Palma

We are in this hotel as we speak, staff are friendly and make every effort to speak English. I’m not arrogant enough to think everyone should speak English. I speak no other language so they are already better equipped than me. Nothing is too much hassle. The beach is superbly placed in an extremely luxurious part of Montenegro. There are plenty of seafront bars and restaurants where you always feel safe. Best to fly into Tivat as the border crossing can be hell.

Although in a tight part of town parking wise (we arrived tired and there was no where to park), the front desk was very helpful, found us a spot in a near by lot, once we got parked, our experience was great. Great location to n the beach, walkable to all the sea front restaurants. Only 20 mins to drive into Kotor. Very glad to be here rather than in Kotor in the afternoon, we did make use of the beach chairs and it was perfect. Incredible balcony view. Really glad we stayed here rather than in Kotor.

Firstly, if you are flying from Newcastle in to Dubrovnik ( which is the only option - Tivat is not) be really prepared for a long transfer to the hotel . It took us 4 hours from getting on to a small coach with extremely poor air conditioning. Huge queues at BOTH border controls- traffic jams so bad that people were just getting out of their cars for a wander round. Be prepared to have to get off the coach at one border point to walk a few steps over the border then back on the coach. It was 37 degrees- so just standing waiting for all passports to be sorted was a bit of a pain, mainly because we were hot and tired. From reviews we had read we expected 2 hours transfer at the most not 4 hours ( although I have heard of even longer transfers) Then more queuing at the ferry to get on. Once we finally reached our destination after 4 hours, we were told to walk down a street and turn right. The bus wasn’t going any further. We still ended up struggling to find the hotel but after 20 minutes we got there. ( so in total 12 hours of airports/ flying/ transfers.) Reception staff were not particularly friendly or pleasant on arrival- also no welcome drink which would be a nice touch) ROOM: The room was on the smaller side but we were prepared for that so it wasn’t an issue. Poor storage space for two people. Fridge in room adequate. No tea/ coffee facilities which we were also prepared for but it is disappointing. Bathroom absolutely fine. Shower spacious- water fall shower lovely. Balcony was small, which managed to fit 2 chairs on. We weren’t expecting a balcony so it was an added bonus. We had a side sea view but it was stunning with mountains on the left and the sea on the right. Air conditioning was fine. MEALS We were booked for a week, Breakfast and Evening meal. Honest opinion- don’t bother with Evening Meal at this hotel! After our 12 hours of trying to get to hotel we were looking forward to the evening meal. We thought we had got the times wrong as we were the only people there! ( 19:15) Very small choice, and food quite random- like left overs just put together. Soup was nice. Three members of staff were just huddled together at the entrance to dining hall so with it just being the two of us it felt a bit awkward. Also water from the machine was the only option of drink with your meal. Non of the staff came over and asked if there was anything else we would like. If you did want something different then you had to ask them and then they’d go to the bar. Drinks at the hotel are very expensive, so we just stuck to the water. It was a relief when another couple walked in for evening meal, but that was it! 4 of us in total!! We thought maybe it could be because it was a transfer day… so gave it the benefit of the doubt, however every night was exactly the same! Our last night we decided not to bother! We went out near to the Marina and enjoyed a meal looking at the sea, and the boats and enjoying seeing people around us! Breakfast was always slightly busier- it wasn’t anything amazing but better than evening meal . PRIVATE BEACH Always plenty of sun beds even in August. Towels provided. The Guys in charge were lovely and friendly . TRIPS We avoided anything by road as we had heard a few people say they had just been stuck in traffic! So we wanted to avoid that. We took a boat cruise which was nice to get out and about to see the scenery. Sadly on the way back are when the fires started so it was very sad to be going past on the boat witnessing them. The fires raged for the rest of our holiday and we sat on our balcony watching the water planes constantly flying over. PICK UP TRANSFER. We were told that we would be picked up between 6-6.30 am. However the night before it changed to between 4-4.30 am We arrived at our meeting point and were actually picked up at 3.45 am! The ferry queue on the way back to the airport was actually fine although still busy at that time. Both Border controls were also fine on the way back. So much so that we were at the airport for 5am… 6 hours 20 mins till our flight!! Montenegro is beautiful and stunning but we wouldn’t go through that again. The Hotel is beautiful and clean and the private well run beach is fantastic. Plenty of shops on the back streets, bars and cafes. Marina lovely. Transfers horrendous . Staff are not friendly and inviting. Meals not worth it.

Would go to a 4.5 review score on this one, 5 if only it had an outdoor pool. Excellent hotel, friendly, helpful staff. Good breakfast. Great little Spa. Comfortable beds, nice balcony. Very good restaurant (just had the best Arrabiata ever, tonight). Excellent location. Private beach (bring good beach shoes). If I had to find any flaws it would be...Floor tiles in the Spa are dangerously slippery. Restaurant food is excellent, (evening, main dining), but the marketing team need a rethink to try and encourage more people to dine there. Indoor decor is more Winter Alpine than trendy Summer Beach resort. Maybe some live music entertainment?

As everyone says the location is excellent. The private beach out front is a huge thumbs up and the staff there extremely helpful. We had a sea front view with the smallest bathroom imaginable and despite emailing to request a kettle to be in the room we had to ask again on arrival. The air conditioning is poor to say the least with reception having control over the setting! Breakfast was adequate and the buffet replenished regularly. Yes it probably is pricey for what it is but I would not hesitate staying here again.