coolcamden

I've just made my first 2 hotel reservations of this trip. 2 nights at the Regents Esplanade in Zagreb and 2 nights at the Grand Villa Argentina in Dubrovnik. Please share your thoughts on these 2 hotels.

coolcamden

Interesting... found out that Croatia Air starts non-stop Dubrovnik-Athens on May 1. Before that there's no non-stop flight. Time to scramble yet again to put this trip together.

mariha2912

Sorry, I had no knowledge of the hotels on your other destinations, so I couldn't know what you are after and just mentioned some middle range hotels.
So, of course first of all NJV Athens Plaza, King George Palace and if you are willing to add a bit more on your budget, Grande Bretagne by Syndagma Square. Electra hotel, 2 minutes walk from Syndagma on the posh pedestrinized Ermou street. Straying a bit further away, good old Hilton is to be found only 2 metro stops away from Syndagma as Divani Caravel is (Metro stop Evaggelismos). Royal Olympic is near Acropolis metro stop and there are a few more options inside the historical center or very near by such as Fresh hotel,Athens Diamond, Athens Gate to name but a few : )

coolcamden

Mariha, I have chosen the NJV Athens Plaza and King George Palace as my 2 finalists for Athens. NJV is cheaper. Can you comment on these 2?

I need a few great suggestions for Santorini. The Hotel Delfini has ignored my request in the last 3 days. Thanks a ton.

Dubrovniktravelady

If you are looking for a 5 star hotel in Dubrovnik, please check out the Villa Dubrovnik. It is located just a bit further out than the Villa Argentina, about 1/2 hour walk into the old town. All of the 50 rooms have a sea view, the deluxe also has a jacuzzi tub on the private terrace. If you do not want to stroll to town they do provide a boat transfer (weather depending) or private car.

Villa Argentina is lovely property, but do request a sea view room from the main building and about a 15 minute walk into town. I did stay at this property prior to retiring here 4 years ago.

Enjoy your stay here.

mariha2912

Both those hotels are situated within a few metres distance and they are both posh. There were rummers that King George's owner were seriously thinking to sell or close the property due to very high rent and many cancelations and damages due to the events on this area..But I think the have reconcider. Plazza might be slightly more secure option in case King George suddenly close and you are relocated, although I believe there is a very slim option for this. Sites such as booking.com feature comments from guests who have actually book through the site and stay in the hotels, so you might want to have a look on those...
I would wait a bit and see what happens with Villa Delfini,please be aware that most hotel owners on Greek islands need a vacations theirselves after the very demanding work all summer, so on winter they travel a lot to mainland and in general take it a bit more easy. Often they do not check their e-mails daily or even for a few weeks...
Is your heart set on Oia or you would concider elsewhere on Santorini too?

coolcamden

My heart is not set on Oia, although everywhere my research has taken me, that neighborhood sounds really nice. I would be open and grateful if you can tell me about any other area.

rtt0921

coolcamden, the Division I Ice Hockey World Championship is in Ljubljana 4/15-4/21 so there won't be as many beds available. I suggest you book a place soon.

mariha2912

Oia is artificialy gorgeous but still gorgeous on my opinion, but if your point is to enjoy a private sunset and spend time in the hotel, not walking around in town all day, why not look into areas such as Firostefani which is near Fira and is less zoo-like when cruise ship visitors arrive in hordes? You may even save some money without lucking on luxury... You can then visit Oia whenever you want, or even walk the Fira-Oia path to get some incredible views and photos. Imerovigli is a nice option too. Horses for courses I guess, but I am a bit tired of people thinking Greece is only about Oia and Santorini. If you go on Santorini, you may want to check other areas of the island as well.

detraveler

We stayed at the Best Western Slon in Ljubjana and it was good. The room was small but the location was very good.
We liked the Hotel Luxe in Split for the location and the Riva in Hvar. We stayed at the Hilton in Dubrovnik using points so I'm not sure of the cost there but I bet April would not too high. The Hilton is right at the Pile Gate entrance to the old town which is really convenient.

