• traveled 3 years ago
Rested at the Aria Karpen Resort & SPA (Building 1.5 *, Durres, Albania (August 2021)). To understand the peculiarities of such recreation, it is necessary to present the culture of Albanians. Dirty roadsides, garbage under the leather fence, the construction of small hotels are not fenced off. The beaches are municipal, clean, sunbeds are comfortable with brand new mattresses, reed umbrellas, but near the beach parking for local vacationers, just a dirt area with chaotic bushes.
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Rested at the Aria Karpen Resort & SPA (Building 1.5 *, Durres, Albania (August 2021)).
To understand the peculiarities of such recreation, it is necessary to present the culture of Albanians. Dirty roadsides, garbage under the leather fence, the construction of small hotels are not fenced off. The beaches are municipal, clean, sunbeds are comfortable with brand new mattresses, reed umbrellas, but near the beach parking for local vacationers, just a dirt area with chaotic bushes. There are no locker rooms or showers on the beach. All this gives the impression of mismanagement. Local traders in corn, seeds, fruit and ice cream can go to the beach, teenagers can play football and hit the beach with a ball, and no one will comment on that. And from this rural landscape, against the background of abandoned and dusty areas where a couple of cows can graze, there is a brand new modern hotel in a tiny area.
If the hotel had a larger area, we simply would not have seen the chaos.
The hotel has almost everything stated. The pool is comfortable, the depth of a man, there are always free sunbeds in the shade and in the sun, shower by the pool, it is 50 m from the sea. The rooms are great. Cleaning daily. Towels were replaced only if they were dropped on the floor. There are no towels on the beach, you have to take your own. Terraces and balconies all overlook the sea and the hill on which the neighboring hotel stands. Cute landscape on Durres. Young palm trees are planted on the coastal area and along the hotel. The gym has 5 simulators (2 running, 2 bicycles, 1 step) - everything works, 3 machines for power management, barbell, karemati, 1 pair of dumbbells of 3 kg, large balls for stretching, there is also table football. Modestly, but enough.
They feed well and in a variety of ways. Everything is natural and has a taste.
Breakfast is always European standard: 2-3 fresh salads, soup, eggs (omelets, fried, boiled), sausages (fried and boiled), a couple of cheeses, a couple of sausages, baked vegetables, zucchini, eggplant, peppers, carrots, boiled ) or roasted cauliflower and broccoli - all wonderful and almost all of it at the same time), croissants, muesli, milk, juices. No porridge. Coffee with machine. Brewed coffee - for the money at the bar. Lunches and dinners are richer, a couple of soups, 2-3 types of meat and chicken, grilled fish or sauce, risotto and pasta daily with different sauces, french fries, grilled vegetables, etc. Great variety of pastries and desserts, watermelons and melons. The waiters are wonderful, the night receptionist is great, the cleaners and masseurs are great. Lounge bar on the roof is paid. Free alcohol included in the All-inc. - white and red dry wine (pleasant), beer, cognac and brandy, they stand on a separate table. Loud music on the roof is said to disturb those who have settled on the 5th floor.
It didn't reach us on the third.
Wi-Fi will catch even on the beach.
The biggest pain of this hotel is the management of the Aler Group (those who lead the Russian-speaking contingent of tourists. By the way, no one spoke Ukrainian to me, although it is stated that Ukrainian is served. ) Girls without experience and obviously without systematic guidance raise this car, and often with punctures. For example: 1) When we were taken from Tirana (and the flight was delayed, we arrived at 2 am), the escort went to the last hotel in Durres and warned that the driver will take us to the hotel (because it is on the outskirts and no one will bring it back) . It would be good if she also said that he was going to transfer us from the bus to the car (this is a common practice, I understand why drive the whole bus for 3 tourists).
