Hotel Villa Tafaj

The joy of this hotel is on its history. Yes rooms are small but you haven't come to Tirana to stay in your room! The other great thing about the hotel is it's staff; so helpful and friendly - not a given in Albania. We stayed as part of a group tour do I can't comment on value for money. Our room was a twin, first floor at front of hotel. Large balcony but too hot to use when we there. There was a fridge and compact shower room, plenty of hot water. Noisey at night with traffic until about midnight. The location of the hotel is spot on. Close to the city centre, most sites in easy walking distance, as are loads of restaurants. Three mini marts close to hotel. Come out of front door and turn left for a great pub and a little further on a cafe for coffee, cake and sandwiches. Breakfast in the hotel is plentiful and standard Albanian. Eggs, bread, cheese, fruit - buffet so eat as much as you want! We also hot washing done. Handed in the afternoon we arrived, got it back that night. 5 euros for one bag. If you want something different to the homogeneous multi nationals then this is for you.

This is a affordable hotel, but it's still not worth it. Reviews and descriptions tells that it's a historical house that are family run. The impression we are left with is that it is a hotel that reflects more of an outdated cabin that hasn't been renovated since the 70s. We booked a suite, but it as far away from what a would dear to call a suite. Hotelrules says that you can't flush the toiletpaper. The cleaning is bare minimum. Also the atmosphere is quite noticeable where the staff are tiptoeing around the owners. The rooms has clearly written regulations both on the bathroom's and sleepingrooms, but written in a way that leaves us the impression of a hotel that has a lack of generosity from the owners.  The people working at the reception and at the breakfast are so polite, helpful and nice. The breakfast is okay, and the location is quite central. In summary, the hotel is affordable and centrally located. But if you booke a room here you shouldn't have high expectations of the facilities. It would need large upgrades to stay competative in a booming touristindustry.

Some features of the hotel's location were good: quiet neighborhood, close to Skanderbeg Square and close to mini-markets for bottled water and snacks. However, other than the hotel's restaurant, there was nowhere close by to eat. (The hotel's food was adequate but unimaginative.) The "geography"/architecture of the hotel was very strange: lots of separate buildings haphazardly joined together with little passageways and interminable steps! My room was very small, up in the attic with a sloping walls and not a proper window' that overlooked other sections of roof. The curtain was gauze that couldn't close (sloping wall). Pros: clean, quiet, AC worked well, shower was hot and powerful Cons: difficult to locate central light switch, no switch for bedside light (I had to carry the desk light to my bedside). And breakfast was not good: only white bread, eggs premade so solid and oily, no fruit, no self-service coffee/tea so you had to go to another counter to order it so it took quite some time. Staff friendly and helpful.

This is a really good value option in a capital city that is building lots of high-end hotels. My room was a single room but not too small with a private bathroom. The decor was a little tired at that price, I found it more than acceptable. The staff were incredibly friendly with excellent English and couldn't be more helpful with advice and eg. booking a taxi. The location is excellent, less than 10 minutes to Skanderbeg Square and everything that has to offer. Breakfast was not what I'm used to - but it gave me something to eat to start the day. For the price, this hotel is MORE than you'd expect to get. I did struggle to find it from the address (and Google maps!) - check carefully so you don't walk too far.