[Apr. 2024] We stayed at the Grand White City Hotel in Berat, Albania.
The name Berat apparently comes from the word meaning “white town”.
I’m sure it was the same in Belgrade, Serbia, too.
The white town here is said to come from the fact that the old king loved white.
Apparently the castle, houses, clothes, horses and carriages were all white, and there was even a white mosque.
So, the hotel is called White City, and it is supposedly a four-star hotel, but it was a terrible hotel.
First of all, it is located on the side of a main road quite far from the old town of Berat.
You can’t even go out and walk around the town.
At first glance, it was big and impressive, and the room was spacious and new, but the shower facilities and bathroom were not designed well, and it was difficult to use.
On top of that, the bedding and towels were old, even though it looked like a new hotel.
The worst was the breakfast.
We could just eat the sausages and eggs, but the worst was the coffee.
There was supposed to be a tank of American coffee, which my husband calls “black water,” but it was empty when we got there.
We told the waiters, but they just had a bunch of untrained guys wandering around.
They finally brought us a little coffee in a jug, but it wasn’t hot, and when we mixed it with cold milk, the “black water” turned into “grey water.”
It was completely undrinkable.
In addition to us, there were other Italian tours staying here that day, so it was clear that they were targeting Italian customers, but this coffee would only damage the hotel’s reputation.
You know how important the coffee is for Italian people.
This hotel clearly showed the negative side of tourism in this rapidly developing country.
Incidentally, the dinner we had at this hotel the night before was also disappointing.
Although our guide and tour leader Giorgio had told us that we would have lamb, we had a vegetarian meal of eggplant and rice with green peppers.
When my husband asked the guide if we were supposed to have lamb, he replied, “We made a mistake,” without apologizing, and was quite rude.
Apparently, the guide was originally an archaeologist, and may be knowledgeable and excellent as a guide, but as a tour conductor, he was not up to it.
Tour conductor and guide are two different jobs, and it’s not easy to do both.
Later, after getting used to him and we got to know him better, and my impression of him improved, though.
By the way, the wine we ordered by the glass at this hotel had a strange taste, and was also undrinkable.
