My husband and I spent 17 days at the Hotel Abamar in Santa Margherita di Pula from June 23rd to July 10th, 2011. We had an amazing time at the hotel.
Staff - The staff was the best we have ever encountered. Their friendliness and desire to help was outstanding. From their efforts to translate the menu to English for us, to their assistance in getting transportation to church, to locating me after I was admitted to the hospital and my husband couldn't contact me, their assistance not only was professional but began to feel like an extended family.
Food -- Outstanding!!! The food was fresh and beautifully prepared. The cuisine was often based on local delicacies, meats, and fish. We had four course meals each night and an extensive continental breakfast buffet each morning. They also had a large antipasti lunch buffet with additional courses. We have to go back next year just to eat!
The Hotel - The hotel was immaculate. It was always spotless with excellent daily room clean up. The bathroom showers are smaller than what we are used to here in the United States but the bathrooms were modern and had been recently remodeled. The beds are very firm for those who have bad backs, so we slept well. We had a ocean view which was wonderful and a balcony on which to sit and enjoy the view. On the opposite side, the rooms have a beautiful view of the nearby mountains. There is a small flat screen tv with a wide variety of channels from which to choose.
Amenities -
Beach: The hotel has its own section of the beach with white sand and clear waters. Lounge chairs and umbrellas were free to use for guests only. There is a great bar area where one could get something to eat, drink, or get ice cream. Lifeguards are on-site. Water is mild enough (wave wise) so that small children could play in the shallow water without fear of large waves (most of the time). A short walk down the beach will bring you to a dock where you can access (for a fee) a variety of water activities such as windsurfing.
Tennis Courts: Available for those who like to play.
Pool - A beautiful salt water pool is on site with a smaller one just off to the side for little ones. Just make sure you supervise the small ones because there wasn't a gate to prevent a child from slipping into the bigger pool.
Lounge - Very comfortable chairs, a small bar, a couple of tables on which to play cards or board games. We spent quite a bit of time there playing cards in the afternoon while sipping capuchino.
Outside lounge areas - There are two outside areas to spend lounging out of the sun. One is right beside the pool, the other is next to the indoor lounge. Both were beautifully maintained and very comfortable.
Laundry Service - You can get your laundry done by the hotel for a cost while you are there. However, there is not a self-serve laundry facility on site.
Final Notes: Halfway through the vacation we had already decided to return next year to the Hotel Abamar with our daughters and son-in-law. If you get a chance to spend even a few days there, try to do so. It was the most relaxing vacation we have ever spent!

I had split up from my partner and was looking for a holiday for my daugthter and myself. She is 15 + and I felt that a villa holiday (which was our preferred summer holiday with her Dad) would be too claustrophobic. I chose this Mark Warner as it is a small complexand was less likely to have very small children ( no child care for tinies).
All -in-all a great holiday for my daughter - lots to do and lots of like minded 'Indies' to do it with!!
Less to do for me - I did read 7 books and chat to people I had met in the complex, but Pula has limited attractions and is totally shut in the afternoon. We visited Nora - a roman ruin near Pula- it was very hot in the sun and ther was very little to assist you in appreciating the artifacts (stones).
The hotel is pretty much as other reports suggest with tired decor, expensive bar drinks and very average tepid food.
The beach is lovely and there are plenty of loungers and umbrellas.The pool is also lovely. The rooms are imaculately cleaned daily which must be a gargantuan task in the face of all the soft sand that gets traipsed in on feet and towels.
The Mark Warner staff are SUPERB. They made the holiday.We dived, snorkelled (thank you Ben and Rob), rode out on brand new mountain bikes with the delightful Sarah, and 'Rocket ' (a chap of unmatched patience) managed to help me pass my RYA 1, and my daughter pass her RYA 1and 2. The waterfront team prepared wind surfers and boats on request and cheerfully scooped us back in the boats after our many capsizings.
Would I go again?- probably yes but not for 2 weeks- cabin fever sets in after a week and the menu is on a one week cycle. However the setting and the staff and the guests that I met made up for any deficiencies in decor.
Do ask for a front faceng room with fridge- great view, chilled water and less trouble with the mosquitos!!

This 60's style hotel situated on a beautiful beach and backing onto a National Park area of pine forest, is GOOD AND BAD in equal measures.

The majority of customers are with Mark Warner Holidays and have come for the fantastic range of sports facilities they offer at the Abamar. In the main season there are also a number of Italians who stay here.

HOTEL
Very clean overall, with bedrooms that have been redecorated, if not completely refurbished. The bathrooms still look rather old style although new basins and loo's help lift them a little. The balconies are poorly lit at night and contain very basic furniture. The pool area is fine and fairly quiet during the day, when most activities take place on the beach. The hotel staff are all Italian with very little English, but there are plenty of British Mark Warner staff around to help you.

BAR
Horrendously expensive for what is only a 2/3 star hotel and the poor support it receives from guests explains why. There are much cheaper Beach Bar options right next door on the beach and in the evenings there is a very popular Karaoke Bar a short walk outside the hotel.

FOOD
Served outside (in all winds and weather) although there is an alternative indoor restaurant that staff will move the buffet into (UNDER GREAT DURESS!) although hopefully you will have glorious weather for most of your stay. The choice of food is very samey, not as exciting as you would normally expect of Italian, rather tasteless AND COLD! ~ JUST LIKE SCHOOL DINNERS. You won't starve, but it won't set your palate alight either and the wine, which is very basic indeed, is only JUST acceptable.

ENTERTAINMENT
One evening whilst queuing for some warmish food to arrive from the kitchen, an argument broke out between the Head Chef and one of the waiters, which spilled over into the restaurant. The waiter was chased all around the restaurant and repeatedly hit upon the head with a stainless steel serving dish from the buffet ~ very amusing, although not very professional behaviour.

SPORTS
Excellent Mark Warner sports staff on hand. Loads of watersports on the beach, sailing (various), windsurfing and canoes. As I'm more of a land animal, I played tennis and took coaching (although the hotel only features ONE court!) and went Mountain Biking. The bikes were fairly basic Specialised (hardtails), but most of them seemed to work OK and the guide was terrific, great trails along the cliff tops, with stunning views of the ocean.

Overall, we enjoyed the sports ~ the hotel was only just OK ~ but the food was a great disappointment. A lot of customers questioned WHY Mark Warner were still persevering with this hotel caught in a time-warp?

We booked a week at the Abamar, the Mark Warner resort, through Travelzoo all inclusive for £385 - & I definitely wouldn't suggest paying anymore. The food was so bad we could only each there twice - waiting in queues for very bad buffet food. The beach & surrounding setting are gorgeous - which was just as well as unfortunately the hotel itself was like something out of Austen Powers - you can tell it would have been quite swish 40years ago & it wouldn't take much to restore. You can't help think MW must not be giving them a good deal! I was disappointed with the room - the rooms at the front have a fridge so you should request these as they have a sea view too for no extra cost. Having said that the staff were fabulous, the included activities were plentiful - you could learn how to sail & windsurf amongst others, the instructing was excellent (its a YHA centra) and the equipment was top noch.