Beach club · Drymades · €€€
Empire Beach, Drymades
The polished end of Dhërmi's beach-club spectrum
Polished resort beachfront
The polished end of Dhërmi's beach-club spectrum
If Havana is Drymades in bohemian mode, the beachfront club of Empire Beach Resort is the same extraordinary beach with the comfort dial turned up. This is the address for travellers who want the Riviera's finest west-facing water with resort-grade service around it: proper daybeds and umbrellas on the white pebbles, a pool a few steps behind the beach, waiters who bring lunch and spritzes to your lounger, and rooms upstairs if you decide one afternoon is not enough. It marks how quickly Dhërmi has matured — five years ago this level of polish barely existed on the Albanian coast.
Drymades' pebbles are beautiful but demanding, and its summer crowds increasingly dense; paying for a serviced front-row bed here converts a good beach day into an effortless one. The club's restaurant covers Mediterranean and Albanian coastal cooking competently, the cocktail list is serious, and facilities — showers, proper loungers, shade — are the most complete on this stretch of beach.
Timing advice holds for all of Drymades: June and September deliver the same water and sunsets with half the people. In August, reserve loungers a day or more ahead and arrive before noon.
A smart Drymades day uses both ends of the spectrum: morning and lunch in comfort at Empire, then drift along the beach for golden hour where the sunset bars and DJ terraces take over. Everything on Drymades is walkable along the shore, and the old stone village of Dhërmi, ten minutes up the hill, is the evening's third act — its lanes and rooftop restaurants have become a destination in their own right.
Stay minutes from this address — shortlist on request through our concierge.
Villas, yachts, tables and crossings between Albania and Corfu — one point of contact, same-day reply.
Enquire with our concierge