Croatia Travel Blog

Archive for the ‘Croatia Hotels’ Category

Ready to pop the question on this day of love? According to CNN, the Hotel Excelsior in Dubrovnik is the place to put a ring on it. In an article about the “10 Sweetest Places for a Valentine’s Day Proposal, CNN noted that the  Hotel Excelsior is where Richard Burton once romanced Elisabeth Taylor. And we know how that turned out! OK, not so good but you can cavort on the nearby island of Lokrum, known for its naturist beaches and watch the sunset from the top of Dubrovnik’s famed walls. By the way, the Hotel Excelsior has the best view of Dubrovnik, there’s a wellness spa for pampering and a fine restaurant to toast your glorious future together. See more on the Hotel Excelsior.

With tourists streaming into Split Airport (figures are up 10% this year), the need for decent accommodation in Split has never been greater. Fortunately, there’s a lot going on at all price ranges as new places are opening up and old ones are being renovated.

The most exciting recent entry is the new Golly & Bossy Hostel which bills itself, accurately, as a “design hostel”.  The  chartreuse color scheme and sleek lighting are young and cheery and the amenities are first rate. I like that each room is numbered with an important date from Split history. Great local pride. There are both dorm rooms and doubles with private facilities available. The big terrace is great for socializing and the balcony has a great view of  Old Split.

An ongoing project is the renovation of the old Marjan hotel at the foot of Marjan hill. When opened next year (hopefully) it will be the Marjan Hilton.  I’m very pleased that a renovation of the classic Hotel Bellevue is in the works. With high ceilings, tall windows and an enormous ground-floor restaurant, this 19th-century hotel is the only one of its kind in Split. It deserves to be honoured. Rumor also has it that there will be a new hotel near wide, sandy Bacvice beach which is also bordered by a major entertainment complex. Now that should be fun.

See more about accommodation in Split.

 

The World Travel Awards just issued their list of winners. Voted by travel agents worldwide, these prestigious awards single out the best hotels in various categories, including best spa, best resort, best business hotel and the best in various countries. This year the Hotel Rixos Libertas in Dubrovnik was voted Europe’s Leading Casino Resort. The Rixos Libertas is a relatively new establishment that features a 2-story spa, gourmet Turkish restaurant and a nightclub in addition to its casino.

Kudos this year to the Hilton Imperial Dubrovnik which was named Croatia’s Leading Hotel. The Hilton company took over the former Hotel Imperial several years ago and worked a magical transformation upon the venerable 19th-century structure. It retained all the class and elegance but added every comfort worthy of a five-star hotel. Its superb location right outside the Old Town has also made the Hilton Imperial the address of choice in Dubrovnik.

Croatia’s Leading Spa Resort was once again Le Meridien Lav in Split, a real palace of pampering. And the Riva Hvar Yacht Harbour Hotel won accolades again as Croatia’s Leading Boutique Hotel. Bravi tutti!

 

After a long, long overhaul of the old Hotel Split, the luxury four-star Radisson Blu Resort Split has opened for business and the results are spectacular. Designed for both business travellers and comfort-seeking leisure travellers,  the Radisson Blu Resort Split excels in pleasing the senses. There’s fine dining with a choice of two restaurants, accenting Mediterranean and Croatia specialties. There’s a spa with eight treatment rooms, a whirlpool, sauna and steam baths. Relax on a private beach or paddle around in the indoor or outdoor swimming pool. Tone up in the fitness centre or spend the inheritance in the casino. Treat yourself to the panoramic views of the Croatian sea and the islands of Brac and Solta. Are you a Saudi sheik or would you like to live like one? Try one of the  853-square-foot Presidential Suites that offer three bedrooms, a private terrace with Jacuzzi and an outdoor sauna.

The hotel is a 15-minute drive from Split’s historical center which insures peace and tranquility.

You know what I like? Wifi access is FREE. I hate when hotels nickel and dime you on wifi.

Rates start at €82/day off season. Check availability and get the lowest prices for the Radisson Blu Resort Split.

See more luxury hotels in Split.

The problem that has bedeviled Tripadvisor for years has recently come to a head with a report that hotels are regularly approached by companies offering to plant positive reviews for a monthly fee.

Planted Reviews

The travel industry site, Travolution, reported that one hotel received paid positive reviews before it was even open. The allegations were picked up by the Telegraph (Can We Trust Hotel Reviews on Tripadvisor?) who noted that “if it was possible to unearth all the fake reviews, there might not be enough red pen to go around. Like drug users in sport, the people committing the offences are nearly always one step ahead of those trying to catch them”.

Tripadvisor Response

Tripadvisor claims that it devotes considerable time, energy and money to weeding out fake reviews but is it enough? A combination of human screening and automated tools is supposed to identify fraudulent posters but reviewers and hoteliers have complained that the system is still manipulated. Responses to an article in Budget Travel on the subject included users disappointed with supposedly wonderful hotels and  hoteliers bludgeoned into upgrading guests brandishing a potentially negative TA review.

A Network of Shills?

Some users claim that they can spot a planted review because the reviewer has a meager profile with few other reviews. Not so fast. Edward Hasbrouk of The  Practical Nomad attended an industry conference in which “Elias Plishner, V.P. of the interactive division of the McCann-Erickson advertising agency, boasted that, “We have an entire division in Singapore [where labor is cheaper than in the USA] devoted to seeding online forums and bulletin boards with targetted content” for our advertising clients. Worse, these people are paid to spend months, in between assignments, creating profiles and posting “neutral” messages to establish a credible online persona and background from which to post their secretly-paid advertising messages. . .” (see blog post)

The Solution

So how to get credible hotel reviews? Frankly, I don’t use Tripadvisor. I have better things to do than wading through dozens of reviews trying to figure out which ones (if any) were planted.

There are a number of hotel booking sites that post reviews by guests that have actually stayed there. I use either booking.com or hostelbookers.com. Here’s how it works: after your stay the agency sends you an email with very detailed questions about the establishment. The review is then posted, anonymously if you wish. ALL of the guest reviews on these sites are necessarily made by REAL guests. Sure, there are fewer reviews but the ones that are there are more reliable. It’s your choice.