All programs / Albania
Elysio
FAFA Premium Hotel & Spa
Albania
The operator’s website still shows last season. The details here are from 2026 and may change.
A French-language program that takes over a five-star seafront hotel in Albania, closed to outside guests for the holiday. Kashrut is under Rav Eliezer Wolff of Amsterdam, kosher for Pesach lamehadrin without kitniyot; separate Sephardi and Ashkenazi minyanim each have their own synagogue. The indoor pool has separate hours for men and women, while modest swimwear is required at the outdoor pool.
- Dates
- Mar 31 - Apr 12, 2026
- Price
- Price on request
- Operator’s track record
- Operator states 15 years of experience.Site says organizer Baroukh Lellouche has 'more than 15 years of experience' organizing stays.
- Whole hotel
- The program takes over the whole hotel
- Hotel
- 5-star hotel
- Setting
- Beach, Resort
- Languages
- French
- Contact
- contact@elysio.org+33 9 72 22 48 10
Kashrut and standards
Taken from the operator’s own website. A dashed outline means the operator hasn’t said, not that the answer is no.
- Supervision
- Rav Eliezer Wolff (Av Beit Din of Amsterdam); catering by Dalesy
- Who it suits
- Families; French-speaking; Sephardic and Ashkenazi minyanim
- Minyanim
- Nusach Sefard, Ashkenaz
- Swimming
- Both mixed and separate swimming hours
Who is the supervisor?
The names below come from the operator. Each links to a page of what public sources say, with the sources.
- Rabbi Eliezer Wolff
Rav and Av Beth Din of Amsterdam (Jewish Community of Amsterdam, NIHS), responsible among other things for kashrut
Worth asking the operator
- Who signs the kashrut certificate for this program, and can I see this year’s certificate?
- How many years has he supervised this operator’s Pesach programs, and this hotel in particular?
- Does an agency or beth din stand behind the certificate, or is it his personal hechsher?
- Is he in the hotel for the whole of Yom Tov, and how many mashgichim work under him?
Ask before you book
The operator’s website doesn’t state these. If any matter to you, get the answer in writing:
- Cholov Yisroel
- Glatt
- Pas Yisroel
Standards can change from year to year. Confirm with the operator and your own rav.
The hotel
About the building itself, all year round. The Pesach program is run by the operator, not the hotel.
- Address
- Bulevardi i Pishave, Golem, 2504, Albania
Hotel details from © OpenStreetMap contributors, checked 2026-10-03. Confirm with the hotel before you rely on them.
Ratings and reviews of the hotel
These are year-round guests rating the hotel, not Pesach guests rating the program. For the program, see the guest reviews further down.
Food
Catered by Dalesy; buffets on weekdays and plated meals on Yom Tov; seder held at each family's own table with shmura matzah on the seder plate.
Chef or caterer: Dalesy
Entertainment and activities
In the operator’s words: kids club 10am-5pm, separate Sephardic and Ashkenazi minyanim, buffets on weekdays, plated service on Yom Tov, indoor and outdoor pools, spa, evening shows and singers.
Kids and teens
Kids club 10am-5pm with qualified staff.
Price
Rates on request
Check what’s added on top: many programs add taxes, service charges and tips of 20 to 25 percent. Work out your real total.
Getting there
We found no nonstop flight from New York (JFK) in late April, so plan on one connection. A nonstop would take about 9.5 hours; with a connection allow several hours more.
Tirana has year-round flights from London (Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Luton) and from Tel Aviv; Paris flights (Charles de Gaulle and Orly) are listed as seasonal. A seasonal Toronto flight is also listed, but it is a summer route and is not counted here.
Most North American travelers fly to a European hub such as London, Vienna, Frankfurt, Rome or Istanbul and take a short connecting flight to Tirana.
Routes come from each airport’s published route list, checked October 2026. Flight times are estimates from the distance. Airlines change schedules, so confirm before you book (route list we used).
From the airport
- Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza (TIA): about 45 minutes by carAlbania's main international airport, about 45 km from the Golem beach strip.
Late April weather
Daytime highs are around 68°F (20°C) and nights around 50°F (10°C); the Adriatic is still chilly for swimming at about 61°F (16°C).
Good to know
- Albania is 6 hours ahead of New York.
- The currency is the Albanian lek, though euros are widely accepted at hotels; carry some cash for small shops.
- A rental car or a driver is the easiest way to do day trips, since the resorts are outside town.
- US passport holders can generally visit without a visa; check entry rules for your passport.
The hotel on Google Maps
Google’s star rating and reviews are for FAFA Premium Hotel & Spa all year round, not for the Pesach program.
This content is hosted by Google Maps, which may set cookies.
Safety and travel advisories
What governments say about travel to this country. Nothing here is this site’s own judgment.
US State Department travel advisory for Albania
Level 2 of 4: Exercise increased caution
- The level is for the whole country, not for the hotel or its neighborhood. Level 1 is the lowest of the four and Level 4 the highest.
- Advisory dated August 25, 2026; I read it on October 4, 2026. Levels change, so open the advisory before you book and again before you fly.
This is the governments’ own wording, not a rating by this site. Israel’s National Security Council also publishes travel warnings for Israelis abroad. Ask the operator what security the program itself arranges, such as guards and entry checks.
Things to do near Golem (Durrës coast)
Ideas for chol hamoed. Check opening times before you go; some places close or get very busy during the holiday.
Durrës Amphitheatre
History, about 20 min awayA large Roman amphitheater from the 2nd century sitting right in the middle of the port city of Durrës.
Good for kids, teens, couples, grandparents
Durrës seafront and Venetian Tower
City, about 20 min awayA long waterfront promenade with cafes, the old city walls and a round Venetian tower you can climb.
Good for kids, teens, couples, grandparents
Skanderbeg Square and central Tirana
City, about 55 min awayThe capital's main square, with the National History Museum, the Et'hem Bey Mosque and colorful streets to walk around.
Good for teens, couples, grandparents
Bunk'Art, Tirana
History, about 65 min awayA huge Cold War bunker turned into a museum about Albania's communist years.
Good for teens, couples
Dajti Ekspres cable car
Nature, about 70 min awayA 15-minute cable car ride from the edge of Tirana up Mount Dajti, with wide views and easy walking at the top.
Good for kids, teens, couples, grandparents
Krujë Castle and old bazaar
History, about 60 min awayA hilltop castle town with the Skanderbeg Museum and a cobbled bazaar full of crafts.
Good for kids, teens, couples, grandparents
Berat old town
History, about 90 min awayA UNESCO-listed Ottoman town known as the city of a thousand windows, with a lived-in castle on the hill.
Good for teens, couples, grandparents
Solomon Museum, Berat
Jewish heritage, about 90 min awayA small museum telling the story of Albania's Jews and of the Albanians who sheltered Jewish refugees during the Holocaust.
Good for teens, couples, grandparents
Guest reviews
No guest reviews yet. Ratings on this site only ever come from guests, so this program has no score until someone who went writes one.
Were you there? Tell other families how it went
The email opens with a short set of questions. We read every review before it appears, to keep out spam and reviews written by operators, and we only show the name you choose.
Where this information comes from
Checked on October 4, 2026. These are the pages we read:
Run this program, or spotted a mistake? Send a correction.
