Mak Albania Hotel

Rooms and decor

Picture a modern 16-storey tower rising over Sheshi Italia — Italy Square — in central Tirana, and you have Mak Albania Hotel, which was once recorded as the tallest building in Albania when it first opened. Inside are roughly 152 rooms and suites, decorated in warm classic tones of beige, gold and dark brown, with a hint of the early-2000s European hotel that has edged toward something more contemporary through ongoing renovation. The renovated rooms feel clean and uncluttered, with soft beds, a pillow menu, good-quality linens, and marble bathrooms with a shower separate from the tub in the suites. Higher floors, especially from the 10th up, look out over the city and Mount Dajti stretching across the skyline as a backdrop — in the morning you see soft light hitting the orange roofs of the old quarter, an image plenty of reviews mention. Many reviewers praise how quiet the interior-facing rooms are, plus rooms that run a fair bit larger than the central-Eastern-European norm. If you like comfort that is complete rather than flashy, and at a price that works, the rooms here should suit you.

Food and amenities

The thing reviewers mention most about Mak Albania is the breakfast buffet, which is genuinely loaded for a 5-star spread — running from local Albanian food like white cheese, byrek (filled pastries), marinated olives and clean-tasting yogurt, through to eggs cooked to order, bacon and sausage, homemade pastries, fresh fruit, pressed juice and serious espresso. Plenty of guests say they start the day on this buffet and stay out sightseeing right through to evening. Up another floor is the indoor pool, with big glass windows that open up a city view on sunny days, and next to it a spa, sauna, steam room and fitness center. Reviews call the spa calm and quiet, with treatments that are not too pricey for a 5-star standard — a good stop to unwind after a full day of walking. What sets this place apart from other hotels in the city is the Tirana Business Park complex that sits right under and beside the building, with a supermarket, restaurants across price points, cafes, gift shops, a cinema and full retail. Come back late wanting something to eat and you just take the lift down without stepping out to the street — a convenience you rarely get from a hotel in Eastern Europe.

Location and getting there

This is the ace that lands Mak Albania among Tirana's most popular hotels — it stands on Sheshi Italia, Italy Square, the starting point of Dëshmorët e Kombit (the Boulevard of National Martyrs), the main avenue that runs straight to Skanderbeg Square at the city's heart. From the lobby it is only about 2 minutes on foot to the Presidential Palace, and across the road is Rinia Park (Youth Park), where locals come to run and stroll in the evening. Most important, you can walk to Skanderbeg Square through the Blloku district — once closed off for the communist-era elite, now full of cafes, restaurants and stylish bars — in about 10 minutes. The National History Museum, the Clock Tower, Et'hem Bey Mosque and the freshly renovated Pyramid of Tirana are all within walking distance. Buses and taxis are easy to catch out front, and from Tirana International Airport (TIA), about 17 kilometres away, it is roughly a 30-minute drive. If you are coming to Tirana to actually walk the city, the location here is about as strategic as it gets.

Things to know before booking

To help you decide, the most important thing many reviews flag is the renovation of the building, which has run in phases. Some rooms are newly renovated and in good shape, while other wings are not yet done — the older rooms show dated furniture, the power outlets may not be enough, and the bathrooms can look older than you would expect from a 5-star. The safest route is to specify a renovated room when you book and call to confirm before you travel. Second is traffic noise: rooms facing the main road on the Sheshi Italia side can catch car noise from daytime into the evening, so light sleepers should ask for an interior room or a higher floor. Curtains in some blocks do not close fully, so anyone sensitive to morning light should pack an eye mask. Third, which comes up now and then, is the lifts and Wi-Fi at busy hours — the morning check-out or evening check-in rush — where you may wait a while for a lift because the 16-storey tower has limited ones, and some reviews report slow Wi-Fi in certain rooms; if you have an online meeting, work from the lobby or a cafe below instead. Last, a small thing: some reviews grumble about high bar and minibar prices compared with shops outside, so lean on the shopping complex below to stock up — it works out much better value.

Our take

Having read through hundreds of real reviews, Mak Albania Hotel sells a central city location with full convenience in a way that is hard to match in Tirana. If you picture an Albania trip where you wake up to a 5-star buffet, walk out of the lobby through Rinia Park to Skanderbeg Square in minutes, come back to shop and eat below the building in the evening, then head up for a soak in the indoor pool before bed, this place fits neatly — at a price you can actually reach for a 5-star in a European capital. The trade-off is accepting that parts of the building are still being renovated; booking a renovated room and choosing a high floor makes the experience as smooth as possible. Overall we give it 8.5/10 — best for business travelers, couples visiting the capital, and travelers who value location and value for money over a room that is brand-new and spotless.