stayed first week in Nov - sunny, dry and low 20's temps most days

general

fantastic view from main building 6th floor seaview room (7th is top floor)
main blding “Park view” rooms ok if sea view not poss, hotel has no buildings close to it.
public areas refurbed well in recent years – italian operating co. influence on décor shows
all staff encountered were very helpful
2 mins walk from medium size supermarket, ATM, some restaurants and bus stop into town
Wifi worked in lobby, restaurant & room balcony, but not inside room
breakfast: fully buffet style, in big sunny restrnt room – did not feel like canteen – ok hot & cold food variety
plenty of parking spaces
outdoor pool – big, saltwater
Indoor pool – big, saltwater – partly heated in Nov – nicely designed pool area
hotel’s own taverna for meals is not obvious at first – it’s in front of & one level down from the outdoor pool – has terrace and indoors seats
seems to have many coach parties (quiet ones) from various countries staying 1 or 2 nights, which I think influences bedroom features

Room

Clothes storage: only two (small) draws, low bench for cases instead
shower: has all over jets option (difficult to use) - normal overhead shower ok
rest of bathroom good standard & kept clean
no tea/coffee tray or kettle - hotel had it's own bar/cafe
pay film channels: not working
no welcome info pack
tv: good picture, but no instructions on use or channels list
tv channels: only 3 eng language channels (BBC World, CNN & NKK)
main Croatian channels have some U.S./U.K. series with subtitles & original dialogue ( enjoyed CSI without Channl 5's usual multiple ad breaks, but not sure what Croatians make of Gavin & Stacey !! )
electric power: only one mains socket available in room
mains electric adapters: standard euro adapter did not work – local one was £2 from bookshop in old city main street (Stradun)
aircon: fan worked, but could not change temp from warm preset – had to sleep with balcony doors open (ok in Nov but no fun in mid winter !)
twin beds: comfortable, but no gap between them and no room to widen the gap
minibar fridge: not full, enough free space for two a small water bottles and a 1 ltre carton of OJ.

We stayed in this hotel at the end of October 2011. It has a lovely spacious dining room and is located in a beautiful area near the sea. Pebble beaches and rocky coastline, lovely walks, mild climate - sea warm enough to swim in, good bus service and nearby bank and supermarket all made our holiday very pleasant. Croatia is a wonderful place to visit.Our guide on the coach trips (Toni Japuncic) spoke excellent english and was very interesting.

We stayed at the Grand Hotel Park, Dubrovnik for a week from October 10th 2011.
It is a pleasant hotel. Clean comfortable rooms, and excellent indoor (heated) and outdoor (unheated) swimming pools. For the first 3 or 4 days the weather was pleasantly warm and sun-bathing by the pool was possible. Then a thunderstorm came along followed by a cooler northern wind, and there was no more sunbathing. It remained mild however, and pleasant for sightseeing.
The tree-lined walkway around the nearby bay, with half hidden restaurants and coffee places, was a particular attraction that we returned to a few times. The hotel probably should publicise this more. We just discoverd it by accident, and it was one of the highlights of our holiday. Of course the beautiful old town of Dubrovnik - only a short bus ride away - is another major attraction.
Two things prevent this hotel from getting higher marks in my book: (1) the continuous playing of loud pop music around the lobby area. It is not possible to relax quietly in the lobby without being assailed by this music and (2) the mass produced buffet-style evening dinner was only average at best. Although we had booked the hotel on a half board basis, on several evenings we escaped to restaurants in the surrounding area for an enjoyable evening meal.
Although it is a nice hotel it is probably somewhat overpriced. Last year, in late September, for the same price we stayed in a hotel of much higher quality in a prime seaside resort in Italy.

We stayed at Grand Park during the last week in October 2011, so it was at the very end of the season. The AC was not switched on but the patio doors had Venetian blinds that let in enough ventilation to keep us cool at night. The outdoor pool was also out of use due to the cooler weather but the indoor pool (salt water) was reminiscent of a spa pool complete with Jacuzzi (fresh water).

The breakfast and evening meals were buffet style and offered plenty of choice and variety each day, we have a 16 month old toddler and there were high chairs for her to use. (They also provided a good cot in the room for her to sleep in).

The staff at the hotel were helpful and polite and patient with our daughter, the cleanliness of the room was excellent and the cleaning staff cleaned our rooms well, even though we left the room late some mornings (they just discreetly waited for us to leave).

The hotel is located about 3Km away from old Dubrovnik and could be walked if you felt like it but the bus service (bus 4 or bus 6) was excellent and for 10Kn (£1.25) you could travel into old Dubrovnik within 15-20 minutes. (you can but the tickets from the gift shop in the hotel or the vendors stall along the pedestrian area)

The Lapad peninsula is a beautiful place to stay and there is a very nice walk we did twice around the headland to the port area and then cut back to the hotel. The water in the area is crystal clear and ideal for snorkeling when the weather is warmer.

Another day of ours was spent in Cavtat which is towards the airport and about 25km from Lapad. You take bus 6 (10Kn) for 3 stops and then bus 10 (17Kn) from the same stop. The buses have the destinations on them so are easy to use. I would recommend a visit to Cavtat if you have a spare day and the drive along the coast is very scenic.

I will defiantly consider visiting this area again and I hope it is as good as this trip. Enjoy!