Valamar Tirana Hotel

Mario waiter so welcoming and service minded. Lovely experience.

We have spent lots of time travelling to various countries staying in lots of 5* hotels and resorts. But our stay at Tirena far exceeded our expectations and has fast become one of our most memorable holidays for many reasons. Arrival & check in: - we pre arranged a hotel transfer. We were met promptly at the airport by a lovely gentleman who gave us a couple of tips during the journey. We were given an appropriate car seat for our 3yo. Transfer was easy and fairly short. - We arrived after the standard check in hours (around 9.30pm) and had emailed ahead to let the hotel know that would be the case. Upon arrival the lobby had a welcoming feel. - Staff welcomed us happily and promptly. Everything about the resort and surrounding area were explained to us and we were given a couple of maps to help us during our stay. The rooms: - We had a room with a lovely garden view on the second floor. The room was clean and quiet and had all the basics we needed. Limited hanging space but lots of shelves. Worked fine for our 10 nights. No complaints. Beds were comfy and children’s pull out sofa spacious enough for a 3yo Tips - you need to arrange to borrow an iron and ironing board but it will arrive promptly. - ensure you book a room with a balcony. Rooms without a balcony didn’t have such nice outlook and would make the room feel particularly small. - terrace rooms are open so wouldn’t be easy to have your doors open if you have a toddler. Maybe request a balcony if this is you. Food: - Breakfast buffet was adequate. Had all the usuals (cooked breakfast, pastries, meats, cheese, cereals, yoghurt, pancakes, fruit etc). Nothing to write home about but it was more than good enough. - Evening buffet if you are on a full board option is somewhat repetitive but more than fine for what it is. We usually wouldn’t choose a buffet dinner option but this time, for ease with a little one, we did. Quality was fine. - We didn’t have high expectations for buffet food but although not amazing we also did not have any complaints. Other restaurants: - there are a few other restaurants on site that all have similar ish menus. Lots of pasta, pizza, salads, fish etc. Oliva by the pool has nice pizza, as does Copacabana beach restaurant (this one a little higher in price) Pools: - the pools are not heated but if was over 30 degrees while we were there so we were easily able to use them. One main pool and one small children’s pool partially covered with a slide. - two larger water slides right next to the main pool which is fun. You need to be 130cm tall to use but children smaller than that can ride on an adults knee. - indoor pool next door at Lacroma hotel is the outdoor pool is too cold. We had great fun using all of these facilities! Beach: - three choices of beach. Our favourite was Copacabana beach. Views of passing cruise ships and the bridge by the harbour. Inflatable assault course for older children (and adults!) - Val president beach is ok but has rows of sun beds and choppier water Maro world: - the main event! Everything our 3yo has dreamed of. He bought the maro cuddly toy with his holiday money and has taken him to bed ever since (he’s basically our adopted son at this point!) - he loved the soft play, construction toys, lego, interactive boards and trampolining at sunset! - we didn’t leave him in the kids club alone and the only downside was that he was unable to join in with any of the craft activities without us leaving him there alone. He’d have loved to join in but didn’t want to be alone. - evening entertainment is basic but fun! - pool table and football tables for older kids. Also a gaming lounge with various consoles. Lots for all ages - baby area Surrounding area: - walking into lapad is easy (although some steps to get down initially) along the promenade. Beautiful views and stunning sunset in lapad. - plenty of restaurants and a supermarket. You can also walk from here, if you don’t mind walking further, to the Dubrovnik new port. Lots of nice places to eat and drink and watch boats come and go. - 10 minutes from Dubrovnik via public bus. Rune every 10 minutes promptly and costs €2.50pp (3yo was free). Very easy. Drops you off at Pile Gate (entrance to the old town) and picks you up again on the opposite side. Bus number 6. Bus stops right opposite the hotel (up a fairly steep driveway). Excellent to have. In Dubrovnik: - we loved the fort and wandering the little streets. - we loved the cable car although make sure you wait until you’re near the front of the queue to get on so you get a view and don’t get stuck in the middle of the cable car! - we didn’t walk the walls as it was too hot for our 3yo - we really enjoyed our day at Lokrum island. Our little one loved the boat which took Approx 10-15 minutes. So many peacocks on the island and places to relax! Beautiful! Highly recommend. Staff: - so friendly and helpful! Excellent service and always with a smile! I wouldn’t hesitate to go back. We had a fantastic holiday and are so glad we found the resort! It gives you a lovely relaxed euro vibe with access to lots of activities.

The stuff is amazing. We eat every day at Oliva Grill restaurant and we meet Mario. He is amazing. He loves what he does. We see him daily how he enjoys what he does with all the clients. Same, the hotel is like a five star Turkey’s hotel. They have two amazing pools and same access to three private beaches.

Great service, got early check in AND late check out! Clean room, good food, excellent breakfast and nice pool with pool bar! Would recommend!

Me and my friend were very much looking forward to our holiday and wanting a hotel a little more up market decided on Valamar Tirena, the photos looked amazing ! The experience not so amazing ! Our 4 star experience was definitely not 4 star ! I would say more of a 3 star. Firstly the food was very disappointing, ‘mush’ springs to mind ! Tasteless and boring! and seemed to get worse as week went on. No waiter service in the restaurant, which really should have been described as a canteen ! The outside eating area was very dirty . The bar drinks were extremely expensive! All in all we didn’t enjoy our stay there as we were expecting something a lot more special.