Hotel Lapad

This was our first visit to Croatia and I researched the hotel before booking as it's so important to have a good start and this hotel delivered. The room 311 (2 adults and one 7 year old) - it was a good size for all three of us - Had a shower and a bath - safe in the room which was simple to use - TV in the room had plenty of channels - plenty of towels - shower gel/ shampoo etc provided (if you use them) - plenty of storage for clothes - we had three suitcases and one hand luggage and could put all the cases away so they weren't cluttering the room - beds were comfortable (pillows were too soft for my liking so I had to use the spare as well) - Room service each day was to a good standard - fridge in room to store our lunches and water We had ants coming into our room when we arrived so I had to call reception they acted very quickly and sent the cleaner up in minutes, who arrived with fly spray 😏 but it did the job and she was kind enough to leave it with us which was lucky as each evening we had to spray outside to keep them out. I would point out that although this isn't ideal they did act on it and in such a hot country I guess you are going to get ants in green areas which is what we had outside the door. If I was being picky they could treat the area but it was an issue that was resolved and just required little effort to maintain whilst there. The pool - decent size pool - well maintained (nothing was wobbly or breaking) - It's not very deep but good for the kids - sunbeds and towels are good quality (both were provided at no cost) - sunbeds were available every time we went -Umbrellas for the pasty or kids are available (no cost) - pool staff were polite and helpful (the young blond chap that does the pool should get a mention as he was always helpful) - pool opens at 8 and staff put the sunbeds out at this time. Shuts at 19.00 I believe I was impressed with the pool it was clean and pleasant to swim in. Food - breakfast was very good a wide variety that met our needs. Pancakes, eggs, bacon, cereal, fruit and so on plenty to choose from and a decent quality. Breakfast was 06.30 to 10 I think but it was early enough for early risers or people going out that needed to grab something. - Dinner was good my seven year old is as fussy as they come and a few nights refused everything on offer, we asked for something to be bought out that was on their lunch menu at the bar that he would eat and this was done without any problem. My wife and I always found there was plenty of choice, not always to our taste but as there were so many options there was enough to have a decent meal every evening. Dinner starts at 19.00. - variety I remember on offer every day was there was a section with pasta, meats, fish, veg, puddings, fruit and the sections were a decent size so a good variety, bread was always available as well. - buffet style food that was well maintained and the place was clean throughout I didn't come across dirty plates or cutlery once which was nice. - staff are around to take your drink orders and they are swift I've been to places like this before where it's half board and unless you take a drink in with you your going to go thirsty but here I was pleased to always have staff on hand to take an order. Staff were always helpful and friendly. Having been on holidays that deliver full board and half board many times before I found this to be one of the better hotels for food. I think it's hard to deliver a 5 Star experience this way and sometimes expectations are set to high by people expecting fine dining. I got what I had hoped for and that was well cooked food and decent ingredients, nothing fancy but perfect for what we needed as a family. Check in and out We found both easy and had no issues we arrived early due to our flight and transfer being quite early and were offered a room earlier than it was supposed to be ready by which was nice. We had to go and come back still but the hotel took our luggage and then gave us a map and overview of the area to get us started. There is an in house area where you can book excursions if you don't have a rep, we used our to to book ours. Location - short walk (5 mins) to bus stop to get the number 6 to old town, on your return it stops outside the hotel. You can get the bus from outside the hotel I'm told but it's an extra 15 minutes on the bus journey. - shop there is a grocery shop a few minutes walk away, go left outside the hotel and up the alley that is a little way along and it is at the top of that hill (it's not too steep) we found this handy for lunch and drinks. - once you know where the bus stop and shop are which are both easy to find you have a few basics sorted. There are bars, shops, restaurants and beach just over from where the bus stop is, it's nice enough but we didn't overly enjoy the beach as it was stoney and unfortunately tourists don't seem to be able to find a bin so there was a bit of litter including floating in the sea. This is not a long walk either. The hotel has WiFi which I found intermittent but it was fine for me I just jumped on my data when it was struggling, I guess if all the guests are using it then it will slow it down as that's normal. My boy used it a lot through the day when he wasn't in the pool and he never had an issue. We did three excursions (not hotel relevant) - kayaking was probably my favourite you go around the island and into a couple of caves for a swim it was good fun. Your guide will also give you a bit of history. you can take your phone etc they give you containers for devices and you can still access them for photos. We took chilly bottles on holiday they were a good choice as we had cold water in the 34 degree heat. You kayak about 8km. We had my boy in the middle of the kayak observing and he had fun so if you want to take a kid you can they have a life vest and don't even need to go in the water if you don't want them to (you will struggle to capsize so shouldn't be too much concern). Our rep gave us poor directions to get there so leave a little extra time to find it. Fitness this is doable as a couple with only one person (fit) doing the work alternatively two averagely for people will be fine. I wouldn't worry about fitness though too much the group will go at your pace. Old town - we booked a tour of old town Which we didn't get to complete as my boy wasn't to well but the guide was great and old town is a must either by yourself or with a guide depending on how much information you want or if you just want to look. Elafiti Island - we enjoyed this tour and it is very nice you go to two Islands by boat and get time on each, pick up from the hotel is also helpful. It's an all day to which in the heat can be a little draining and the boat each way is about an hour so little ones will need some entertaining. There is a sheet beach on this trip which is great and with going to, the fish swim around your feet and was good fun for my boy.

We stayed here in August of 2019 with high expectations from the reviews we read. During this time of year Dubrovnik is HOT. With that being said, we expected to return home to our hotel room and be able to enjoy A/C in our room. We soon found out that for $200/night we were not allowed to control our A/C but instead had to call the front desk and ask them to turn down the A/C which usually resulted in the front desk SLOWLY turning the air down (about 1 degree Celsius per 2 hours). Every night I would call the hotel and beg that they turn down the air only to be met with excuses. I was so hot I had to take a cold bath each night before bed and slept with wet towels on my legs. This would have been fine in the winter; however, it was 35-37 degrees Celsius (95-100 degrees Fahrenheit) outside which made it almost unbearable. I have stayed all over the world (including extensively across Europe) and have NEVER encountered a hotel with such ridiculous A/C practices. I think I would have enjoyed our stay much more had we not been so uncomfortable with how hot the room was. Pro: the hotel did provide an excellent complementary breakfast and hotel staff were very friendly and helpful (except when it came to air conditioning).

Good situation, easy walking distance of several busy areas. A bus ride away from the old town. Quiet hotel with good breakfast and evening meals. Decent size swimming pool and enough sun beds for all.