Croatia is the main destination of our trip, and we flew into and out of Dubrovnik, splitting our time between a hotel outside the main tourist area, the Sheraton Dubrovnik Riviera (link) and another near the Old City. After our flights on American to Spain, then a few days in Madrid, we arrived into Dubrovnik airport, and then took an uber to our hotel. While the Dubrovnik Old City is the main tourist destination, we wanted to have some time in a little more low key place, and preferably a beach/pool for my daughter. This hotel ticked off many of those boxes.
We booked our stay using award nights from the Bonvoy Amex card. A night for the price of a credit card annual fee seemed like a good deal, especially since the going rate during our stay was over €300. This booked into a classic room with a courtyard view. I applied Suite Night Awards for our stay, but unfortunately, suites were not available. It seems there aren’t many suites on property, 11 of 240 rooms, plus there were a lot of groups arriving on Saturday, the 2nd night of our stay. At least we were given a small upgrade to a Superior room, which overlooks the pool, and our room also had a partial sea view.
The Sheraton Dubrovnik Riviera
The property is located between the Dubrovnik airport and the city in a small village called Srbreno. Maybe a 15 minute drive to the airport, and 10 or so to Dubrovnik. Adjacent to the hotel is a small beach, with a few shops and restaurants, and more options if you want to venture further. The hotel website mentions a private beach, but it seemed public to me, anyone could go there, but there are beach chairs and other rentals available to hotel guests.
The property seems very new, and is spread out across a multiple levels, designed to maximize view of the beautiful setting. Getting around hotel can be a bit of a challenge, as we had to take 2 elevators to get between the lobby to our room. This hotel was a great spot for relaxation during our trip to Croatia. We spend our whole time in the area of the hotel, between the beach, pool, and local spots within walking distance. First, let’s talk about the hotel itself
Sheraton Dubrovnik Riviera property
The hotel opened in 2015, but seems newer, and it is very much not your typical Sheraton, at least those in the US. Modern, and while not particularly true to local design or anything, well laid out to feature the natural beauty of the area, next to the mountains, on the beach. I guess that makes it somewhat Croatian, given that most of the country is close to the Adriatic Sea. While the property is large, during our stay it was not crowded, and even on our last day, when it seemed like a lot of people were arriving, it was rarely busy. The breakfast restaurant was active, but plenty of open tables, and even the pool had plenty of chairs. If the hotel was full, I could see this being more problematic.
As for breakfast, it is offered in Restaurant Leut. This is the all-day restaurant, but we only ate the breakfast buffet here. First time dining at a self-serve buffet in a long time. At the time of our visit, disposable gloves are to be worn while collecting food from the stations. This wasn’t strictly enforced, and nor was mask use, although most guests seemed to follow the recommendations.
The breakfast has a diverse offering, with some local dishes, along with typical European items. There is made to order egg station, plus a wide array of juices, fruits, vegetables, meats, cheeses, and more. The wait staff offers drinks, and then removes used dishes. The buffet has drinks available for self service as well.
The hotel has a spa, although we didn’t use it other than to get towels for the pool. The hotel offered the use of the spa for showers if we wanted to stay at the pool after our checkout time. As this is a resort, it doesn’t seem as if the late checkout requirement is in place, here, although they granted us a late checkout on the morning of our departure.
There is also a kids club, but it didn’t seem to be open during our stay.
Superior room with partial sea view
While disappointed to not have more space or the ability utilize suite night awards, our room was pretty decent. We had a direct view of the pool, plus the sea beyond from the large balcony. Sufficient space, even with the rollaway bed for our daughter. The bathroom has double sinks, a large soaking tub, and a separate shower.
A nice welcome amenity, with a note, some sweet treats and a bottle of water. While the room wasn’t the suite we hoped for, we spent little time here, mostly sleeping, changing clothes between other activities. We did enjoy the balcony, especially at night after our daughter went to bed. Relaxing, in the nice air, with beautiful view
Outside the hotel
With much of our time spent around the pool, and beach, we were outside our room. The adjacent beach is nice, but more rocky than sandy. The pool is excellent, so we spent a lot of time there. There are several shops and restaurants just outside the hotel property. We had several meals here during our stay. Hard to beat the view:
We arrived just after the Croatian team had played one of their group stage games in the Euro football tournament, and the beachside bars were filled with fans in their red and white checkerboard shirts. They didn’t win that match, I can only imagine the celebrations if they had. During our time here, there definitely were tourists, but there seemed to be a lot of locals around too. I’m not much of a linguist, but there seemed to be more people speaking Slavic languages than anything else. Not many other Americans at all.
Final thoughts
We quite enjoyed our stay here. I originally intended to spend most of our time in Dubrovnik in the city proper, but am happy we stayed outside of town. This was a good intro to more local Croatia, and a relaxing spot to spend a few days.
One morning while my wife and daughter were at the pool, I went off to explore a nearby beach recommended by our uber driver, and some other locals. It is just around the point to the left of the top photo of this post. This definitely was a nicer more sandy beach than closer to our hotel. And maybe a 5-10 minute walk, depending on the route. Shorter, but more hilly to walk directly, longer to take the sidewalk along the road. While I found a nice beach, I also found something else that was beautiful in its own tragic way. My next post will feature what I found besides a nice beach in Kupari.