The driver is not very friendly with English, and we are not an academic level, so we did not understand when he dropped us off and said that we should continue to take a taxi. Instead of the word car, he used a "taxi", and we had a very unpleasant 5 minutes to clarify the relationship to understand that he meant his own car and he will take us (night, dark, goddamn in which field we were, no lantern ). Finally, he turned on the wonderful modern Ukrainian music so that we would not worry about this situation. But this is not his, but a managerial system error, as we found out later, communicating with other tourists. 2) Manager Alice is clearly out of place. She held an information meeting in the morning near the cluttered state, not realizing that her goal was to sell tours, not to come and say: “Well, who will go where? ", And then answer all the questions: " Wait for a message on Viber. "
We had to go on one of the excursions at 5 o'clock in the morning, and the day before at 9 o'clock she had not yet given us information that could be given orally: "Are you already going to bed? In short, no tact, no understanding of why she is there. The message on Viber never came. I had to go down at 4 am and ask the receptionist. Alban's manager (I may be wrong with her name, a girl with a native Russian, a local) respected that we had to pay the bill, insisting that it was ours. We did not order anything in the room, and the invoice did not say our number, but for some reason it did not bother her, she decided that I handed over the number, while it was my husband. The check was clearly not new and obscure. In short, 40 hotel rooms is an unacceptable management system. Of course, they try, but the experience there is minimal.
The best impressions of the Aler Group system - Gides Irina, a guide with exceptional information about the culture, history, political and social structure of the country, literate and just very positive and smiling 24/7 to tourists.
The sea is shallow and warm, as clean as a sandy sea can be, which is muddy near the shore. It takes a long time to go deep to swim, but it's worth it, the view of the land is beautiful, and the water there is cleaner. Some form of life will be a little off the coast all the time. My son and I received one severe burn, so we needed antihistamines and absorbents. The urticaria covered half of my thigh, my son's whole arm, in contact with that jellyfish (or whoever it was). Such tourists with burns are found on the beach. So it is better to have some appropriate simple drugs. The burn will take place during the day, although it is written on the Internet - up to 5 days. This can happen at any sea.
Walks near the hotel are possible only on the beach, there is no promenade, as well as high-profile companies, animation or something. So, if you want a secluded relatively quiet holiday, where there is almost no children's noise and youth night parties, this is an immediate choice. In the end, as you adjust, so you relax.
To understand the peculiarities of such recreation, it is necessary to present the culture of Albanians. Dirty roadsides, garbage under the leather fence, the construction of small hotels are not fenced off. The beaches are municipal, clean, sunbeds are comfortable with brand new mattresses, reed umbrellas, but near the beach parking for local vacationers, just a dirt area with chaotic bushes. There are no locker rooms or showers on the beach. All this gives the impression of mismanagement. Local traders in corn, seeds, fruit and ice cream can go to the beach, teenagers can play football and hit the beach with a ball, and no one will comment on that. And from this rural landscape, against the background of abandoned and dusty areas where a couple of cows can graze, there is a brand new modern hotel in a tiny area.
If the hotel had a larger area, we simply would not have seen the chaos.
The hotel has almost everything stated. The pool is comfortable, the depth of a man, there are always free sunbeds in the shade and in the sun, shower by the pool, it is 50 m from the sea. The rooms are great. Cleaning daily. Towels were replaced only if they were dropped on the floor. There are no towels on the beach, you have to take your own. Terraces and balconies all overlook the sea and the hill on which the neighboring hotel stands. Cute landscape on Durres. Young palm trees are planted on the coastal area and along the hotel. The gym has 5 simulators (2 running, 2 bicycles, 1 step) - everything works, 3 machines for power management, barbell, karemati, 1 pair of dumbbells of 3 kg, large balls for stretching, there is also table football. Modestly, but enough.
They feed well and in a variety of ways. Everything is natural and has a taste.
