Hotel Tutto, Macedonia - review

Hazy look over Hotel Tutto and the Macedonian valley: Hotel Tutto
Hazy look over Hotel Tutto and the Macedonian valley: Hotel Tutto

This serene hotel is hidden away like a Bond lair within the stirring beauty of Mavrovo National Park, Macedonia, and is the perfect launch pad for hikes in these ancient and untouched foothills. Macedonia has been shunned by tourists in favour of more popular beachside Balkans destinations like Croatia, but the country has its own areas of true natural beauty that demand attention.

Where is it?

Expect untouched valleys and mountains to suit hikers keen on not seeing other walkers for miles, and in winter, off-piste skiing that’ll have you on the edge of the world in only a matter of hours from Luton.

The village of Jance that houses Tutto is one of half a dozen villages dot-to-dotted within the remote National Park. Bar the Ski Centre, Hotel Tutto is the only tourist beacon in the region, so expect to meet a real melting pot of guests here to exploit the opportunity of getting lost in these foothills.

Hotel Tutto, nestled in Mavrovo National Park (Hotel Tutto)
Hotel Tutto, nestled in Mavrovo National Park (Hotel Tutto)

Style

Made to withstand the soaring temperatures, Hotel Tutto is a fuss-free mountain lodge, replete with stone flooring and timber framework. Its big restaurant is in the grand style of yesteryear, but otherwise, all signs point to the floor-to-ceiling windows where the real attraction is: the view.

The mountain lodge is built of rustic stone with timber framework. (Hotel Tutto)
The mountain lodge is built of rustic stone with timber framework. (Hotel Tutto)

A prominent craftsman of the area, hotel owner Tutto Tefik builds today in the simple, traditional and considerate style of his ancestors, using mainly mud and wood. In time, Tefik is planning more eco-friendly touristic development in Jance (he owns half the village).

Facilities

Other than the very good restaurant, and unbeatable views, Hotel Tutto is stripped-back, but big plans to extend it include an outdoor swimming pool, spa and four family-style bungalows.

You’ll stay here to experience true farm-to-fork lifestyle without the tourist twist. There are so few other visitors in the area, the local policeman took the afternoon off to show us around when we visited.

Admittedly, we were early in the season, but Tutto’s handful of rooms allow each and every guest a good deal of attention, even in high season. Expect to make genuine bonds with staff, who you’ll see again and again, at breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Extra curricular

If you’d like to reach peak tourist in this quietly burgeoning adventurer’s playground, ask for directions to the nearby waterfall, with its requisite babbling brook and spots for silent respite, a 40-minute easy trek from Hotel Tutto. Otherwise, wander with the aim of getting lost (we pass an abandoned cemetery that reminds us of a scene from Lara Croft) as you weave down paths cross-stitched onto the fringes of mountains for hundreds of years.

Arrange a lift to the Byzantine Sveti Jovan Bigorski monastery, which is a short car ride away from Jance in a neighbouring village. Wear respectful clothing and take something to read if you like, as there’s a wall to perch on near to the hustle and bustle of the monks, against a stunning mountainous backdrop.

Muslim and Christians co-exist peacefully in Macedonia; get your bearings by using the towering mosques to place yourself in the countryside, as their spires pierce the rounded, forest-green skyline in quiet geometric opposition.

Venture half an hour’s drive from Jance and you’ll find Mavrovo Lake, with its sublime sunken church of Saint Nikolas.

Macedonian foothills (Hotel Tutto)
Macedonian foothills (Hotel Tutto)

Generally, there is a clear sense of the past in these foothills, and the scattering of locals that live here still live in the same way their Ottoman ancestors did. Tefik is passionate about eco-building and told us over shots of Rakija on the hotel’s balcony, overlooking the foothills, that giving back to his community is what bought him back to his hometown, after a lifetime working in Italy.

Food and drink

Tutto’s passion for locally sourced produce plays out as an immersive experience as you enter the hotel. You can buy everything from the land, including local teas, walnuts, porcini mushrooms and crushed and dried pepper; Tutto challenges guests to smell that but smell that but do so your peril, it’s fiercely peppery.

The brilliant restaurant is a proponent of the Slow Food movement (organic, conscious eating), so expect a local crowd of affluent Macedonians to mix with the guests over stirring views and good food. The local speciality is slow-cooked lamb, and a salty goats’ cheese that works divinely with wines from Tikveš winery served from the bar.

The foraged mushrooms, served cold, are muscular and a realistic supplement to meat, though you’ll want to sample the lamb in ‘pies’ made in-house of filo pastry, playfully shaped like cartwheels, as big as an XL pizza (around €20, for the whole family).

Which room?

Double bedroom (Hotel Tutto)
Double bedroom (Hotel Tutto)

Make sure to reserve a mountain-facing room for the best views. The balconies are sunning spots to while away hours on, and room service will gladly bring you an excellent bottle 24 hours a day. There’s ample storage and good – if simple – facilities as well as televisions in every room – not that you’ll need them when the atmosphere in the restaurant picks up for dinner.

Best for

The toe-dipping adventurer, who takes comfort in having attractions (waterfall, monastery, the very good restaurant) nearby while still being thoroughly removed from civilisation. New apartments suitable for the whole family are due to open early in the summer.

When to go?

May and June are the finest months to go, before the overbearing heat takes over. For the easiest route, hire a car, or take a bus from Skopje in under two hours. There’s a bus stop around 1 kilometre from Jance, where you can pick up a taxi

Rooms from €50 per night, with breakfast included; tutto.com.mk