A country with a history that has always reserved dramatic changes shows the signs of it in every step. Ancient remains from the past civilizations, old castles and fortresses, still preserved traditions and customs, mentality and more are the documentation of what Albania has gone through.

A 50-year communist regime is the most recent and remarkable scratch to the history of this nation. Together with the change of mentality and lifestyle this regime brought with it a lot of structural changes. The typical communist style buildings took place all around a country destroyed by the war, as a continuation to the work done prior to WW II during King Zog I lead. 4 to 6 floor buildings appeared everywhere as a housing plan for the population. But on the other hand great snobbish structures were being built in the other communist east-European countries. This probably effected the Albanian leaders who started their pompous structures from the central square. The Palace of Culture was started in the 60es and Nikita Khrushchev (Soviet Union’s First Secretary) was the one to put symbolically the first brick. Marble façade and high columns signed the architecture. As part of this new view of the capital’s central square a high rise hotel building and the National Museum were still to come.

In 1973 the Tirana Hotel started. For the first time a building of 15 floors was planned in Albania. This was a big challenge for Albanian engineers supported by Chinese experts (ties with China at the period were strong after breaking up with the ‘revisionists’ of the Soviet Union). As a result the building was made of prefabricated reinforced concrete panels for maximum security. Again the façade was made of marble. Underground tunnels were not forgotten as in all other important buildings for safe escape ways in case of emergency. This was of course meant for important members of the government or the Politic Bureau.

The building finished in 1979. The long time it took to build shows the importance given and the accuracy applied to realize it. It was a matter of pride, a matter of power and show off rather than a necessary structure which would serve as accommodation place for tourists or travelers. In any case international travelers and tourists were very few in number and still very strictly surveyed. As you can see in the photos, the building served also as the perfect place for putting propagandistic slogans on top of it as the highest point in town. Of course, as everything else at that time, the hotel was owned and managed by the government.

The situation remained unchanged until 1991 when the regime was seriously shaken and brought down. The hotel was very visible and very unique not to be considered by foreign investors immediately. The Italian chain Turin Hotels through a cooperation agreement with the Albanian Government took over the management of the hotel after a thorough investment which changed not only the way it was operated but also the outside look by introducing the glass strips on the façade and many other features like the very modern and sophisticated emergency infrastructure. The hotel became again a structure Albanians were proud of.

But the partnership with the government apparently didn’t work that well. In a situation where new hotels were built in Tirana, the role Tirana (now) International was playing started to become weaker and weaker. At the end, after all the unsuccessful experiences, in 2004 Tirana International Hotel changed ownership and was fully privatized. It is now the only hotel of this size in Albania to be owned only by Albanians. A group of Albanian businessmen put together as Albanian Consortium sha, decided to bring this symbol-hotel to a new era towards assured success, thanks to a new perception of hotel management they brought in.

Tirana International Hotel today offers not only the modern look, comfort and service but also the fashion of the history it has made and gone through.