I was fortunate enough to win a trip to Dubrovnik, I was voted Employee of the Year back in 2019 but the trip was delayed due to COVID. I managed to travel in April 2022 and what an amazing place Croatia is.

On the 26th April 2022, myself and my husband travelled to Croatia with Jet2 Holidays, the trip was 4 nights.
Hotel Lapad
We stayed at Hotel Lapad in the resort of Lapad, which is located around 3km from Dubrovnik Old Town, the hotel is located right on the Marina front. This historic main hotel building was first built in 1572 by a local family, in 1914 it was then turned into a hotel and has expended ever since. The hotel has superior rooms and suites which are located in the main hotel; however these room types do not have balconies. As the main hotel building is a listed building modifications and extensions to this building is not allowed. The hotel does have a separate building to the main hotel and both buildings are connected via a walkway, this is where the classic double and twin rooms are located, some of the classic rooms have garden view and some have side sea view. We were allocated room 404, this is a classic twin room with garden view, this room has a spacious wrap around balcony, it was a lovely room with modern decor.

We stayed on a B&B basis, there is a variety of choice for breakfast, the breakfast is buffet style, you can choose from a full cooked breakfast. You can choose from: freshly made omelettes, boiled eggs, scrabbled egg, bacon, sausage, mushrooms, there is also a hot vegetarian section. If you don’t want a cooked breakfast you can chose from pastries, croissants, fresh fruit, a variety of cereals and dried fruits. There is something for everyone.

Guests can stay at the hotel on either a B&B basis or a Half Board basis, if you stay on B&B you can pay locally for an evening meal if you wish. The menu changes each day and the evening meal is buffet. The cost of the evening meal is 200kn per person.

The hotel has a bar which offers a lunch menu, the Lunch menu is the same every day and they have a variety of options to pick from which includes:
Beef Burger with fries – 90kn
Club Sandwich – 95kn
Mini Gnocchi with Mushrooms and Beef – 90kn
Sea Bream Fillet with Vegetables in a Parmesan Basket – 125kn
Bruschetta with Onion and Mozzarella – 65kn
Veggie Ciabatta with French Fries – 70kn
This is just a few of the items on the lunch menu. You can pay for lunch locally at the bar by cash or card.

The pool at the hotel is nice and inviting but during the winter months it is quite cold and only heated occasionally

As I mentioned, the hotel is right on the marina front but currently the local council are upgrading the marina, the road leading to the hotel has a barrier at the front and traffic can only access the road if they are pick up/dropping off guests at Hotel Lapad to access the restaurants. The Marina works are scheduled to carrying on until October 2023. The works didn’t bother us, we hardly heard any noise. There is just big machinery outside the hotel. The hotel is very good they do try to allocate guests rooms away from the works.
It is advertised there is a bus stop 100m from the hotel but due to the works this bus stop is no longer in use, the nearest bus stop is about a 10 minute walk away. The number 6 bus takes you to Dubrovnik old town. If you wanted a bit more choice of restaurants, you can walk to Sunset Beach which is about 15 minutes from the hotel. There is nice promenade to walk along, and you can stop at the Cave Bar for a drink along the way. There are lots of nice fish restaurants at Sunset Beach too.

Dubrovnik Old Town
During the summer months of June, July, August & September, it can get extremely busy with visitors, you can expect up to 10,000 plus people per day visiting Dubrovnik Old Town as this is a stop for Cruise Passenger, so it can get very noisy and busy during these times. We loved the Old Town, it is very historic with cobbled streets. There are lots of restaurants and shops within the Old Town but the food and drink prices are very expensive. You can walk the City Walls for 200kn per person in low season but be aware there are lots of steep steps, if you don’t fancy walking the city walls you can always take the cable car up the side of the mountain for the best views of the old town.

Excursions
There are many excursions to do from the Dubrovnik Area including a day trip to Montengro, a day trip to Mostar, Catamaran Day Trips but one of the excursions we went on was the Dubronvik Elafiti Islands Cruise, this cruise departed from the Grutz Harbour which is just round the corner from Hotel Lapad, you can either make your own way to the harbour or they do offer a hotel pick up, this was a lovely relaxing day, we got to visit 3 islands, the first island we visited was Kolocep, this is a traffic free island with one hotel on the island, TUI Blue Kalamota Island. There is a small pebble beach outside the front of the hotel. The next island we visited was Sipan, this was also a small island with a harbour, you can visit the Olive Oil factory, or you can take a walk to visit the local Monastery. The last Island we visited was Lopud, this is a large island with a small historic town, lots of old buildings and monasteries, you can also visit the sandy beach here on the Island of Lopud, you can walk to the beach which would take about 40 minutes from Lopud town or you can take a ride on the golf buggies, this is approx 20kn per person per way which equals £2.50 per person each way and they take you to Sunj Beach. There is a beach bar where you can grab a bite to eat and drink while you are there. It was a great day out.

Kayleigh Allen-Burbage