Breakfast is always European standard: 2-3 fresh salads, soup, eggs (omelets, fried, boiled), sausages (fried and boiled), a couple of cheeses, a couple of sausages, baked vegetables, zucchini, eggplant, peppers, carrots, boiled ) or roasted cauliflower and broccoli - all wonderful and almost all of it at the same time), croissants, muesli, milk, juices. No porridge. Coffee with machine. Brewed coffee - for the money at the bar. Lunches and dinners are richer, a couple of soups, 2-3 types of meat and chicken, grilled fish or sauce, risotto and pasta daily with different sauces, french fries, grilled vegetables, etc. Great variety of pastries and desserts, watermelons and melons. The waiters are wonderful, the night receptionist is great, the cleaners and masseurs are great. Lounge bar on the roof is paid. Free alcohol included in the All-inc. - white and red dry wine (pleasant), beer, cognac and brandy, they stand on a separate table. Loud music on the roof is said to disturb those who have settled on the 5th floor.
It didn't reach us on the third.
Wi-Fi will catch even on the beach.
The biggest pain of this hotel is the management of the Aler Group (those who lead the Russian-speaking contingent of tourists. By the way, no one spoke Ukrainian to me, although it is stated that Ukrainian is served. ) Girls without experience and obviously without systematic guidance raise this car, and often with punctures. For example: 1) When we were taken from Tirana (and the flight was delayed, we arrived at 2 am), the escort went to the last hotel in Durres and warned that the driver will take us to the hotel (because it is on the outskirts and no one will bring it back) . It would be good if she also said that he was going to transfer us from the bus to the car (this is a common practice, I understand why drive the whole bus for 3 tourists).
The driver is not very friendly with English, and we are not an academic level, so we did not understand when he dropped us off and said that we should continue to take a taxi. Instead of the word car, he used a "taxi", and we had a very unpleasant 5 minutes to clarify the relationship to understand that he meant his own car and he will take us (night, dark, goddamn in which field we were, no lantern ). Finally, he turned on the wonderful modern Ukrainian music so that we would not worry about this situation. But this is not his, but a managerial system error, as we found out later, communicating with other tourists. 2) Manager Alice is clearly out of place. She held an information meeting in the morning near the cluttered state, not realizing that her goal was to sell tours, not to come and say: “Well, who will go where? ", And then answer all the questions: " Wait for a message on Viber. "
We had to go on one of the excursions at 5 o'clock in the morning, and the day before at 9 o'clock she had not yet given us information that could be given orally: "Are you already going to bed? In short, no tact, no understanding of why she is there. The message on Viber never came. I had to go down at 4 am and ask the receptionist. Alban's manager (I may be wrong with her name, a girl with a native Russian, a local) respected that we had to pay the bill, insisting that it was ours. We did not order anything in the room, and the invoice did not say our number, but for some reason it did not bother her, she decided that I handed over the number, while it was my husband. The check was clearly not new and obscure. In short, 40 hotel rooms is an unacceptable management system. Of course, they try, but the experience there is minimal.
The best impressions of the Aler Group system - Gides Irina, a guide with exceptional information about the culture, history, political and social structure of the country, literate and just very positive and smiling 24/7 to tourists.
The sea is shallow and warm, as clean as a sandy sea can be, which is muddy near the shore. It takes a long time to go deep to swim, but it's worth it, the view of the land is beautiful, and the water there is cleaner. Some form of life will be a little off the coast all the time. My son and I received one severe burn, so we needed antihistamines and absorbents. The urticaria covered half of my thigh, my son's whole arm, in contact with that jellyfish (or whoever it was). Such tourists with burns are found on the beach. So it is better to have some appropriate simple drugs. The burn will take place during the day, although it is written on the Internet - up to 5 days. This can happen at any sea.
Walks near the hotel are possible only on the beach, there is no promenade, as well as high-profile companies, animation or something. So, if you want a secluded relatively quiet holiday, where there is almost no children's noise and youth night parties, this is an immediate choice. In the end, as you adjust, so you relax.
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• traveled 3 years ago
The hotel is 15 km from Dures. Transfer from the airport was 2.5 hours. The bus traveled all over Dures and only then did we get to the hotel. It is stated that this is a new 5 * hotel on all-inclusive meals. The food is just terrible. For breakfast, fried eggs are for some reason very blue, green tomatoes, cheese, sausage, croissants.
