Castle Park’s story began at the dawn of the new millennium when newly married Alma and Zamo invested in their hometown of Berat, Albania rather than emigrate to more developed countries elsewhere in Europe and beyond. Tourism was not a major topic in Berat twenty years ago, and many restaurants did not specialize in quality traditional food from Berat or Albania. There was little interest in working with local farmers and wineries. Restaurants instead preferred to import ingredients and wine from neighbouring countries. Traditional Albanian hospitality was often lacking at these establishments.
Alma and her husband Zamo, who already had ten years of tourism experience in Italy wanted to change that. Their vision was to build a hotel and restaurant amongst the pine trees of a hill 1 km from Berat where legend has it, Albania’s national hero Skanderbeg kissed his wife Donika and built a castle dedicated to their love. Alma and Zamo’s purpose: to promote and preserve the culinary traditions and hospitality of Berat with a strong emphasis on using locally sourced ingredients and wine. Hotel and Restaurant Castle Park was born.
More than 20 years since first opening we are very proud to be one of the leading hotels in Berat, Albania, and an ambassador for traditional culinary and hospitality tourism hosting thousands of domestic and foreign tourists from all over the world.
The Secretary General of the World Tourism Organization, Mr. Taleb Rifai, left his impression in our Book of Friends of Castle Park Hotel, where he emphasized that his lunch exceeded all his expectations. He wrote: “It was an indescribable experience, it was not a good food, it was a wonderful food. Enjoying this lunch was an experience in itself. You are a pride of the Albanian cuisine. Thank you for your good work.”
