About Us

Our staff, from left to right: Aziza, Marina, Anđela, Grada, Samira, Mira, Lidija, Andreas, Žika, Tamara, Nikola. Missing: Bojan, Andrijana, Miljana and Emanuela. And since the photo was taken, we also have two new staff members: Jovan and Miloš.

Credit: Norik Uka

 

Hotel Gracanica has opened its doors on 13 April 2013, as a common project of three friends. Two were Kosovo Roma and the third Swiss, Andreas Wormser, who still runs the hotel together with Lidija Fazliu and Aziza Ramić, the first half Albanian, half Serb, the other from the Roma community.

 

The architect was Bujar Nrecaj, a Swiss of Kosovar origin, who returned to Kosovo after its independence to help build up the country. 

 

The "c" in Gračanica in our hotel logo is a combination of the Serbian and Albanian letters; the diacritic above the "c" is Serbian, the diacritic below the "c" is Albanian. This is to illustrate the multi-ethnic character of our hotel.

 

In the logo we originally had three stars instead of the three poppies, because according to Swiss standards the hotel would have three and a half stars. But the state star commission only gave us two stars. That's why we replaced the stars with the poppies typical of Kosovo.

 

Our staff are mainly Roma and Serbs. We would very much like to employ more Albanians, but it has proven difficult to find the right candidates.

 

Social Responsibility

  • We built the hotel with local companies and craftsmen and as far as possible with local materials. In construction and interior design, we chose eco-friendly and long-lasting materials wherever feasible.
  • We use geothermal energy from eleven 110 m deep drill holes for heating and cooling, and our pool has solar heating.
  • We have our own sewage treatment plant and use the recycled wastewater as well as collected rainwater for gardening.
  • We recycle all waste that can be recycled.
  • Where feasable, we buy our fruit, vegetables, dairy products and meat mostly from local small farmers, favoring those who produce organically and raise animals humanely. All our eggs and chicken meat come from free range chicken.
  • We employ people from all ethnic communities and pay them salaries considerably above average.
  • A fountain with our mineral water, which can heal different diseases, is placed next to the entrance of the hotel accessible to all.
  • Through Pack for a Purpose, we support  The Ideas Parnership Learning Center for Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian (click here to find out how you can help by using spare space in your suitcase to bring supplies!).
  • Our outdoor pool has solar heating.
  • We have a charging station for electric vehicles, one of the first in Kosovo.
  • Our roof is covered with photovoltaic panels, covering half our our electricity consumption.

Nationalities of our Guests 2014 - 2022

Since the opening, we have had overnight guests from 76 countries. These are the top twenty nationalites:

Our Ratings

Guest ratings on Hotel Gracanica

Evaluation of the ratings we've received in the past two years by our guests on the feedback forms that are placed in all rooms, comparing them with the ratings on various platforms. Thank you all for giving us such great ratings! But we also try continuously to further improve and take every criticism very seriously.