Villa Apolonia Zadar

Getting to the old town by car took about 5-10 minutes, shops were within a five-minute walk, and the beach was around 10 minutes away on foot. The place and room were cleaner and much nicer than I'd expected. Ian was welcoming and really helpful. There was AC and a fully working kitchen with a fridge, kettle, microwave, stove, and the rest. I understand the owner has changed and the place has had a lot of upgrades recently, which may explain why older reviews say otherwise. For Zadar, the price for what you get is honestly insanely good compared with the other places we looked at. I'd recommend it to anyone.

The owner was very nice and kept checking that everything was okay. It was a great stay, and I can only recommend this place to anyone planning to spend some time in zadar.

The apartment suited me well. It's basic, but clean and nice, and I enjoyed staying there. The room is a bit dated and could use some modernising. It had a balcony with a table, two chairs, and a sun canopy. The kitchen area had a sink and some pots and pans. We cooked twice, just basic shish kebab sausages and salad, nothing fancy. There's a small brush and shovel for cleaning, though a long-handled set would have been easier to use without bending my back. The wet-clothes hanger had broken before we arrived, but we managed to prop it up and dry our things. The small pool was nice and clean, with a shower, toilet, and changing room beside it. The man and woman were very nice. They didn't speak much English, but did their best to welcome us and explain the local area and transport. I slept and sometimes ate in the room, and we went out during the day. It's an apartment, not a hotel, and a hotel nearby would cost a lot more in the same area. When the man who owns the apartment came to say goodbye, he waited for us to bring out our bags, then went straight in and checked the taps, air conditioning, balcony doors, shower, toilet, kitchen, and the pots, pans, glasses, and cutlery. Some guests could find that disconcerting or rude, though I understand it's his home and he wants to make sure things are used properly and not abused.

I've traveled a lot, and this was my worst experience. The bed was uncomfortable and noisy, the pool was dirty and had bugs, and there were mosquitoes all over the room because the mosquito nets were broken. The owners were friendly until they inspected the room, then took the chance to keep part of our €150 deposit. The toilet got blocked even though we hadn't misused it. The location was bad and the Wi-Fi didn't work well. The owners spoke no English.