Review: Skopje Marriott Hotel [North Macedonia]

After visiting Slovenia, I continued down the Balkan/ex-Yugoslavia trip to North Macedonia in Skopje. Skopje oddly fascinated me with the seemingly endless statues built and some of the brutalist architectures. Plus, it’s one of the more convenient base for a day trip to Kosovo which I attempted.

Skopje Marriott- Booking

I booked a 3-night stay in cash for around 480 Euro. This hotel typically offers a discount if you stay 3 nights or more.

Skopje Marriott- Location

Skopje Marriott is situated in the heart of Macedonia Square. It’s the city’s main town square, and not to point the obvious, but there are lots and lots of statues around this area. The most prominent one is the Alexander the Great statue right in front of the Marriott. This is due to the Skopje 2014, a controversial project that aimed to improve the city’s image, and the results are… controversial.

I find them to be very tacky and bizarre, but also intriguing just to see rows of endless statues in real life. The statues continue through the Old Bazaar across the Stone Bridge where you’d even encounter fake galleon ships moored in the Vardar River just as you cross the bridge. One of them turned to a hotel & restaurant, while the other two are abandoned.

Still, the Marriott offers a perfect location for a visit in Skopje.

Skopje Marriott- Check-in

I arrived to the evening flying from Ljubljana one hour later than planned because my taxi driver from the airport made the wrong turn and caused us to get back to the freeway heading towards the airport! On top of that, the car was electric and ended up running out of juice just around 10 minutes before arriving to the hotel and the driver had to call one of his buddies as a replacement driver. So, it was quite an eventful arrival to Macedonia.

Other than that, the check-in itself was smooth and I can see that this would be a nice hotel judging from the lobby.

Skopje Marriott- Executive Suite

I got upgraded to the Executive Suite on the fifth floor. I was surprised since I was apparently staying at the week of EYOF (European Youth Summer Olympic Festival) which takes place in Skopje in 2025, and I noticed the hotel has sold out few days before my arrival in the Marriott app.

Living Room

Right after entering, the Executive Suite is greeted with a spacious living room. Things do feel dated with the wooden finish and noticeable stains on the carpet, but the circle lights help add modern touches.

The light wood door leads to the bathroom that goes through the bedroom area.

There are cabinets by the entry that include a safe, shoe horn, and empty spaces to put things on.

There’s a sofa, chairs, and coffee tables across the long desk and TV. Balcony can be accessed at the door behind the curtains.

The cabinet below the TV includes a minibar. The things there are not free, and there’s a menu by the TV remote to check for prices. Most of the drinks here, you can get for free in the Executive Lounge if you have access.

The pantry includes free water bottles that’s replenished everyday, along with generously-sized ceramic cups.

There’s also an industrial sink next to the pantry behind a folding slatted door which feels very random. Though, the space is bigger here than the one in the main bathroom which can help put your toiletries on.

As I approached the coffee table next to the sofas, the hotel presented me with some chocolate as my elite welcome gift. It was decent.

Bedroom

The bedroom is nicely sized. The bed was nice and firm, and the pillows were really good! They were big and has lots of plush inside. They don’t deflate which I really appreciated.

Bathroom

The bathroom is a straight hallway with partition doors in-between the sink, toilet, and showers.

The double vanity sink leaves little space to put my toiletries on, and I’d prefer if it was just one sink in the middle. Plus, the hot water in one of them didn’t work. They do include dental kit with a decent quality toothbrush, so that’s a plus.

The toilet is situated in between the sinks and showers.

There’s a bathtub and shower combo but I didn’t get to use it during my stay. They surprisingly provided bath salts.

The walk-in shower in the corner of the bathroom is what I just used since it was the more convenient option. The pressure was decent.

The hotel uses thisworks toiletries, which is a Marriott standard. They have a deep citrus scent that I find okay. There’s a space for soap bar if you prefer to use your own things.

Balcony

The Executive Suite is the only suite that comes with an outdoor balcony. The size expands from the living room and bedroom, and you can access it from either places.

The balcony offers a sweeping view of the cityscape with a mountain in the background that hosts the Millenium Cross, one of the biggest cross monuments in the world. It glows at night.

You could enjoy a smoke here as an ashtray is provided on top of a table. But, the room itself is non-smoking. I couldn’t hang around at the balcony for too long unfortunately since there was a heat wave in Skopje that lasted for the week of my stay.

Overall, a cool upgrade on a great suite, and I was glad to get it despite the busy week in Skopje.

Skopje Marriott- Breakfast

Breakfast is served at the Distrikt Bar & Kitchen on lobby floor. You are first met with the bar section where there will be plenty of seats available, but during my stay, there were not many people in this area.

The main dining area around the buffet area is where most people will sit. One complaint I have is that the seating arrangements are very awkward for solo travelers. Most of the small tables are tucked in the corner like pictured below, and I found many people even in party of 2-3 occupy the big sofas in the middle. Thus, I found myself sitting by myself in a table that would serve a party of 6 in one of the mornings.

The burek in here were splendid, and you can even put ajvar on the side to accompany them. Honestly, most of what I ate here were the burke because they were just great. Anything else, I didn’t get to try because I was feeling fatigue from western breakfast.

Service wise, it was not good. In all of my breakfast mornings, my coffee orders either never arrived or I was served the wrong order.

Skopje Marriott- Executive Lounge

The Executive Lounge is on the 5th floor. Only guests with booked Executive Rooms+ or have Platinum Elite and up have access.

It’s a nice lounge with plenty of seatings and sun exposure thanks to the skylight and outdoor seatings.

Light snacks (cookies, bread, popcorn) and drinks (soft and alcohol) are available throughout the day and you’re free to help yourselves to them. Breakfast is not served here, and they will instead be at the Distrikt Bar & Kitchen at lobby floor. Though the evenings will serve hors d’oeuvres and light dinner that I didn’t get to check out since I preferred to eat out.

Skopje Marriott- Pool & Spa

The pool, I think, is the best amenity of this hotel. It’s located on the second floor behind the spa reception. It felt luxurious and exclusive with the low lighting on the ceiling and bright lights inside the pool.

The jacuzzi was one of the biggest there is, and possibly fit 10 people in comfortably. Though it was very nice to have it all to myself!

The lounge chairs are soft and covered with leather which served as a nice place to nap.

There’s also sauna rooms like Finnish sauna and Turkish hammam.

Skopje Marriott- Gym

The gym is located on the 3rd floor and is open 24/7. You simply need your keycard to access. It’s more complete than other hotels I’ve been to. It has a punching bag and free weight machines on top of the typical treadmills, stationary bikes, and weight machines you’d find in hotel gyms.

Conclusion

Skopje Marriott is probably the best hotel option in Macedonia’s capital. The location is at the heart of the city’s main town square and is close to the Old Bazaar. You’ll find many and many statues nearby that made the city oddly fascinating along with some iconic brutalist architecture like the late HQ of Macedonia Post.