Croatia Travel Blog

Archive for the ‘Croatia Hotels’ Category

The online price comparison site, trivago.co.uk recently compared European beach destinations to find out where, exactly, visitors were happiest. It turns out that Dubrovnik scored an astounding number 5 out of the 50 destinations reviewed. So how was customer satisfaction measured? By analyzing over 380,000 hotel reviews posted on online booking sites like booking.com for more than 4,000 hotels. It turns out that the 47 reviewed hotels in Dubrovnik have an average rating of 78.77 points out of 100. The five-star Hilton Imperial Dubrovnik lifted the average quite a bit by scoring a whopping 89 out 100 on the scale.

I say congratulations to the hoteliers of Dubrovnik. It looks like all the renovation, construction, reconstruction and upgrading has paid off big time.

Wanna buy a hotel? You’ll have an array of choices on the Croatian coast but there are a few catches. Reuters’ reporter Adam Tanner has penned a detailed article on the problems facing Croatia’s government as they try to unload hotels that dated from the Tito period.

You would think that owning a hotel on Korcula Island, for example, would be a license to print money but nearly 20 years after Croatia’s launch into privatisation, the hotels in Korcula are still state-owned. Buyers are shying away.

First of all, the hotels are fairly outdated and require a substantial injection of capital to bring them into line with today’s expectations. But investors want to see a return on the investment and, so far, what they’re seeing is a thicket of problems. Korcula residents also want a piece of the pie in the form of a stake in the company, just as Hvar residents did with the privatisation of some of  their state-owned hotels some years ago.

Although not mentioned in the article, islanders want a commitment from the hotels to keep staff employed, or at least paid, for an entire year, not just during the tourist season. Islanders want to see young people stay on the island and build lives, not just breeze in for a few months every summer. They have a point but from the POV of an investor, the tourist season is too short to make this kind of a commitment.

Some privatisations have gone well. Mr. Tanner refers to the lavish reconstruction of the Hotel Excelsior in Dubrovnik as an example. But other hotels in Dubrovnik (the ravaged Belvedere for example), Rab, Opatija, Trogir and Hvar are still waiting for their Prince Charming.

Having stayed in both state-owned and privately owned accommodation in Croatia, I can tell you that there’s a big difference. Many of the state-owned hotels are throwbacks to the 70s both in design, amenities and service. Concrete-block architecture, chunky TVs and irritable waiters provide a stark contrast with the newer luxury hotels with their enthusiastic staff. Let’s hope that the situation sorts itself out.

Read more about Croatia hotels.

Congratulations to the Hotel Le Meridien Lav in Podstrana for winning four major awards this year from the World Travel Awards. Considered as the “Oscars” of the travel industry, these prestigious awards are voted by 165,000 travel professionals in 175 countries.

This year, the five-star Le Meridien Lav won in four categories: Europe’s Leading Casino Resort; Europe’s Leading Conference Hotel; Croatia’s Leading Hotel; Croatia’s Leading Spa Resort.

That’s quite a cluster or prizes! And the recompense is richly deserved. Located just a few kilometres outside Split, Le Meridien Lav is a palace of pampering with indoor and outdoor pools, a lavish spa and ultra-luxurious rooms. The only problem is that you may never want to leave!

Find out more about Le Meridien Lav or other luxury hotels in Split.

Are five-star hotels seeming a little too shabby for your taste? Looking for the hotel experience of a lifetime? Tiny Solta Island, a short hop from Split, has stepped up to the plate.

According to World Architecture News, a new resort is in the works that will include the world’s first rotating hotel. Ever had the experience where you and your wedding party want to rent out a hotel but not everybody can have a seaview room? Awkward. This new hotel will have three storeys on a giant turntable, rotating at the dizzying speed of 1.3 times per day. As the diameter of the place is 61m, you probably won’t get dizzy and you are guaranteed to experience a view across the bay to Split as well as the new luxury marina (yet to be built).

The planned hotel will have individual infinity swimming pools and an infinity edged swimming lake that drops down to a spa below in a series of steps.

Construction hasn’t yet started so you’ll have time to start saving up for your experience. Let the kids pay for their own damn college.

Way back when, there was only the Hotel Neptun, a perfectly acceptable three-star hotel on Dubrovnik’s Babin Kuk peninsula. With its calm surroundings and rooms with sea views it had always been a favourite. Then, with the dawning of the new millennium it seemed ready for an upgrade. And so it was done. Now there’s the four-star Hotel Neptun and the five-star Hotel Ariston, Importanne Suites and Villa Elita, all part of the Importanne Resort.

A recent stay in the  Importanne Suites revealed accommodation ready to take a top spot on the global luxury hotel scene. These spacious suites are lodged in their own building, discreetly bordered by stone walkways and Mediterranean greenery. As the resort reception area is in Hotel Neptun, walking into the Importanne suites is like entering a private home with plush rugs and comfortable sofas. It was thoughtful to place a row of umbrellas downstairs just in case the weather turned.

The suites are composed of two rooms: a bedroom and a living room with a small kitchenette area should you want to prepare champagne and canapes. The decor was soothing but cheerfully modern. Each room had its own bathroom which would be convenient both for couples and for those entertaining business guests. I liked that there was free internet access; so many hotels charge for it. Plus there was a flat-screen TV and telephone in each room–again perfect for those combining business and pleasure.

Perhaps the best part was the immense balcony facing south. The view over the Adriatic was unforgettable, particularly with the sun setting on the right.

Sunset from the Importanne Suites

The breakfast buffet (shared with the Importanne Resort) was copious and delicious with freshly-baked pastries, meat, eggs, cheese and lots of fresh fruit. Afterwards, there’s lolling by the swimming pool, plunging into the Adriatic, taking a peaceful seaside stroll to Lapad or hopping on a bus for a quick ride to the Old Town. It was the full resort experience and I loved it.

See more about the Importanne Resort.