outside terrace, but breakfast was good and served in the morning sunshine under the umbrellas outside the hotel.

Based on the service, decor and quality some serious thought has obviously gone into this hotel, offering visitors to Ohrid something different from the larger holiday resort style hotels further round the lake. An absolute gem.

We just returned from a wonderful stay at Ohrid's Vila Sveti Sofija. We are a family of 4, and it is important to find a place to stay that fits all of us. We booked the deluxe suite for 120 Euros a night, and we were incredibly pleased. The location is perfect. We parked our car right outside the hotel and never had to use it while we were there. The rooms themselves were lovely. We had a bedroom, and also a living room which had two oversized Turkish-style couches that were made up into beds. We also had a wonderful balcony with comfortable chairs that overlooked the old city. The room furnishings were tasteful and comfortable. The breakfast (free!) was superb. We had our choice of eggs, toast, cereal, espresso, juice, tea etc. and enjoyed eating in the pleasant restaurant area. The staff were very helpful, and we loved the daily fruit they provided. The old city is small and old and very interesting, and the lake is just lovely. We really enjoyed seeing the old churches with their frescoes and mosaics, and also exploring the walls of the old castle on the hill. It was a great visit, and the Vila Sv. Sofija is a wonderful place to stay.

UPS: perfect location in old town (forget to park your own car in such small alleys), very beautiful traditional balkan-turkish building, large room with nice toilet, very good reastaurant with traditional macedonian fare at very reasonable price.
DOWNS: absolutely unsuitable for handicapped or elderly due to steep stairs and no lift whatsoever. taste of room decoration is debatable: such nice traditional building would deserve a more elegant carpet-chairs-furniture ensemble, the colors just don't match. beyond this i found just too many unuseful pieces of furniture in my room which limited the space. the shower although modern was already ageing and leaking water, and furthermore too complicated to adjust, with 3 different flows of water (you end up being wet before understanding how it works...). service is the worst part of the hotel, not rude but very often inconsistent, especially at breakfast (served, not buffet: the girl took at least 4 or 5 'trips' to serve us...probably a tray would help!). reception help was very neutral. food smell from downstairs restaurant almost always disturbed our room from either inside and outside.

due to position however, depite some problems, i would recommend this hotel in beautiful part of old ohrid instead of lake-facing buildings in moder part of town.