The modern hotel at Theth - and our hiking base in Albania

I loved our hotel at Theth. Theth is tiny.  Hotel Kulla e Bajraktarit is isolated on a mountain road. An oasis. The name means castle of Mr Bajraktarit. 

I had trouble remembering the name. First, I got, castle, how cool is that, K as in German Cassel for castle. Then I remembered a badge, and rack up a bill (for raki, the local brandy strength drink), finally tarith, or tar (gravel) road (w)ith ..." Baj- rak-tar-it. i put the hotel room key and address card in a conference name card holder on a lanyard around my neck.   

Let's start with what I liked most. 

The Spa

The hotel was isolated, but with an indoor spa, open from 10 am until 10 at night.  The swimming pool water was cold for some. The pool had a Jacuzzi in the corner and once you worked out that you had to tread on the blue light on the floor to activate it, that was great. The sauna was downstairs, and a steam room. I loved the refrigerated cabinet of water, all with herbs in the large water jars. Also, while using the spa, we got chatting to other hotel visitors from overseas who were users of the spa pool area or sauna.

Reading Corner

Upstairs by the window are a couple of sofas. And a sideboard supporting books to read. I read through most of a novel (the start and end).  Then I read most of a book of short stories. 

Big Breakfast With Honey Yogurt

Breakfast included yogurt and honey and fresh fruit and fried eggs and boiled eggs, sausages, and domed pancakes to which you could add the runny honey. And freshly squeezed orange juice. On a couple of occasions, latecomers found the yogurt in served in drinking glasses had run out. One member asked and got a spare one. I didn't. The next day, I was earlier.

Delicious Chocolate Birthday Cake

My husband had a birthday and we asked for a birthday cake. The cost was 40 euros. The cake was large enough for 30 pieces for our group. We were all delighted with the chocolate and cream cake. 

Beautiful Beds With Perfect Pillows

The beds were so comfortable, and the pillows were perfect.  

We took Wizzair from Luton to Tirana, the capital of Albania. The early morning start meant losing a lot of sleep. So we really appreciated relaxing and supportive beds. Thick mattresses. Soft overlay. 

Tip One For Travellers - Pack Hangers

A couple of warnings to other travellers, or a return visit. They provided bath robes and slippers and shampoo etc, but only two hangers per person. So do take a stack of wire hangers from dry cleaners. We thought of buying hangers. No supermarkets for miles and only the sorts selling bottles of drink and crisps. Sometimes I pack all my clothes on wire hangers for quick unpacking and repacking.

Tip Two - Toilet Roll Holder

 The other lack was a toilet roll holder. The lovely Fiona on the desk, whose family run the hotel, assured me that toilet roll holders were on order. But the hotel has been open 18 months and still no toilet roll holders. 

If I returned for an extended stay, I would pack one of those wooden racks which hold a kitchen roll. The sort which flatpack into a dsic of wood or plastic as a base, and a screw in vertical stick. Actually, I got used to reaching forward for the toilet paper. Or taking a piece of paper from the roll first (like in many Singapore public train station toilets where the toilet roll is outside the cubicle. But other guests were upset. One friend kept telling me how she had knocked toilet rolls off the shelf under the basin onto the floor and sent them rolling in the watery floor.

Front or back room, and is a balcony helpful?

The front rooms overlook the car park and the road.  Could be jollier. Less claustrophobic. The back rooms overlook the mountain. Can be quieter.

Balcony - we paid extra for a room with a balcony. The balcony is not big enough to sit, only to stand. All the same, it is less claustrophobic to be able to step out for a moment. 

All in all, we were happy with the hotel. More about the hiking in another post.

 

If the customers steal, then sell souvenirs! They want graffiti, pens or towels? Sell souvenirs at historic sites and hotels - what I bought

The customer is always right about what he or she wants. If you are in sales or marketing, give it to them. Use it to promote. Give some things away free to those who like freebies. Give luxury or plus version to make money. You can do two, or all three.

What Tourists Want To Leave Behind
I saw that Californian tourists were arrested for carving their initials on an ancient monument, the Colosseum. Usually people sign a visitors book. For those who want to leave behind their name, comments, witticisms, to prove 'I was here'.

Most modern attractions offer opportunities for photos, often going beyond the selfie you could take. Your photo at the attraction can be added to a key ring or printed on a tee-shirt or plate.

How do you stop the tourists stopping to write on walls, leave their mark like cats marking their territory? Keep the tourists busy, on a train, or following a guide. Keep them sitting eating, waving to the camera in a group photo, having a group photo. Then you limit their chance to do damage. You keep the goodwill. Nobody wants to walk through a site full of warnings and threats.

Obviously visitors want to leave their names. So charge the for it. Sell space on a giant modern wall alongside, adding their photo for extra money. Dress them as Romans and write their names in English and Latin. Use the money to develop the site.

Have a wishing well, or donation area, and reward them with a photo or certificate. Have their names on a card or poster.

Eventually you could computerise the visitors' records. Add statistics or names. How many Americans, people from Paris, Japanese speaking tourists, visited this site? How many children under the age of 11, and people over the age of 100, climbed the 99 steps? How many visitors this year threw a stone or coin in the pool? Gave a dollar or Euro to sponsored a brick for a canteen or wheelchair for visitors? (And got a pin or key ring or headband or hat or tee-shirt in return?

What Tourists Want To Leave Behind Souvenirs

I've been in hotels where they have signs telling you not to take the towels.

Hawaii and Hong Kong
Others are smarter and tell you that you can have brand new dry towels, packed small to take him in your suitcase, or posted on to you, for a modest price. Sometimes with added extras to make a set, matching facecloths.

At a hotel in Hong Kong, you could buy almost everything in the room, the sheets, lamps, ash trays, vases, wall art, bedcovers, pillows, sheets, even the mattress or a complete bed.

At the Halekulani Hotel in Hawaii, you could buy thick absorbent towelling robes, in sizes to fit a tall man, a shorter woman, or a young child. We bought a matching set of all three. they were bulky, and we had to pay for them to be shipped to our home. I still have one hanging in the bathroom.

Malta
At the Grand Hotel Excelsior in Malta I was impressed by the bedside notepad in a magnetic cover. I looked around the hotel shops at the crockery and was persuaded that we had enough crockery at home already. Then I saw the notepad. I bought it.

I am sure many tourists would be happy to pay for items, if you could offer them the opportunity to buy a souvenir.