HIDDEN GUEST: The Plaza Tirana

The project was built by two important Albanian companies TID Tirana and Agna Group, with which they created an exceptional hotel story in the heart of Tirana. The city centre has recently undergone a profound transformation that caught the eye of international architectural critics. The hotel is the tallest building in the city, as well as the new architectural icon and symbol of the multi-faceted renovation of the city centre near Skanderberg Square. That is why I recommend visiting the 24th floor and guarantee that the views over Tirana will not leave you disappointed. The location is ideal for exploring the city as well as for event organisation.

Most of the foreign congress guests come to Albania via the modern and nicely arranged Mother Theresa international airport. You can reach the city centre by taxi or by bus within a good 20 minutes. Although the roads in Tirana are not the best maintained, the traffic always gets somehow organised on its own. As an alternative, the hotel offers its own transfer service from the airport, which we highly recommend. If you come to the hotel by car, there is a private garage, what is a quite rare occurrence in the city. The hotel also offers the possibility of renting wooden bikes, which in warmer months presents the best option for moving quickly around the city.

Author’s architecture is in nowadays rare. Investors in the new hotel took this fact seriously and created an extraordinary story, created by the architect Johan Anrys of the 51N4E bureau. The quality of the architecture is confirmed by the fact that the project was ranked at The Venice Architecture Biennale 2016, and even received the award of the MoMA Museum. Although all the details that have contributed to such prestige cannot all be listed here, there are many details quickly visible in the interior that contribute to the aesthetic surplus that you rarely meet in hotels. First, you will notice a broken-down façade, which is defined by concrete panels. Their distribution creates dynamics and presents a recognisable sign of the building as well as the centre of Tirana.

The hotel is a true paradise for lovers of Mediterranean – Italian cuisine. The menu was compiled by top Italian chef Marco Pinelli and the three hotel restaurants were quickly ranked among the best in the city. The most popular is the Panevino restaurant, which offers pasta and a selection of special daily dishes every day. The Gourmet Restaurant Convivium, open for dinner, is considered to be one of the one of the best fine-dining restaurants in Tirana; certainly the comprehensive wine list contributes to this fact as well. The easiest way for you to experience the top cuisine is at their exceptional breakfast, which is regarded as one of the best in the city. This is not only because of the choice of dishes, but also because of the quality of service and the cuisine. All the above-mentioned is rounded off by professional staff, who are always at your service and take care of guests’ problems with a smile.

The premium hotel differs from the average in the detail. It seems that the Plaza Hotel’s every detail is thought through. For example, you can find intelligent lighting, a great reading light, smartly designed work desk, designer furniture pieces and elegant borders on the wall made from selected Italian ceramic tiles. The darker wall behind the bed is nicely complemented with real wood panelling, which gives the rooms warmth and a sense of nature. Simmons’s premium bedding also contributes to well-being and is found only in hotels of the highest category. We have no comments about the bathroom.

The Congress Centre offers 8 halls, while its main hall Queen Geraldine can accommodate up to 350 participants with the possibility of remodelling into two smaller halls. As expected, it is equipped with the very best, and the staff is ready for the most demanding productions.

The Spa Oblivion, where you will relax during the time of the busy meetings sections, is considered the best spa in Albania. It is equipped with the prestigious Starpool spa brand, and in addition, for cosmetic and spa treatments they use Elemis luxury skincare products.

In this hotel, it is hard to dislike anything. If we were to splits hairs a little, we would only comment on the slightly dark corridors and lack of signage, but that is just a minor issue.

The Congress Halls and the Queen Geraldine Hall in particular, due to its functionality, height of the ceiling and technical equipment, have quickly become a hot spot for congress tourism in the city, where the most important events and conferences take place.

A good hotel is always a combination of superb architecture and services, software and hardware. The investors and managers have undoubtedly succeeded, and Tirana is the richer for a purebred five-star hotel.

I am sure that most foreign guests are pleasantly surprised by architecture and service, but this is a new, young, fresh face of the city, which will attract new event organisers in Tirana in the future. Thanks to such investments, the congressional future of Tirana is very bright.

It is true that most hotel guests are rational and swear on the relationship between price and quality, what undoubtedly speaks in favour of Plaza Hotel. On the other hand, there are also hotels that are created to excite the heart and soul, and this is also a category to which this new hotel in Tirana belongs.