Apartments Amfora Plava Laguna

We’ve stayed here before and really like the place. The problem is a nearby club or bar by Amfora Apartments. It often stays loud past 10 PM, which makes sitting on the terrace in the evening or sleeping with the window open pretty difficult.

There’s plenty of parking and lots of room in the shallow water, so it doesn’t feel crowded when many people are swimming. A pine park beside the beach gives some welcome shade, though you have to pay for loungers by the water. The beach itself was disappointing: stones at the entrance, not very clean water, bare sand, and nothing to see while snorkeling. The pools are small and packed. At times it felt like being on public transport at rush hour. The gym is there, but it was almost always closed. Food was another letdown: the HB restaurant has very few dishes, drinks cost extra, and there’s nothing like a children’s menu. The room had what we needed, without much upkeep or anything fancy, and the location is good with a decent amount of entertainment. The water heater barely provided enough hot water for one person. There’s enough parking space, but the system couldn’t scan some “non-standard” license plates, so we ended up driving over the curb. The stay was calm and reasonably decent, but the shortcomings affected the quality of our time there. We didn’t get the “wow effect” we’ve had at other seaside hotels.

The resort is pleasant for kids, but we won’t be back. At 2200e/week for two adults and a toddler, it just wasn’t worth it. Avoid the Premium apartments. Ours was old, dirty, far from the center, and had nothing premium about it. The cheaper standard rooms were renovated and closer to the central restaurant. We had to switch rooms twice and ended up desperately asking to downgrade because the Premium accommodation was so poor for a 4* resort. Dinner tasted good, but there was only one waiter for the whole restaurant. We waited 20 minutes to order drinks, and they arrived after we’d finished eating, even in mid-season. Breakfast was poor too, with very artificial powdered coffee, overly sweet powdered juice, and what I guess were powdered eggs.

The resort is tidy and has plenty for children to do, but our holiday was disappointing and cost too much. The apartment felt nowhere near four-star quality. The furniture and design were dated, the bed was basically a wooden board with a mattress, and only one bedroom had air conditioning, leaving the other really uncomfortable. The bathroom heater ran out after two short, lukewarm showers, so everyone else had cold water. Taps were loose and faulty, the air conditioner was clogged with dust, and the stairs were loose and dangerous. There was no oven, just a microwave and toaster. The toaster was broken; after we reported it, they took it away but never replaced it. The balcony barbecue couldn’t be used because it had no grates. We emailed about the problems and asked to pay for an upgrade so we could enjoy the holiday. They said that wasn’t possible because we booked through a travel agency, which sounded strange since the amount could have been deducted from the apartment. They offered a bungalow, but it was the same accommodation on the ground floor, not an upgrade.