VH Premier AS Tirana Hotel

I stayed about a week, paying €100 per night and €350 in taxes in total. The experience was deeply disappointing and, more seriously, unsafe. A broken cleaning tool provided in the room injured my hand, and my son fell on the extremely slippery bathroom tiles and hit his head twice. Cigarette smoke kept coming into the room through the ventilation despite visible “no smoking” signs, and noise was constant because there was no soundproofing. The property is advertised as a 4-star hotel but didn’t meet basic standards. There was also a serious privacy and safety breach. Staff entered my room with a key card without knocking. On one occasion, a male staff member came in twice without permission while I was on the bed breastfeeding my baby. It was extremely distressing and completely unacceptable.

I wouldn’t recommend this hotel. Street noise came through, and the curtains didn’t block the sunlight. They also lost a T-shirt I’d washed, which was expensive and important to me. The one bright spot was the Ugandan housekeeper, who was wonderful in her attitude and behavior.

I couldn't get past the receptionist's attitude; I still remember his face because he was so rude. I'd read plenty of bad reviews already, and while I know the city tax is required, €20 per person per night felt far too much. We didn't even check in, we checked out straight away. When we asked him to call a taxi to our other hotel, he quoted €5 per kilometer.

The room was spacious, and for the low price I thought what you got was a fair deal. I was asked for a €50 deposit and another €50 for tax or something, which didn't bother me much. The bathroom smelled, the towels weren't great, one bed had a dip in it, and I couldn't work out the heating. The minibar charges were explained in advance, as you'd expect. I nearly cancelled after reading the reviews, but keep in mind that a four star place in Albania isn't the same as one in Paris, and the price is a fraction of what you'd pay there. I'd take some of the negative comments with that in mind. A couple of booking details did bother me. Check-in is at Euro Hôtel across the road, which wasn't mentioned when booking. I paid for the larger room with a double and a single bed, but was given only a double. I was travelling alone, but I still expected to get what I booked, or a refund for the room change.