Aquarius Hotel Dobrovnik

No doubt you may be finding a difficult in finding reviews of Hotel Aquarius – As did we before booking. I honestly don’t know why, as during our stay there were an abundant supply of both British and Americans booked in.
We were reluctant to book here as our experience of continental 3 star has been under par, however 4 star options were out of our budget. Needless to say we were not disappointed. Talking to the staff, the reason they aren’t 4 star is a) They don’t have a pool and b) they aren’t open all year round.
First impressions – Splendid... Dark wood with luxurious comfy chairs in reception, well-presented reception staff with perfect English but most important eager to help.
One picky point was the tired and shabby looking carpet in the corridors, which didn’t look too grand in the strong sunlight. This however was addressed with no action from ourselves as on our second day two local guys were on their hands and knees scrubbing away until midnight and I must say it did the trick.
We booked through Co-op and paid extra for a balcony and also requested that we didn’t want a ground floor room. Sure enough this had been addressed and we were on the third floor which was sea facing. I haven’t said sea view as that would be stretching the truth but the sea was visible between the Grand hotel and a smaller building which were about ¼ mile away but it certainly wasn’t a spoilt view even with the three cranes in the distance building new hotels. We got the sun from noon ‘til dusk, with beautiful sunsets. We were not overlooked other than the Grand hotel some distance away which I counted about 30 balconies, but these didn’t get any afternoon / evening sun so weren’t that busy (I only every saw about four occupied at any one time)
There was a power shower with 3D jets, a fridge with mini bar (prices the same as hotel bar, so no rip off), built in hair dryer, air con and free satellite system.
We never tried the restaurant but it was the same area as the breakfast. About a dozen tables, cosy but not too intimate, and certainly looked if it had been recently been decorated. The breakfast was typical continental, cereals, yoghurts, toasts, rolls, fruit, scrambled and boiled eggs, local sausages, and the selection off cold meats and cheeses, all fresh.
Most of the restaurants close around 11/12 within 5mins walk and there are a multitude of them. I personally recommend the two immediately next to the hotel. Don’t be put off, the hotel is set back and these are small restaurants so there is no noise. One is Madonna, which is on the same side and the other is opposite called Fellini. Personally wouldn’t recommend Casa, which although very picturesque, set looking over the bay, the food was a let down even though there were very busy.
The beach is pebbly and has a fenced off section for swimming. The sun lounges are cheep 25Kn all day with a couple of very close bars on the front. We went end of Sept and it had that end of season feel about it. Some bars had started their annual refurbishment, painting of doors etc – Definite recommendation.