The Sky 2 Hotel is in the Center of Tirana, Albania’s Capital City

Sky 2 Hotel, Rruga Reshit Collaku 38, Tirana, Albania. is a four-star property in the heart of Tirana, the capital city of Albania. The hotel is located about 450 meters south of Skanderbeg Square and a few blocks north of Enver Hoxha’s former residence.

Skanderbeg Square, named for a 15th century Albanian hero, is bordered by the Palace of Culture, the National Opera, the National Library, the National Bank, the Ethem Bey Mosque, the Clock Tower, the City Hall, the Ministry of Infrastructure, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Energy, and the National Historical Museum.

Inside the entrance to the Sky 2 Hotel you will find the reception desk and the bar (really, more of a lounge where one can sit and enjoy a coffee or simply read the newspapers). The bar becomes the breakfast room in the morning. The accent colors in public spaces are an unexpected butter yellow and candy apple red, such as on the couches in the elevator lobbies (above).

Guestrooms at Sky 2 Hotel

There are 43 rooms at Sky 2, each located on the second and third floors of the building (and, of course, there is a lift). Mine was described as a king single. It had air conditioning, a telephone, flat-screen television, a desk, a safe, and a minibar.

There was a tea kettle, but no coffee or tea. I suppose I could have provided my own, but I was there for only one night — and there was ample coffee and tea at the included breakfast buffet. I noticed in reading reviews that some guests didn’t like the offerings on the buffet, but I guess I’m easy to please. In a hotel this small one can’t expect the lavish spread of a convention facility with hundreds of rooms!

The décor of the guestrooms is bright and cheery: light-colored walls, blonde wood furniture, and splashes of gold (for example on that swath of cloth near the foot of the bed that’s a common 21st century replacement for 20th century bedspreads.

The bathroom — light-colored polished stone walls — had a glass-walled shower, hair dryer, weight scale (metric, of course), and that most European of amenities: a bidet.

Below the hotel is a secure garage for hotel guests. Parking is included in the price of the room.

Sky 2 Hotel also has a modern conference room and all necessary equipment with the capacity for up to 35 people.

Legacy of Enver Hoxha

It’s impossible to write about Albania without mentioning Enver Hoxha, who formed the People’s Socialist Republic of Albania after World War II. His version of government was distilled into Hoxhaism: a strict defense of the legacy of Joseph Stalin and fierce criticism of virtually all other communist groupings as revisionist. After the demise of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the Revolutions of 1991 concluded the fall of communism in Albania and eventually the establishment of the current Republic of Albania.

A country virtually unknown in the West due to its pronounced isolationism now is embracing its “new” European identity. Of course most residents speak Albanian, but a significant minority — including those in the tourist sector — speak English (including the staff at the Sky2 Hotel)

If you go to Tirana

Rooms at the Sky 2 Hotel start about $65, including breakfast and parking. You can make a reservation through the hotel’s website or through a booking site like agoda.com or Expedia.

Looking for a trendier place to stay in Tirana? Check out the Privilege Hotel and Spa.

(Review and photos by Susan McKee)