ALBANIA AFROLATIN FESTIVAL 2026
Ediz OZKOHEN <eozkohen@gmail.com>
19:44 (1 minute ago)
to me
I attended this festival with high expectations. Unfortunately, it turned out to be an extremely disappointing experience, both in terms of the festival organization and the hotel accommodation.
From the moment we arrived at the hotel, the problems began. We had to wait approximately 10 to 15 minutes at reception before being checked in, which was surprising for a hotel advertised as a five-star establishment.
We had booked a room with two separate beds and a full sea view. The first room assigned to us did not match our reservation: it only had a partial sea view, and the room configuration was different from what we had booked. On top of that, the key cards did not work.
After returning to the reception desk, we were given new key cards. This time, they opened a room that was already occupied by other guests. We unintentionally entered the room of two female participants. Fortunately, they were not inside at the time, but the situation could have been far more serious. In my opinion, this represents a major breach of guests' privacy, personal security, and trust. Such an incident should never happen in a hotel of this standard.
When we reported the issue, we were repeatedly sent back and forth between the hotel reception and the festival organizers, each claiming that the other was responsible. This lack of coordination made the situation considerably worse. It was only after we firmly insisted that a solution was eventually found. We were assigned another room and received partial compensation, but this did not make up for the seriousness of the initial incident.
The room we finally received also had several shortcomings: it was smaller than expected, did not fully match our reservation, and the bathroom had no ventilation system, leaving it constantly hot and humid.
I was also particularly disappointed by the way the seriousness of the room key incident was handled. A member of the organizing team told us that this was simply the kind of mistake that can happen. While I understand that mistakes are possible, giving guests access to an occupied room is, in my opinion, a serious incident that deserved a much more appropriate response.
I was also surprised by the pricing policy during the festival. The hotel appeared to be reserved exclusively for festival participants, and room rates were approximately three times higher than those charged before and after the event. Such a significant price increase was difficult to justify and left the impression that the situation was being exploited.
As for the festival itself, I found the organization to be inadequate. Since the event took place in early May, the possibility of rain should have been anticipated. However, there seemed to be no proper contingency plan. Outdoor activities had to be moved into an indoor room without air conditioning, making the conditions extremely uncomfortable due to the heat and the large number of participants.
Another negative aspect was the official after-party, which required everyone to move to a completely different room. This interrupted the flow of the evening and broke the atmosphere that had been built during the main party. A smoother transition would have greatly improved the overall experience.
In addition, unofficial after-parties continued until late in the morning, sometimes as late as 10:00 a.m. Since the dance rooms were located directly on the top of the hotel rooms, it was almost impossible to get any rest. Despite several complaints, no effective action was taken to reduce the noise or enforce quiet hours.
Overall, I found the handling of problems, the coordination between the hotel and the organizers, and the anticipation of foreseeable issues to be far below expectations. Solutions were only provided after repeated complaints, whereas they should have been implemented immediately.
For all these reasons, I cannot recommend this festival. I sincerely hope these comments will be taken into consideration so that future editions provide a better organized, more professional, and more respectful experience for participants.