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The hotel is 15 km from Dures. Transfer from the airport was 2.5 hours. The bus traveled all over Dures and only then did we get to the hotel. It is stated that this is a new 5 * hotel on all-inclusive meals. The food is just terrible. For breakfast, fried eggs are for some reason very blue, green tomatoes, cheese, sausage, croissants. Lunch and dinner are the same puree soup, one kind of fried meat and like rubber, burnt and bitter fish, one salad with tomatoes and cucumbers, watermelon melon. And this 7 days menu is nothing new. All this tastes disgusting. On the territory of the hotel smelly huge puddles through which you have to jump. To get to the dining room (it’s hard to call it a restaurant, and even more so a 5 * restaurant), you have to go past the back entrance to the kitchen where watermelons, melons, garbage, some dirty bags and boxes are lying right on the road.
On the second day of rest, the water was turned off and the vacationers were without water for 2 days. They said it was a technical problem but the whole hotel is without water!! ! Don't wash or go to the toilet! At the same time, no one was in a hurry to fix something. On the second day, when people already made a scandal, they brought barrels of water and pumped them into the buildings so that it would be at least somehow possible to take a shower. The attitude towards tourists is just awful. We arrived 10 hours late and missed lunch and dinner. When checking out (and checking out from the hotel at 11) they raised the question of lunch, they categorically answered us that no one is going to feed you here at 1.00 they will rip off your bracelets !! ! Albania is a beautiful country, choose any other hotel but not this one or from the Aler group network !! ! We have never seen such a terrible vacation as we fly.
On the second day of rest, the water was turned off and the vacationers were without water for 2 days. They said it was a technical problem but the whole hotel is without water!! ! Don't wash or go to the toilet! At the same time, no one was in a hurry to fix something. On the second day, when people already made a scandal, they brought barrels of water and pumped them into the buildings so that it would be at least somehow possible to take a shower. The attitude towards tourists is just awful. We arrived 10 hours late and missed lunch and dinner. When checking out (and checking out from the hotel at 11) they raised the question of lunch, they categorically answered us that no one is going to feed you here at 1.00 they will rip off your bracelets !! ! Albania is a beautiful country, choose any other hotel but not this one or from the Aler group network !! ! We have never seen such a terrible vacation as we fly.
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Our choice, I don't even know why, All inclusive Aria karpen resort 5*. PROS: + The hotel is new and as they wrote with "their" beach; There are few people on the beach. To the depth you need to go 50-100 meters. + Very quiet place. You can walk to wild and untouched beaches. + There is a swimming pool on site, but it is not working now (it has been filled with water for a week).
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Our choice, I don't even know why, All inclusive Aria karpen resort 5*.
PROS:
+ The hotel is new and as they wrote with "their" beach;
There are few people on the beach. To the depth you need to go 50-100 meters.
+ Very quiet place. You can walk to wild and untouched beaches.
+ There is a swimming pool on site, but it is not working now (it has been filled with water for a week).
+ There is a spa and massage, a fitness room.
+ You can rent a bike.
+ The room has a shower, hairdryer, refrigerator, TV, separate air conditioning.
+ There are attendants who are fluent in Russian.
MINUSES:
- Transfer for 5*...includes pick-up and drop-off collection for all hotels in Durres. And after an hour, an unpleasant excursion through the small streets by a large bus, another transfer or waiting for a bus without a guide and communication at a gas station for another bus or minibus, and then a journey of 20-30 minutes. It turns out at first the resettlement of all 2-3-4-5 *, but in Durres. The whole journey airport-hotel and back takes 2-2.5 hours.
- You need to go to the beach through the parking lot (15-20 m). There is no shower on the beach, you can't wash your feet off the sand. There are no toilets or changing rooms.
- You need to bring your own beach towels.
- There is NOTHING for children.
- Nearby (500 m) there is only one mini-market (rural grocery store) and taking only breakfast at the hotel is not an option. There is nowhere to cook, and the rules state that it is forbidden to bring food into the rooms.
- Food at the hotel is monotonous. Constantly the same. There is no local flavor on the menu, there is not much choice either.