In Rovinj we stayed at the Monte Mulini which is just beyond the hotel you are looking at. That place is wonderful. If you can get it within your price range I would go for it for sure. It is a bit out of town but they have great bikes for loan to guests which we really enjoyed. A morning or afternoon in Pula is good from Rovinj.

We stayed at the Grand in Bled which is a great choice.

I think Santorini looks great. We are going there in late May but we are dedicating 2 full weeks to Greece. We did a 2 week trip to Slovenia and Croatia last year which was really similar to your first weeks. With your short time in Greece and desire to see some other mainland spots, I might fly to Athens and go to Hydra rather than Santorini since it is a short ferry ride. With travel it looks like you will only have one full day in Dubrovnik which is a bit tight. If you only want to see the old town that should be fine but there are nice things to see in the area too.

detraveler

I was thinking about your car rental...make sure the company knows you will be taking the car into Slovenia. We need a automatic toll thing in Slovenia and you want to be sure you have that on the highways.

coolcamden

Detravel, I am having a hard time locating a reasonable car rental agency. I was using cartrawler but it's not showing me very favorable rates.

coolcamden

Hi Detraveler.

OK, I looked at autoeurope for car rental. Good news, I think I can pick up the car at my Zagreb hotel (Regent Espanadale) and return it at the Dubrovnik airport. Also good news is the T&C of the contract said the car is OK to be in Slovenia and Croatia. But I can't seem to be able to declare my intention to go into Slovania.

So now you got me fretting...

LittleVicky

We have been using hire cars for several years in Slovenia/Croatia and found that the rates just kept on changing. Because of this, we are using a different company nearly every time. We even found a difference in rates between US and Europe with the same company.

www.carrentals.co.uk
www.nationalcar.hr
www.oryx-rent.hr
www.vetura-rentacar.hr
www.novacarhire.com
www.economycarrentals.com

rtt0921

There is no automatic toll thing to travel in Slovenia, it is just a sticker you put on the inside of your windshield, it's called a vignette and it's the same system Austria, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, etc have.

Rental companies outside Slovenia don't usually provide them, you might be lucky and the person who used the car before you travelled to Slovenia and the sticker on the car is still valid but that's not very likely.

You can buy the vignette at any gas station in Slovenia, also at many gas stations around Zagreb, especially on roads leading to Slovenia. It is only required for motorways and expressways. I advise you to buy it at the latest on the very first service area in Slovenia, afterwards if you are caught without one you will be fined (€150).

It costs €15 for 7 days.

coolcamden

Thank you for clearing up the driving vignette.

I am encountering a very very frustrating situation with the Grand Villa Argentina at this time. I have confirmed reservation for 2 nights stay on April 28, 29 at the rate of 236 euro per night. Upon find out that nonstop flights between Dubrovnik - Athens starts on May 1, I sent GVA an email requesting that they admend my reservation to add 1 additional night, April 30.

I received an email reply that they will charge me 278 for the additional night. A 43 euro more for this night. No reason was given.

I, and everyone on this earth, can still go on GVA's website and book 3 nights stay April 28, 28, 30 for 236 euro. Why are they adding a premium on me?

I have sent 2 emails inquiring this issue. No answer.

coolcamden

Grand Villa Argentina replied and said the 3rd day increase is non-negotiable. WTH??... So I cancelled the reservation.

Now I gotta find another nice hotel for Dubrovnik. Problem is the other 5* hotels there are owned by the same corporation that owns GVA. I don't want to patronize them at all any more.

Michael

Cancel the reservation and re-do it for three nights. Chances are that it will go through at the stated price with no premium for the third night.

Judy

If you still need a hotel in Hvar, we enjoyed the Park Hotel Hvar. We had a balcony overlooking the harbor which was very pleasant.

In Athens, we like the Electra Palace Hotel and Grand Bretagne. In Oia, Esperas. We stayed in apartments in Dubrovnik and Rovinj so can't help with hotels

Have a wonderful trip.

coolcamden

I did cancel the reservation. Still awaiting their acknowledgement of the cancellation.

I will not rebook. I don't want them to have any of my money. Time to start going someplace else. Perhaps the Hilton.