Posted in 
September 29th, 2009
For my forthcoming trip to Split, I decided to base myself in the Veli Varos neighbourhood. I don’t know it as well as I’d like; it’s close to Marjan hill; it’s a slice of Old Split and slightly removed from the more touristy parts of Split.
Alas, finding suitable accommodation was more difficult than I thought, especially after not following my own advice to use a reputable agency. The agencies I usually trust–hostelbookers and booking.com–for once didn’t seem to have anything quite right so I went further afield and chose Apartment Marjan from splitapartments.net. What a mistake.
The owner of the apartment, Mijo Dujmovic, confirmed my stay on September 25, after several email exchanges. Much to my surprise, Mr. Dujmovic, notified me today that the apartment was actually not free at all. So sorry. Too bad. Could it be that he simply got a better price for it?
This is why I always recommend booking through an agency. It’s actually no more expensive and you have back-up in case of any trouble. Owners that choose not to work with agencies usually “go rogue” because they want to hold on to every last euro and not part with a commission. Does this sound like the type of person you want to entrust with your vacation?
Next time I will follow my own advice and book private accommodation online.
