Admiral Grand Hotel Croatia, a spot of luxury in Slano

Every time I go to a new place, I wonder what my accommodation will be like. It is hard to find a place where you can feel like home, but sometimes you can find places that stay in your heart and mind forever. It rarely happened for me to say I feel like I am in heaven, that there are places with unique beauty, that as soon as you enter the hotel you have a feeling that you reached a place where you will feel great, maybe better than home. So many roads and trips…I obviously have seen many hotels over time and made a top 5 list with the ones that stayed in my heart. I will post it one day but it is hard because there are always new ones. Anyway…I don’t want to tell you about all of them now, but I want to tell you about Admiral Grand Hotel Slano, which is a new entry in my top 5 list.

The hotel is located in Croatia in Slano, only 30 minutes away from the famous Dubrovnik city (distance by car).

With mountains behind it and a beach in a gulf. Intimate. Luxurious. Romantic. Modern.

The mini holiday spent in Admiral Grand Hotel Slano confirmed to me the words of the management people- “We are probably the most beautiful hotel on the Dalmatian Coast.”

The hotel has 199 double rooms, 14 single rooms, 14 family rooms, 9 suite and 2 rooms for people with disabilities. Each room has everything that is necessary for an amazing trip. You know: AC, an interactive TV system, minibar, free internet, shampoo and others which you probably already know.

When you get to the reception you are welcomed by a beautiful smile and a pleasing smell of garden roses. Yes, it smells like natural roses! The design on the hallway is abstract, it exhumes elegance, in every corner you can see a vase of rose gardens. An incredible attention to detail. That is what I really liked. The wish of making you feel special.

The hotel also has a main restaurant, a taverna with tables outside, one pizzeria/“spaghetteria”, a bar/restaurant on the beach, night club and a piano bar. You can also find a hair salon or shops. There is room for shopping.

One surprise is that after you pass the reception you reach the restaurant where you can have a meal by the beach. It is absolutely stunning and romantic. Everything is incredibly elegant, you have the feeling that you are treated like a VIP. The diversity of the food is large starting from salmon, seafood, special salads to different types of meat, barbecue, pasta and the list goes on. From the pictures you can see how beautiful the arrangements are, the attention they are prepared with to pleasure your tastes. Many fresh fruits, many deserts, one would like to try them all but not sure there is room for everything.

Apart from food…

I am not a sporty person so I did not try out the tennis courts or football pitch. Or basket, volley and handball. However, I rented a bike from the hotel and discovered Slano bit by bit on two wheels. I don’t know how to play bowling, buuut…

Wellness & SPA

The spa center was the place where I spent a large time of the holiday. Heaven for whoever wants to spoil themselves.

Different treatments, sauna, jacuzzi, Turkish bath, surprise shower (which has more stages, with music, cold, hot, thunder, the sound of the sea or of the birds), mani, pedi…places like this are heaven forgotten here on Earth, for our passing happiness, of the mundanes. I experimented the SPA center in detail and it was hard to leave it. I left it just to reach the pool. Because I am a water sign. Ahh, they also have something special for couples at the SPA. A massage therapy and for 2 hours prices start from 1375 kuna. Something special for romantic lovers. One kuna is around 0,67 RON.

Grand Admiral has an inside pool and naturally outside pools too, very big with a jacuzzi inside. After that you can only go to…the beach of course. The beach is private with lounges and umbrellas available for free, the water is very clean and you can see the fish, they go by your feet and are very small. The fish who bite are as big as the palm of a hand. They are friendly, they do not run away from people as they are used to them but as mentioned, they can bite you lightly. It is said that hedgehogs come when the water is clean, this being a sign that the water is like a cristal.

I was telling you that if you reach Slano it is a shame to not to ride the bike around, which you can rent from the hotel. It is beautiful, picturesque, you can find some bars and restaurants outside the hotel by the beach where you can try some fish. They have special dishes with tuna, very delicious. We tried some of them and we liked it. Slano is a quiet area with a unique hint to it, which is worth a visit.

To reach Admiral Hotel you must take bus 12 from the main bus station in Dubrovnik from Libertas company and this will take you right in front of the hotel. The price is 24 kuna per person or 4 euros and it takes around 35 minutes.

Maybe words didn’t convince you but the place is in my top 5 list of hotels I’ve ever been to. The position, the water, the beach, the sun, the sand, the food, the comfort, the hospitality…they are all at a maximum level. I am not a picky person but I always look for not only qualities but also cons to the accommodation. It was very hard to find them here.

After out stay at Hotel Admiral we visited Dubrovnik for 3 days. There is so much to say about that and I will return with details. I have a lot to tell but what I wanted to stay is if I were to choose between Admiral Hotel, a calm place with good services and Dubrovnik where prices are very high and it is hectic, I would choose Admiral! Especially because if you rent a car, in 30 minutes you are in Dubrovnik. For many of us, the most important thing is to have comfort, good services and delicious healthy food. The management told me that their bookings are reserved until October when the weather is still good. They have clients who have been staying for 7, 8 years at the same hotel. Clients from Great Britain, Germany, Poland and Asians that come in big groups with organized tours. There are not many Romanian tourists which shocked me because I know Romanians are picky about services and prefer to spend more money for better quality.

After all, what is most important when you go on holiday? Or what are the important things? Maybe in a city break the accommodation does not matter but in a holiday by the sea I believe it is very important and it is good to have references before deciding where to spend money. Admiral Grand in Slano has amazing reviews on tripadvisors for many years and I think it satisfies the most picky guests.

It is a 5 star hotel where you will feel like a VIP for sure.