PLACES Dalmacija by Valamar

We had a lovely stay at Places, Makarska. The hotel was very modern with great views and in close proximity to the sea. The restaurants were good in the hotel and there were lots of bars and places to eat nearby. The staff were very helpful and very welcoming. We would recommend a stay here when visiting Croatia. We took a ride on the little train that passes nearby and we also booked a TukTuk Trip up to the Skywalk which was well worth a visit for great views.

This hotel has many good points but also some bad ones. On the plus side - great food, although pick your time for evening carefully. When it’s busy finding a table can be tricky although staff will help. Good choices for breakfast and evening meal, desserts are 😊 Room - we went for a Plus1 room, which definite gave us more space. The shower is excellent with good water pressure, there was always plenty of hot water. Plenty of sockets and also a couple USB charging points available. Previous reviews have mentioned that Reception was unhelpful, we found them friendly and happy to help with information. Staff are, by and large, very friendly. There are hotel cats 😻 The downside - very little storage space in the room, some hanging space but only one decent shelf. Suitcases can be stored under the bed, actually the best place for them to get them out of the way but with little storage space you may need to use them for stuff. Lighting is ambient but no really decent lighting if you want to apply make up. Bathroom lighting better but the mirror isn’t really good for close inspection! No tea/coffee making facilities in the room. There didn’t seem to be enough staff for the bar area. Toilets in the reception area have a distinct faint sewage smell……. The hotel seems tired - some parts, particularly outside, seem neglected (the underpass to the beach is very littered for example). The pool area wasn’t particularly attractive and untidy. I know it’s the end of the season but all guests deserve a good experience regardless. We’ve been to Makarska in October before and it was certainly busier and more business open than on this visit. Not sure why this time was different.

The outside gazebo's all need new cushions or at least clean ones need new water cushions also was no music only dreary music needs uplifting music didn't see any entertainment maybe end of season but still in needs something

We’ve just returned from a 10 night stay in a 2+1 room with sea view, ninth floor. First of all, I would emphasise that people should not make the same mistake as us and ignore the negative reviews about this hotel due to the overwhelming number of positive reviews. I will start with the positives and there are some. The hotel is situated in a great location for access to the beach and for walks to the centre of Makarska and along the coastline to neighbouring resorts, like Promajna and Tucepi. The bus station is also just down the main road if you want to travel further afield to Dubrovnik or Split. The staff at the hotel are friendly, polite and efficient. The pool area and terracing are also good, although at peak times, it would become overcrowded. There is also a mini fridge in the hotel room which was handy. Unfortunately, there are a lot of negatives. It should be the aim of all hoteliers to ensure their guests get a good night’s sleep in their hotels, however, this is not possible here as there is little to no sound insulation between the rooms. There’s noise from adjoining rooms, rooms above you, rooms below you and from people passing by in the corridors - we’ve never experienced anything like it. Totally unacceptable. With breakfast served from 7am, you can expect some very early mornings. In the room that we stayed in, there was constant noise coming from the air conditioning unit, even when it was switched off, similar to the sound of running water and a switch being turned on and off, we reported this at the start of our holiday and it was exactly the same on the day we left. Another note regarding the air conditioning in the room, you are unable to set it below 23 degrees! The cleanliness of the bathroom was poor, with dirty marks on the wall tiles and floor on our arrival and they were still there when we departed. Either the cleaners don’t have sufficient time to clean to an acceptable standard or their work isn’t inspected before new guests arrive. There was also little space for clothing, 10 hangers in total for two people and small space for flat items so you had to leave clothes in piles, which was not ideal. The lighting in the room is poor making it difficult to see when applying make-up and there is no seating near the mirror. At least they had a plug socket near the mirror for a hair dryer. Finally, the extraction hoods above the cooking areas in the dining room clearly don’t work or aren’t used as the smell in there most nights was similar to one you would expect in a roadside truck cafe. Hotel guests don’t want to sit in a dining room that smells of cooking fumes. We’ll return to Makarska in the future, but not to this hotel as there are too many issues which need rectifying. In our opinion 3* would be an accurate rating for this hotel, certainly no more.

Just had a lovely week in Makarska staying at (Places) Dalmacija. Check in was quick the receptionist was very welcoming, and explained how the flexi credit system worked. We arrived too late for dinner due to a flight delay, and we were advised that a plate of food had been left for us in our room which was great. We had a double room with a balcony overlooking the pool with a side view of the sea which was very nice. The room had a king size bed which was very comfortable, and as expected from previous reviews the sink was in the room (not a problem) and storage was limited. As I knew storage was limited we brought packing cubes to keep t-shirt, shorts and socks etc in as there are no drawers. I did bring extra hangers although there were about 10 in the room, so only needed to use 2 or 3. The hotel has a very quirky design and there are two pools with plenty of sun-beds. We didn’t have a problem getting a sun-bed, but some were being reserved. May be more of a problem during the high season. There’s also a quiet area with more shade and a hot tub, just down the stairs from the main pool area with more sun-beds. The flexi credit is easy to use and you can use it for drinks, snack, à la carte if the main buffet. We did try the main buffet a few times and there is plenty of choice but it wasn’t quite right for us we preferred the à la carte. The à la carte in the restaurant and Beach Bar was freshly prepared and tasty. We found the flexi credit very easy to use and liked having the option to eat out too. The hotel is right on the promenade and an easy stroll to lots of other restaurants, shops and the old town. Our first time in Croatia and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay at this hotel. All the staff are friendly and provide excellent customer service.