- Menu:
Breakfast
* 2-3 dishes of shredded vegetables (lean oil, olive oil, balsamic sauce, salt are on each table)
* omelette (not portioned ...Everything just lies in a shaft)
* fried eggs are also a shaft
*two varieties of sausages...Often overcooked
*two types of cheese
*two types of sausage
*can be stewed zucchini and eggplant
*croissants or puff pastry
*one type of fruit (orange, nectarine), but they are often not enough for everyone
*nuggets
*french fries
DINNER
• salads, cuts, vegetables, nuggets, french fries without changes
• two types of puree soup (fish, vegetable)
• fish (just fried whole, was spoiled for one day, and often burned)
• pasta (once paella)
• watermelon and melon (finely chopped and dumped on a tray)
• two types of cakes
DINNER
• repeated lunch menu
In the menu, burnt products that are taken out into the hall are considered the norm.
- From attractions within walking distance...Sea
- The Internet is available in the hotel and rooms, but it constantly knocks it out and it will not work out calmly.
- In the room, the bed is not changed, it is remade again. Change of towels every day, but for some reason selectively. Of the two sets, only one is changed.
- Drinking water in the boiler at the reception and dining room. There was no water, no pitchers, no kettle in the room. Drinking water in a bottle is paid.
- There are many Italian channels among the TV channels, one is English. There are no Russian-language channels.
- Please note that all keys in the hotel are electronic. Often the light in the hotel goes out for two or three hours ...All the doors are open and the cameras are turned off. (no back-up power supply)
A hotel for reflection and a relaxing holiday without children and understanding that work is still worse.
The hotel can not recommend for a holiday.
If you happen to be there already...Take full day excursions. The country is very interesting. Many interesting places. There is NOTHING to stay in this hotel.
PROS:
+ The hotel is new and as they wrote with "their" beach;
There are few people on the beach. To the depth you need to go 50-100 meters.
+ Very quiet place. You can walk to wild and untouched beaches.
+ There is a swimming pool on site, but it is not working now (it has been filled with water for a week).
+ There is a spa and massage, a fitness room.
+ You can rent a bike.
+ The room has a shower, hairdryer, refrigerator, TV, separate air conditioning.
+ There are attendants who are fluent in Russian.
MINUSES:
- Transfer for 5*...includes pick-up and drop-off collection for all hotels in Durres. And after an hour, an unpleasant excursion through the small streets by a large bus, another transfer or waiting for a bus without a guide and communication at a gas station for another bus or minibus, and then a journey of 20-30 minutes. It turns out at first the resettlement of all 2-3-4-5 *, but in Durres. The whole journey airport-hotel and back takes 2-2.5 hours.
- You need to go to the beach through the parking lot (15-20 m). There is no shower on the beach, you can't wash your feet off the sand. There are no toilets or changing rooms.
- You need to bring your own beach towels.
- There is NOTHING for children.
- Nearby (500 m) there is only one mini-market (rural grocery store) and taking only breakfast at the hotel is not an option. There is nowhere to cook, and the rules state that it is forbidden to bring food into the rooms.
- Food at the hotel is monotonous. Constantly the same. There is no local flavor on the menu, there is not much choice either.
- Menu:
Breakfast
* 2-3 dishes of shredded vegetables (lean oil, olive oil, balsamic sauce, salt are on each table)
* omelette (not portioned ...Everything just lies in a shaft)
* fried eggs are also a shaft
*two varieties of sausages...Often overcooked
*two types of cheese
*two types of sausage
*can be stewed zucchini and eggplant
*croissants or puff pastry
*one type of fruit (orange, nectarine), but they are often not enough for everyone
*nuggets
*french fries
DINNER
• salads, cuts, vegetables, nuggets, french fries without changes
• two types of puree soup (fish, vegetable)
• fish (just fried whole, was spoiled for one day, and often burned)
• pasta (once paella)
• watermelon and melon (finely chopped and dumped on a tray)
• two types of cakes
DINNER
• repeated lunch menu
In the menu, burnt products that are taken out into the hall are considered the norm.
