The Plaza — Hotel in Tirana Municipality

As I arrived on July 15th I stayed one night, which I thought it was an OKAY 5 star hotel but I was looking forward to stay 4 more nights after I came back from Paris. On July 21st I checked in which the concierge thought I only booked three nights which indeed I reminded her that I paid for 4 nights. Then she checked the system again and saw 4 nights paid, I proceeded to tip her for her help and I gave her $20. the Same night on 7/21, I asked the front desk for an Ironing board not once but 5 times and they kept saying yes yes but they never brought to me, so I found it very strange for a 5 star hotel not to have an iron and ironing board. I then called again which at that time they said I am sorry we do not have one but you need to wait and will have someone pick up your clothes and iron them for 10EURO. At that time I was upset but I had no choice because all my clothes were in the luggage and they were wrinkled so I reluctantly agreed to have a pair of pants and a dress shirt ironed which I was charged 10EURO. The next day on 7/22 I went down stairs on the second floor for breakfast, so I was greeted by the restaurant staff. I proceeded to sit down and the waiter asked me if I wanted coffee or orange juice. I asked for a coffee and orange juice. Then the waiter said he would be right back for the order, however no one showed up for at least 20 minutes meanwhile the restaurant was almost empty and in fact there were only 3 people eating breakfast, which was me and two others which I found it very annoying that no one came to the table to take my order, so I decided to call the waiter and ask him to take my order as he forgot about me, then he approached the table which seemed bothered and asked what did I want. I ordered my eggs and I politely asked him as to why no one came for my order, he then responded with "I am sorry sir we forgot to come", but then I turned to him and said to him that there were only 3 people eating breakfast and how could you forget? there was no answer back but just a bothered face which left annoyed by my comments. ON the early morning hours of 7/23 I came back from a party so I placed the DO NOT DISTURB sign at the door, however roughly around 9:30am just barged in without knocking or calling as they needed to clean the room, I yelled at them to get out but they barely spoke English so I told them in Albanian language to leave. I immediately called the front desk and complained however no one followed up about this incident especially when the do not disturb sign was at the door. On 7/24 around 11am I had a cousin of mine that came to visit me, when he came to the hotel, he was NOT allowed to come to the room upstairs and refused him to even remain on property. He then called me which I came downstairs to see what was going on. Then explained to me that they security stopped him and asked for an Identification Card which he and I both found it very strange as to why?! this is a private property and not a government office to be asked for an ID. I complained to the front desk which they did not care and tried to slap a policy on my face stating guests are not allowed up, which had I known, I would have never ever booked my night with this hotel. I am a world traveler and this have never happened to me as to where guests are not allowed upstairs, I asked for this policy and it stated that Hotel Guest should refrain from brining people over to their room or conducting meetings on property. This was absurd to my eyes and very scary. Having said this I said nothing as It was only my last night there otherwise I would have checked out immediately but decided to stay the last night. So on the morning of 7/25 It was time to check out, I came downstairs and the Concierge his name ERVIN tried to overcharge me by 7300LEK which is equivalent to $65, I asked him what was this and he said that I used Taxi, I used this I used laundry and breakfast. I turned around to him and I said absolutely NOT the breakfast was included in my rate as I paid for it in advance. I will never...

Me and my family checked in @ 10 pm this past Saturday and had choosen this 5-Star hotel to get the proper rest and service after driving for 5 hours to reach it on our last night before we depart from Albania.

We entered the room and found a complimentary bottle of still water that was warm. (The AC in the room was off) So I called reception, asking for another cold bottle of water and the receptionist Mr Albert refused to send me another bottle stating that the hotel policy is to provide 1 complimentary bottle per day. He then said that if I wish to have more water, I can purchase it from the rooms minibar. I checked the minibar and found that a 200 ml bottle of water is being sold for 350 lek when outside it costs only 50 lek. And as we were 4, it would have cost me a total of 1,400 Lek for each of us to barely have a small sip.

So I called Mr Albert again, sharing with him my findings and that I was really tired and my family is thirsty and needs to drink water. He simply repeated what he had stated and closed the phone in my face!!!

