I recently had a three-night stay in a King Room with Balcony at this property which opened about a year ago. No Diamond recognition whatsoever but mostly young staff are very pleasant and speak good English.


Hilton Garden Inn Tirana


Hotel lobby / reception

My flight from Vienna arrived shortly before midnight. Passport control was quick and I found two ATM machines in the baggage hall. I went to the AHA taxi kiosk just outside the exit which had been recommended by the airport’s website and a man pointed at one of the yellow taxis. I had completed an online reservation request but had not received any confirmation and it didn’t seem to matter. A fixed price from the airport to the city is 2,500 Lek (a little over 20€ though the driver asked for 21€ when I asked about paying in Euro) and 1,500 Lek from the city to the airport.

I was assigned Room 704 with a small balcony. Everything was sparkling clean though water pressure for the shower could have been better. No dressing gown but slippers were provided.


King room with balcony


King room with balcony


Bathroom


View from the balcony


View from the balcony at night


Floor plan

Breakfast was about the usual HGI standard in Europe with cooked-to-order omelette, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, tomatoes, mushrooms, fresh fruit, etc. In mid-September it was quite pleasant to sit outside if you didn’t mind occasional smokers.


Dining room


Dining room

The hotel is about 1.5 miles from the centre of Tirana facing Lana River which at the time of year was no more than a small stream. To go to the centre you could just follow the river choosing whichever side with more shade or walk along Rruga Myslym Shyri one block away and parallel to the river. This is a pleasant tree-lined street with many restaurants and shops. There are buses to and from the city centre (the street in front of the hotel is oneway so in order to go into the city you have to walk a few hundred metres and cross a bridge) but I never used them.


Rruga Myslym Shyri

As in other HGIs there is a small snack shop in the lobby. The restaurant is only open for breakfast but there is a reasonably priced room service menu. 100ALL (Albanian Lek) is about US $0.90.





Room service menu

There is a guest laundry which only has washing machines and no dryers. The use of the machines is free but they looked much older than the hotel and I did not use them. I was pleasantly impressed by the selection of TV channels.



All in all the hotel is an excellent value. A prepaid stay with breakfast for 3 nights or more starts at under 54€ per night including tax. Tirana is interesting but more historic and scenic places including four UNESCO World Heritage Sites are outside the capital. I hope to return and will certainly spend a few nights at this property.