Istrian Villas Plava Laguna Affiliated by Meliá

“Fantastic setting near Umag”

The Istrian Villas are located some 2.5km from the town of Umag, they are set in a vast area within a national park with pine trees. The area is huge and within it are the Istrian Villas, apartments (Amfora and Stella), the Coral Hotel and lots of other properties that are part of the Plava Lagun... more

The Istrian Villas are located some 2.5km from the town of Umag, they are set in a vast area within a national park with pine trees. The area is huge and within it are the Istrian Villas, apartments (Amfora and Stella), the Coral Hotel and lots of other properties that are part of the Plava Laguna Group. The setting is simply idyllic. We landed at Pula airport and it took about 2hrs to reach the villas by coach, it sounds like a long way but it was a nice, relaxed journey by coach (organised by TUI). Roads were clear all the way. The coach made 5 stops along the way to other hotels so if you're coming directly from Pula airport, without any stops is should take just over an hour. We checked the price for a taxi and were told between 750-1000 kunas one way. We had a standard villa, with 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, small kitchen area, living room and an outdoor terrace. The Plava Laguna website states that all villas are refurbished, when we got there we were told the standard villas are NOT refurbished, only higher category ones are (Premier, Plus etc). They are planning on refurbishing them next year, we were told. We had one twin bedroom with 2 single beds, one bedroom with king size bed with an en-suite shower & WC. The beds are hard but comfy, pillows are good. The kitchenette is small with a small fridge, two ring hob (no oven) , microwave, a kettle and a selection of pots, pans, cutlery, dinner ware - if you are planning on going self-catering the kitchen is probably not adequately equipped to cook dinners every day (unless you don't mind boiled and fried food only). The sofa in the living room is not that comfortable, so are the wooden dinning chairs. There were AC units in both bedrooms and one in the living area - they seemed to be at a set temperature at 25-26C, and were controlled by the hotel reception. We did ask if we could have it cooler and they allowed us 23C which we found cold enough. Bear in mind outside temperature was around 32-33C. We had HB included (breakfast and dinner), this was at the EL Mare restaurant which is superb. Big shout out to Marijan (the manager) and all of his staff from the chefs to the waitresses (Milena, Teodora and the others I am sorry I can't remember your names) - all very professional, accommodating and friendly. Breakfast is from 7am-10am / Dinner from 7pm-9pm We found the food quality and choice excellent. The restaurant is on the seafront, not busy and had a relaxed atmosphere. The views and setting is stunning. Marijan really knows how to run the place with the customer in mind. He keeps things relaxed and not over crowded. Well done for that and they should keep this up!! On the other hand, the people that stayed in the Amfora and Stella apartments had the use of the Stella Maris restaurant which was much bigger and busier, depends what you are after but would not recommend the Stella Maris restaurant if you want a relaxed setting. Within walking distance to our villa, there were 2 swimming pools. One large one was under cover (outside but had a roof top). Pool size was good, there were various massage jets and a hot tub next to it. Toilets, chaining rooms and showers next to it. The areas around the pool could do with more cleaning and general maintenance as we found the floor was not cleaned and was quite dirty with mud, various spillages etc. Often kids were allowed to jump, bomb, run around the pool and there was no lifeguard to keep the place clean and in order. The sun loungers were old and stained, some covered in bird excrement - there is a huge room improvement in this area. The smaller pool was next to the El Grille restaurant and right by the sea. Water was warmer but also much busier with families and children. The sea behind the El Grille restaurant is accessible by some steps, there is no sandy beach, the sea is rocky but the water is gorgeous. Clean and warm. There were white and brown jelly fish while we were there so we couldn't go in the water the whole time, only the last 2 days we were there. Shame, as we preferred going in the sea. It's good for snorkelling around the rocks but do be careful as some are quite high. Do not jump in the sea water and do check for jelly fish and sea urchins. There are also nice beach areas by the El Mare restaurant. Within the 'complex' there is a bakery and a small but well stocked convenience shop. The shop also has a bakery inside which was half the price so we bough our breads in the shop. Across the bridge there are a few restaurants selling food, kebabs, ice-cream etc. A walk to Umag is around 25min along the seafront. There is a little choo choo train that can take you to Umag and back (they charge 30 kunas per person each way, I think kids under 10 are slightly less). In comparison, prices in general are high for everything and everywhere, we found Croatia more expensive than the UK to eat out, food shop, drinks, transport. Overall, the setting where the villas are located is great. Open spaces, green, lots of trees and shade, nature. It was very quiet and peaceful. However, we went just before the high season started so can't comment what it's like in July and August which is their high season. I suspect it gets extremely busy. It's very family oriented so perhaps not ideal for a couple. All the staff we encountered we found pleasant, friendly, and helpful. I think while you are on site, the use of the facilities are free for all, as some people were coming with their own picnic bags and using the pool, sun loungers without spending any money on-site. Not really fair for the paying guests. There is also a large camping site just across the road from the 'complex', people from there were also coming in. There should be a more strict control on the use of the facilities so to be fair towards the guests paying large amount of money to stay here. It was also noticeably more busier over the weekend with 'weekenders' from neighbouring countries visiting. But again, we went just before the high season, so it did not feel crowded at all. We would recommend this place for families and perhaps in the low season. It's a beautiful setting and very safe. Once they've refurbished the standard villas, they will be amazing. Croatia is stunning, the people are very friendly. But watch out for the millipede bugs in the villas, they come out at night :-) , also, do bring a mosquito spray.

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“Nice stay”

It was our first holiday as a family with our one year old daughter. The resort is nice, villas a bit old schools, could do some refurbishment but after all it was enjoyable stay. We had self catering, we didn’t use any restaurant at the resort so can’t say anything about them. It was after high ... more

It was our first holiday as a family with our one year old daughter. The resort is nice, villas a bit old schools, could do some refurbishment but after all it was enjoyable stay. We had self catering, we didn’t use any restaurant at the resort so can’t say anything about them. It was after high season and because of corona not many people so it was nice, quiet. Staff friendly.

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