Central Jardin Guesthouse

I absolutely do not recommend this place. We booked a Balkan tour for two adults and two children, but without realizing it, made the reservation for two people. When we arrived at the apartment, the landlord saw the children and greeted us. He let us in, gave us the Wi-Fi password, and left. After that, he harassed us repeatedly. At 11 PM he came to our door, pointed out that the booking was for two, and spoke harshly about us having children. There was enough sleeping space, and we offered to pay extra or have the reservation cancelled and our money refunded so we could leave. He refused both options, said we had no other choice, and insisted we stay as two people. It was midnight, and he knew we couldn't find somewhere else to stay. He forcibly removed us from the apartment, so I spent the night in the car with one child. While my wife and son remained in the apartment, he kept loitering outside the door and sending app messages until 1:40 AM. The messages implied we'd done things we hadn't and tried to portray us as problematic. My wife and son were so afraid someone would break in that they put a chair and table behind the door. In the morning, we told him we'd be out within half an hour. We returned from the car, gathered our belongings with the children, and loaded the car. My wife and children waited in it while I stayed behind to hand over the keys. As I waited inside, the locked door suddenly opened from outside with a key. Nobody had rung, knocked, or asked permission. The landlord had spoken English when we first met, but now spoke Croatian. I told him I didn't understand and asked him to use English, but he kept speaking Croatian angrily and aggressively. I tried to follow with Google Translate. Again, I said we could pay as much extra as he wanted. He forced me inside the apartment, locked the door, and said I couldn't leave. After a while, he opened it, told me to go, brought me to the front door, gestured for me to leave, and we did. We'd planned to visit many places in the country, but we left as quickly as possible, cursing the place. Because of this mentally ill person, all the joy of our ten-day Balkan family trip was ruined. I had to spend the night in the car with one child, while my wife and son slept barricaded inside. He contacted Booking.com to complain that four people had stayed when only two were allowed, and demanded an extra 50 Euros. The whole vacation was ruined, and my family's mental state was damaged. I had to forcefully convince my children to stay in another apartment.

I wouldn't recommend this hotel. The rooms are old and stuffy, and don't look anything like the pictures. The owner is Turkish and, in my view, truly deranged. He doesn't like disabled customers at all.

The owner was very helpful and even found us a parking space right in front of the apartment. It was a fabulous location, and breakfast was included in the price, plentiful and varied, with items stocked on the shelves and in the fridge. The apartment had been renovated, was very nice and spotlessly clean, and came with air conditioning, TV, and free Wi-Fi. I recommend it 100%.

For €294.40 over two nights, I think one star is more than enough. The apartment doesn't look like the pictures and really isn't suitable for four people. There's one double bed, pushed against the wall, and a closet separates it from the rest of the room. Open the sofa bed and the passage is almost blocked. The coffee table comes with three chairs, plus a fourth folded away in the closet. The kitchenette is dated and basic, with two electric burners, a microwave that has to be taken out of the cabinet, a refrigerator, and a sink. The included breakfast was milk, juice, cereal, and toast with butter and jam. I'd have given it a second star for the washing machine in the bathroom and because, on one of our two mornings, the host brought doughnuts and lactose-free milk. Unless we specifically asked, the second morning we had to make do with what was already in the house.