Hotel Istra

This island hotel is just 20 minutes by ferry from the beautiful and historic city of Rovinj. The hotel itself doesn’t blend too well into its lush surroundings. It’s design is more 1970s concrete car park than rural charm or contemporary chic, but once inside the facilities are high quality and the staff are well presented and generally polite and friendly. Clearly the appeal of this resort is its island location with the main island offering other more attractive and historic outbuildings, plus multiple swimming and sunbathing areas with easy access to bars, ice cream parlors and bathroom facilities. The main island is then connected via a man made walkway to an incredibly scenic and lush smaller island with easy walks and access to many outcrops of rocky coastline where you can easily set up a Sun lounger and enjoy stunning views and time away from the other hotel guests. Speaking of guests, there are a mixture European visitors with some USA and Australian visitors. Everyone gets on well and are fairly well behaved in areas like the buffet breakfast and dinner. I had seen many reviews regarding the queues and lack of table space as a certain group of customers refuse to move on while their drinks are free during dinner. I can see that this would be a real issue during peak season, but early in June this was not a problem for us. In fact dinner with a built-in happy hour set us up for a good evening most nights. So all heading toward a 5-star review but for one really disappointing issue that we had upon arrival, The hotel Istra has almost 360 degree panoramic views, almost! There is one blind spot described as a park view. This area is not well photographed or documented and as result we felt miss lead. We are fairly easy going but as we walked to our room for the first time we looked in every direction at stunning sea views, only to enter our room and find a view out onto the back of the hotel, messy outbuilding roof tops and straight into other park view balconies…. What a huge disappointment! I know that the room is just somewhere to lay your head, but sometimes it can be more than that, it can be a place of solitude where you can just look out and soak in your surroundings while being close to your partner and family. I have included a photo, you decide if you would be happy knowing that 95% of the hotels guests get a spectacular view and you get this! Do all you can to avoid booking a park view room. Overall a very enjoyable experience in a beautiful part of the world.

The hotel is very nice,especially the staff . The swimming pool is great,the water is warm. The food is top. The view is spektacular from room,from restaurant... You want't regret if you are normal person.

We just returned from our traditional December vacation in Opatija and I must say that Hotel Istra exceeded all expectations this year! Although we have been coming to Opatija for years, this time we were completely overwhelmed by the warmth of their staff, especially Mrs. Katarina, who creates an incredibly warm atmosphere with her personal approach. The highlight of the weekend? Today they prepared Breakfast with Santa for the children - a meticulously crafted, magical and unforgettable experience. The food was excellent, and the ambiance was without a doubt the most pleasant in the whole of Opatija. Thank you for this fairy tale!

Wow what a lovely hotel We have been on holiday for a week as a family from Brighton England The restaurant was fantastic, Mary and her team were very welcoming and made meal times comfortable, the choice of food was great even when we had a very picky autistic teenager. The location was great to explore from. Will definitely be returning . Thanks again Mary and the restaurant team

We had a really great holiday! The hotel staff was incredibly kind and always ready to help. A special shout-out to Filip at the reception always smiling, helpful, and truly made us feel welcome. In general, all the staff members were very friendly, cheerful, and professional. The rooms were clean and comfortable, and the food was excellent. Prices at the hotel restaurant were reasonable, so we didn’t feel the need to eat anywhere else. There were plenty of options, and the view from the restaurant terrace was absolutely beautiful. The mini bar stays open late, which was also very convenient. One small downside is that the hotel doesn’t have its own parking. Public parking is available nearby but costs €25 per day, which is a bit pricey. Still, it didn’t affect our overall experience too much. We also brought our cat with us, and it was great to see that the hotel is pet-friendly. There were many other guests with animals as well, which was really nice. The area is lovely, with lots of nearby restaurants, beaches, and walking paths.