By this time, it was already 11pm at night and I had to go down to look for water from the hotel surroundings, despite the majority of shops close at 10pm and I personally was new to the area. By luck, I found 1 stand that was open, and I bought a total of 12 half a litre water bottles (of the same brand that was being sold by the hotel) for 600 Lek!!!!

I reach the hotel completely exhausted and thought to myself to address this with the hotel management the next day.

After breakfast the next morning, I went and spoke with the front desk manager and shared with him my experience. To my utter astonishment, he repeated what his colleague had mentioned to me the night before and did not even offer an apology. He actually went and started to challenge me, saying that no hotel offers more than 1 complimentary bottle of water here in Albania and even in Dubai, where i am from.

Seeing how this was going, I was feeling pretty frustrated and replied with a clear tone of frustration in my voice. The front desk manager then suddenly requested me to calm down and called the Hotel security to come to the front desk!!!! And then he proceeded to threaten me, saying that if dont calm down, he is forced to ask the Hotel security to escort me out of the Hotel!!!!!!

Wow ... what a way to deal with your customers who are paying more than 270 Euros for 1 night and all of this for a bottle of still water ... Not wanting to escalate this further, I requested for my 1 bottle of water that was due for that day and left.

Shame on you "The Plaza Hotel" .. I have never been humilated in my 47 years of existence as I was humiliated and treated badly by this hotel staff. We offer animals free water out of Compassion, but this hotel clearly does not care about customers' feelings. I think their head is filled with arrogance being a top rated hotel that they simply think they are invincible. I have 1 piece of bad news for you, what goes up must come down, so I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavours with other customers...

Funny .. really ... and we were thinking of complaining to them because the room smelled like fungus and was full of dust everywhere. Look at the beautiful broken glass that was smak in the middle of our view. ..

In summary, this last night turned out to be our worst night of our whole 7 nights stay in Albaina despite it being the most expensive of all and us staying on 4 other similar hotels who all gave us complimentary water even without us...

Easily the best hotel in the whole of Tirana, probably the whole of Albania… absolutely world class with an almost flawless experience from start to finish…

The location is fantastic for visiting the city, being just off the main Skanderbeg Square and in the centre of town. Incredible location also if you are coming from or going to the airport, as the shuttle bus drops you off and starts its journey from right opposite the hotel. Literally about a 20 second walk from the front door. As this is the by far the cheapest and probably easiest way of getting to/from the airport it makes this hotel a really attractive option.

Check in can be a little slow but the staff are very nice and friendly. The rooms are absolutely beautiful and tastefully designed with amazing bathrooms. Water pressure could be a little better but is more than acceptable and the facilities in the bathroom and the room in general are great. Large smart TV, plenty of sockets, comfy bed with lots of pillows and if you are on a high floor, a spectacular view over the city!

The breakfast served on the second floor is well worth the price with a good number of options, from many different types of eggs, sausages and bacon etc, as well as loads of various croissants, pastries and breads… fruit, cheeses, cereals and yoghurt selection is amazing and there is also freshly squeezed orange juice. The restaurant itself is also nicely designed with a few comfy booths to sit in. I’m also a fan of how late they serve breakfast, as it’s from 7am-11am, so you don’t have to get up at the crack of dawn to enjoy it!

The absolute highlight of this hotel however is the Oblivion Spa… located on the 5th floor its free for hotel guests, the staff at reception will happily show you around if you haven’t been before. Changing rooms with showers, as well as smaller lockers for your phone that’s closer to the actual spa facilities. Plenty of comfy chairs to sit and relax with hot and cold drinks facilities. There is Finnish Sauna that gets hot enough to make its name proud, a lovely steam room and a slightly less intense Mediterranean room. The jacuzzi bath at the end is also lovely to relax in. Absolutely worth spending a few relaxing hours after a long day of sightseeing inside!

All in all this is the only logical choice of hotel in Tirana, it ticks every box and for what it offers, does it perfectly. Fantastic rooms, amazing breakfast and stunning spa, all with an absolutely unbeatable location! I have been many times and will continue to come back whenever I next need to...