Villa Jelena

The two front rooms connect through a balcony with an excellent mountain view, and one of them has its own bathroom. There’s also a shared bathroom. The rooms and facilities are really nice, with a good-sized kitchen, a covered outdoor eating area, and a BBQ you can use.

The photos made the place look good, and we chose it for its location close to plitvice and the nice pictures online. That was a terrible decision. It wasn’t clean, and the hostess spoke no English at all. The old bed creaked so much that we woke whenever we moved. It’s not expensive, but there’s little comfort, so be careful when booking. There’s also a paper on the room door saying they don’t give refunds.

The rooms were comfortable and spotless, and there are some lovely things to explore in the surrounding area. It’s a fantastic little lodge for the price, even cheaper than the bus from Zagreb, with all the facilities and a friendly, accommodating owner. Communication can be difficult if you don’t know a little Croatian or Italian. Getting to the lakes without a car is tricky, though the bus can work.

The young woman was lovely, but the older one left us with a bad feeling at the end. We had to wait a few hours for our bus, and while the younger woman was out, the older one ignored us. When she came back, the older one went outside, so I could ask if we could use the bathroom because we urgently needed it. She just said no.