Istrian Villas Plava Laguna

Nice hotel, the main picture is a bit 'enhanced' when it comes to water clarity and the glorious deep blue - water is still clear and nice, but you cannot really go for a swim in front of villas, it's too rocky. We tried 3 restaurants - O Grill was good (the waiters might put more smile on their faces :), Laguna simple pizza place, was good. But Stella Maris all you can eat buffet, opened only for b-fast and dinner was a nightmare. We tried dinner there once - crowds of people, line-ups, screaming, running kids, no, thank you. Price was 105 kuna per person. Suggestion - instead of hours only 7-9pm, open like 5:30 pm to lessen the hordes of people! There were 2 sand beaches, couple with man-made entrance into the sea by ladders. We experienced some small cute jelly fish floating around in the mornings (non stinging!). The indoor pool, on top of numerous outdoor, was a definite plus. Our teenagers rented bikes and jet ski once as well. We went to Umag on a local little train that runs every 15 mins (20 kuna per person/ride). Overall really nice - and as I said, some staff could be more pleasant. One young man who drove us on the electrical car to our van remarked - "It's the older people who survived the war, they don't have much smile on their faces. Us, younger people, we have no problem." Thank you, young man, for being honest!

Fantastic place to stay...we had a 2 bed and 2 bathroom villa for a teenage family of 4 and this suited us perfectly...small kitchenette which we used for breakfast but enough restaurants on the resort as well as a grocery store for everyday purchases...like is like an upmarket CentrParcs based in Croatia except you are right near the sea with loads of water activities...we hired a boat, went jet skiing and some scuba-diving...there is even a little train that takes you to Umag where there are tons of places to eat...terrific place to stay...villas were cleaned everyday, with a nice veranda to sit and enjoy dinners...there was even a stone baked takeaway pizza place where you could order pizzas and sit on your veranda with wine to enjoy the evening dinners...Ice cream parlour brilliant, weather brilliant and staff brilliant...cant complain at all...highly recommended... sunsets amazing