Podstine Hotel

We booked our holiday in January with Balkan Holidays. We were told it would be a 2 hour 30minute transfer but had to wait an extra 2 hours for transport from Spilt to the Island of Hvar. Balkan Holidays used the services of Holiday Option Reps during our transfer who were very helpful.
The hotel is very large. It was under the name of Mina when we booked, but has since changed its name to Hvar. Our room was basic but reasonable. The shower room was very modern.
Unfortunately there isn't any air conditioning in the rooms, apart from the dining room, a mistake we didn't realise until we got there. We there during the heat wave of July when temperatures were 40+!
The hotel is very much for families and most people where AI. There didn't appear to be any English guests. A bit too noisy if you are not use to lots of music until late evening. We think Balkan Holidays could have explained this better in there brochure.
The meals are ok. Lots of fish but also different selections of meats. Not much choice of desserts but there is a fantastic ice cream cocktail cafe in the village.
The Balkan Holiday Rep came to the hotel twice and spent a good hour with us explaining things about the area and was generally very helpful.
The Island of Hvar is larger than we expected so it takes a while to get to various places. Local transport is cheap but go early as buses get very full. Biking around is great and only £5 for a full day. We were able to stop at various quite coves and go swimming. The sea is so inviting.
On leaving the hotel at 6.45am we had a wakeup call at 6.am. Again no services of a Balkan Rep on our journey. Jelsa is a lovely place to stay but if you are looking for peace and quiet choose an apartment on a quite side of the village.