Croatia’s resort

Croatia’s resort culture revolves around the celebrity-laden Dubrovnik and some of the finest resorts in Europe put little tiny umbrellas in drinks up and down the Dalmatian coast. While those loyal to soft, sandy beaches might be turned off by Croatia’s rocky coastline, the preternaturally blue Adriatic and the endless entertainment options of resort living more than make up for the lack of sand castles.

Consider Hotel Dubrovnik Palace: nominated for “Europe’s Leading Resort” in 2006 and winner of the competitive “tourism flower” for the finest five star hotel on the Adriatic. Dubrovnik Palace counts both actor Nick Nolte and vice-president Dick Cheney among former patrons and has no qualms about advertising that fact on the internet.

Nick and Dick picked the resort over such stiff competition as the Regent Esplanade in Zagreb. Considered the country’s finest hotel, it does not attract the sheer volume of tourists as the Dubrovnik resorts, but puts its patrons up in even finer accommodations. Marble flooring in the dining room and countertops in each room’s bathroom add a sense of classical luxury to an otherwise technologically advanced resort. Meeting rooms come with the latest in teleconferencing equipment and the convenience of three golf courses within driving distance is matched by having high speed Internet in every room.

Back in Dubrovnik, the Imperial Hilton Hotel features an indoor swimming pool, and the kind of view over old-town Dubrovnik that goes onto postcards and in travel brochures. Five stars of service accompany this prime location, but it doesn’t come cheap. The Imperial Hotel starts at 170 Euros a night per person.

If you’re not worried about star-power, Hotel Kompass, with its view overlooking the Lapad Bay recently won the award for the best three star hotel in Croatia, or further North, the Milenij (Millennium) Hotel on the Istria Peninsula is thought to be the finest accommodations in the area, even if some former guests warn visitors to eat out rather than endure the gastronomical repetition of the daily buffet.