Royal Airport Hotel

We had three people in the room and plenty of space to spread out. It had two bedrooms, a huge bathroom, and very comfortable, huge beds. The room was huge, and I couldn't hear any outside noise. It's a perfect place for your last night in Croatia, with an easy trip to the airport. Breakfast was fantastic. Bring your own shampoo and conditioner, though. They only had 3-in-one soap. Two hotels we stayed in did this, and I wish I'd brought some. We took an Uber to the airport and headed home. I saw a complaint about room heat, but this is Europe and this time of year all hotels turn off the AC, not just this one. We opened the windows and cooled the room down until it was cold.

The only reason I'm giving 2/5 is that reception was friendly and helpful as far as they could be, answered the phone directly when I called (a miracle these days), and the hotel was at least only 10€, uh, I mean 5 minutes, from the airport. I booked this for my last night in Croatia because it's fairly close to Zagreb Airport (ZAG), but not close enough to walk. The hotel doesn't run a shuttle, so expect to pay another 10-15€ for a taxi, twice that if you need one from the airport too. My room was barely okay and nowhere near the supposed four-star standard. The pillow was cheap and stiff, and the walls were so thin I could hear my neighbor's phone call. I might have put up with all that except the room was far too hot. I stayed in October. It was 10 C (50 F) outside, but somehow 26.5 C (80 F) inside. They told me the building had switched to heating, and there was nothing I could do except open a window. I don't like hotels deciding how I should control the climate in a room I paid for, but the window would have been acceptable if it had worked better. After two hours with it open, I got the room down to 23 C (73 F). I had to close it before bed to keep out the light and airport noise. At 3 AM I woke up sweating, and the room was back to 26 C. Between the heat and the pillow, I had a horrible night's sleep, which is the most important part of a hotel stay.

The airport is very close, which is handy for an early Zagreb flight. But our room had no A/C, and it was so hot that we couldn't sleep before leaving. We were also surprised to be asked for 15 euros for the airport ride. The website advertises a shuttle, and nobody mentioned a charge when I booked it. Since an Uber the night before cost only 10 euros, we felt ripped off.

The hotel is just a few minutes from ZAG airport, and the front desk staff were really friendly and helpful. At breakfast, though, having to ask someone for coffee was a bit of a hassle. Self-serve coffee or cappuccino machines would help, and the restaurant staff could use some basic customer service practice, like smiling at guests. That's a minor point.