- From attractions within walking distance...Sea
- The Internet is available in the hotel and rooms, but it constantly knocks it out and it will not work out calmly.
- In the room, the bed is not changed, it is remade again. Change of towels every day, but for some reason selectively. Of the two sets, only one is changed.
- Drinking water in the boiler at the reception and dining room. There was no water, no pitchers, no kettle in the room. Drinking water in a bottle is paid.
- There are many Italian channels among the TV channels, one is English. There are no Russian-language channels.
- Please note that all keys in the hotel are electronic. Often the light in the hotel goes out for two or three hours ...All the doors are open and the cameras are turned off. (no back-up power supply)
A hotel for reflection and a relaxing holiday without children and understanding that work is still worse.
The hotel can not recommend for a holiday.
If you happen to be there already...Take full day excursions. The country is very interesting. Many interesting places. There is NOTHING to stay in this hotel.
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I have never seen such a rude attitude anywhere. The fact that there was no water for 3 days for several hours and dirt on the beach is not so bad. But the fact that important information was hidden, that there is NO transport, absolutely NO infrastructure, no cafes, no restaurants, no access to civilization - this was not indicated.
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I have never seen such a rude attitude anywhere. The fact that there was no water for 3 days for several hours and dirt on the beach is not so bad. But the fact that important information was hidden, that there is NO transport, absolutely NO infrastructure, no cafes, no restaurants, no access to civilization - this was not indicated. People in Moscow, and in Yekaterinburg, and in Perm, and in Kyiv bought this "beautiful" hole without knowing it. And those who sold tours are also unaware of this collapse. Those who took only breakfasts were forced to wander among the cows and sheep around and get food. Can you imagine this in the 21st century?!
I confirm that we were also chatted for 2.5 hours in a bus with a non-working air conditioner, until people were separated from the hotels of Durres. And this hole is not Durres at all, but the edge of the Albanian world, cut off from civilization. The hotel is "made-up lips" - yes, it looks beautiful, but it's a lure, so that further people who get on this "ship" and find themselves in this position, turn into a pump and pump money out of them.
Here, the management and staff continue to be in a closed bunker and diligently, in the most arrogant way, ignore the requests and questions of vacationers.
The headmistress is rude and kicks off any question for one or two. People (customers) are nothing to her. She is a star, like Sonya "Golden Hand".
She recruited Russian-speaking girls and puts them as a filter so that they play the role of robots that repeat the same thing "oh, but we don't know", "oh, but there is no one", "Oh, but write letters to nowhere"...
Probably, they only needed to wear helmets, so that they would fully correspond to the image of the tankers from the bunker.
Don't go here! This is a complete disappointment and, alas, a spoiled vacation for a lot of money. They are no longer going to make a shuttle (minibus) so that customers can freely enter the villages and have a choice of food and entertainment.
I confirm that we were also chatted for 2.5 hours in a bus with a non-working air conditioner, until people were separated from the hotels of Durres. And this hole is not Durres at all, but the edge of the Albanian world, cut off from civilization. The hotel is "made-up lips" - yes, it looks beautiful, but it's a lure, so that further people who get on this "ship" and find themselves in this position, turn into a pump and pump money out of them.
Here, the management and staff continue to be in a closed bunker and diligently, in the most arrogant way, ignore the requests and questions of vacationers.
The headmistress is rude and kicks off any question for one or two. People (customers) are nothing to her. She is a star, like Sonya "Golden Hand".
She recruited Russian-speaking girls and puts them as a filter so that they play the role of robots that repeat the same thing "oh, but we don't know", "oh, but there is no one", "Oh, but write letters to nowhere"...
Probably, they only needed to wear helmets, so that they would fully correspond to the image of the tankers from the bunker.
Don't go here! This is a complete disappointment and, alas, a spoiled vacation for a lot of money. They are no longer going to make a shuttle (minibus) so that customers can freely enter the villages and have a choice of food and entertainment.
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