Hi...looking for recommendations for accommodations in Hvar & Dubrovnik for mid-July. We're staying in Hvar for 3 nights and Dubrovnik 4 nights. Ideally, we like to stay in a boutique hotel with old-world charm that is close to the ocean, no resorts. I'm also open to Airbnb's & VRBO's, however based on my research it looks like hotels dominate the coast line. Thank you!

Both places are full of apartments. In the past, each town had apartment listings on their tourism website, but that seems to be waning--both sites I checked went nowhere. The Hvar homepage gives a good overview just fyi, but the link they provide for a an apartment search is not working.
https://visithvar.hr/where-to-stay/p...accommodation/
When I first went, it was like described--grannies with signs at the port or bus station! Now you can get a design mag worthy apartment--the owner still might live downstairs. My first stop whether apartment or hotel is always Booking.com, where you can search by date, price, location, and amenities like a balcony with sea view (a must for both places).

We stayed at the Pucic Palace which is one of the few hotels within the city walls. We really enjoyed the location as we could walk through the old town first thing in the morning and late in the evening after the crowds had dispersed. The hotel was very nice and we would happily return. https://thepucicpalace.com

There are definitely way more apartments than hotels. Booking.com is a better place to look than Airbnb, forget VRBO. Just read reviews carefully.

If you want “boutique-ey” and money is no object, you could go with Palace Elisabeth in Hvar.
https://www.suncanihvar.com/palace-e...age-hotel.html

Hotels in both cities are expensive, compared to apartments. Understandable, they are paying a staff.

You didn’t specify your budget.

We are staying four nights at St Joseph’s (Dubrovnik) in June; it gets very good reviews.

In Dubrovnik we stayed at Karmen Apartments in the Old Town. About a 5-minute walk from Ploce Gate. There are 4 apartments; the owner and his family live on the upper floors so he is there to help and to answer questions. We had a small but cute one bedroom apartment.
Apartments within medieval walls - Home

Thank you all for your responses. I think I may splurge on a nicer, more expensive hotel in one location and possibly an apartment in the other. Thoughts as to which location you would spend the extra money?

Perhaps see what you find first before deciding--getting a good view is tops to me, even if you have to walk up hundreds of steps (as you can in Dubrovnik for the best views). I stayed in old town Dubrovnik on my second trip and was worried about noise, but it was fine for a short stay. We had a modest neighborhood apartment in Hvar, but it had a balcony with a sea view (and an owner that made pastries, a plus!). It would be the balance of how long you are staying, what's available, etc.
Also, location--pretty much everything is walking distance in Hvar, but in Dubrovnik there are nice areas outside of the old town vicinity that put you closer to the bus station/ferry port if you are doing day trips for example.

I would follow yorkshire's advice and see what you find first before deciding. In Dubrovnik, I knew that we wanted to be inside Old Town. We were in Dubrovnik for 3 nights. We did take a daytrip to Bay of Kotor, but we had a private driver who picked us up just outside of Ploce Gate. So we didn't need to stay near the bus station or ferry port. We liked the convenience and ambiance of staying inside the walls.

We paid 525 euros at Karmen Apartments for 3 nights. This was in September 2019.