HIDDEN GUEST: Rogner Hotel Tirana

Robert Rogner was one of the first foreign investors in Albania to start building a hotel in 1992, which since remained the concept of luxury and top hotel management in the Albanian capital. The Austrian construction entrepreneur believed in the destination and now has the status of Honorary Consul of Albania in Carinthia. The hotel stands on an exceptional location along the main city’s Döshmorët e Kombit Boulevard, and close to foreign embassies and the Presidency of Albania. Its specialty is the paradise Mediterranean garden in the middle of the hotel building, which creates the feeling you are in a green oasis or in a Mediterranean resort hotel. If we combine the extraordinary location with the special atmosphere and hospitality of the hotel staff, the result is a top-level hotel story in the middle of the city.

Public transport in Tirana is not well organized and car or taxi transportation is often the only possibility; the result is a city flooded with cars. Traffic lights and signs are positioned more for appearance than real use, and pedestrians and cyclists must figure out their own path. After the initial stress, you somehow get used to it. Therefore, the relief is even greater when you drive into the Rogner Hotel’s car park and relax.
Although the general impression is one of chaos – roads, people, transport, new buildings, more and more fully-fledged landscapes, a multitude of service stations –, it is a fact that in Albania in one way or another everything still functions as it should.

The architecture of the hotel is a classical and monolithic structure beautifully rounded up by a fairytale garden. It also appears as a kind of oasis from the side of the boulevard, as the lush vegetation is an integral part of the hotel’s appearance. The hotel has been thoroughly renovated in 2017 and the rooms still have that smell of being ‘new’. Quality materials were used, and because of this the hotel will continue to be competitive for quite some time. The renovation was much more than just an aesthetic facade change. Well-chosen colours and fine details also contribute to the well-being. But what makes the whole particularly attractive is the entire horticultural arrangement, which is further improved and upgraded every year. The whole appears balanced, convincing and inspiring.

The hotel pays the most attention to service and kindness, or rather to the Austrian style of hotel management. In this hotel everything is according to the expectations for such a class. The hotel’s culinary side also belongs to the top of what is on offer in Tirana. Because of this it seems that the staff is especially careful and also carefully selected. The hotel’s culinary offer with well-prepared food, which is also grafted onto Austrian culinary arts, is quite extensive. A good choice is the ‘chef’s selection’ offer, which is diverse and rich both at breakfast and dinner time. Modern, creatively prepared dishes and partially locally grown food is served.

The rooms are dominated by wood and warm pastel colours. In combination with parquet, the feeling is very pleasant and homey especially in the rooms that overlook the fairytale garden. Intimate lighting and the overall feeling is reminiscent of the best Austrian hotels.
The congress center comprises of 9 multifunctional congress halls, including a new hall of Antigonea, which can welcome up to 400 participants. The halls were renovated with a sense for detail and the congress center is equipped with the finest equipment which is making it one of the best in the city. Most of the meeting organizers however agree that catering with Austrian culinary delicacies particularly stands out in quality, which is especially appreciated among the participants.

The combination of the Garden of Eden and the new congress center of Antigone is ideal for organizing banquets and weddings. The hotel is well prepared and qualified for such events and is regarded as the top location for weddings and banquets in Tirana.

The hotel reception is slightly dark, cramped and does not fit in with the whole story of the hotel, although everything there works smoothly and with typical friendliness.

An entirely new congressional section with the Antigone Hall is an important enrichment of the offer. The hall can be partitioned into two smaller halls, and the maximum number of participants is 400 in a cinema setting.

Rogner Hotel has been long known as an excellent hotel. Not only because of the fact that it generates a feeling of well-being among its guests or the superb service provided by the staff, but also because of its design with exceptional garden, which is rarely seen in city hotels in Europe. Sleeping is, as we are used to, excellent; the novelty is that the congress guests are also well looked after. The new center is well designed, functional, and it belongs to the top of the city’s offer.

The renovated hotel brings so much freshness and novelty that it will, despite increasing competition on the market, certainly stay at the top of Tirana’s congress and hotel offer.