CROATIA

We took the ferry over from Venice, and this hotel is directly across the street from the ferry stop.
Clean hotel. Modern, well equipped room. Excellent breakfast.

There were a lot of large groups in residence.

For beach lovers, a boat to the island opposite takes a few minutes to a beach with umbrellas and
little coves for more privacy. Another Valamar hotel, the Diamante, hosts this amenity, free of charge
for guests of the Riviera. Lots to do and see in the country - a trip to Pula was epic.

Room Tip: Quieter rooms would be at the back, with no view. Go out of season and the front rooms
will be quiet.

A five minute walk from the hotel takes you into the old town with its narrow streets and a multitude of
shops and restaurants. The waterside has many boats offering a variety of trips, including the
hydrofoil to Venice. The hotel boat takes you across the bay to the sister hotel and runs frequently all
day/evening and is free to residents. The " beach" on the island has a section for hotel guests but this
is small with limited access to the water. The other parts of the bathing areas are available but at a
cost, I feel that better facilities on the island would improve the rating of the hotel.
All in all a very nice holiday amongst friendly people.

Room Tip: Our room was at the rear of the hotel and very quiet. Air conditioning was quiet and very
good

tea and coffee facilities in the room was just the perfect touch.

Pillows were on the soft side and bed was on the firm side but not a big issue. Air con quiet when on
low but still effective enough for us. Safety deposit box was free but quite high up in the cupboard and
as I am a shorty had to get a chair when leaving the hotel to make sure nothing got left behind. Once
again not a major problem - better than no safe box!!! Had a mini bar but didnt open it to see what
was in there. There was coffee and a kettle with funny teas but dont think there was any milk? The
hair dryer was quite powerful and most welcome. The little complementary toiletries were also most
welcome. Everything was lovely - clean and tidy.

The food for breakfast and evening meal was buffet style and I thought the choice was good. Morning
- cereal, cooked breakfast inc boiled eggs, (also eggs fried or omelette cooked to order), American
type pancakes, plus the usual German cold meats/cheese choices, bread and you could toast this
too with croissants of different kinds, with a mix of jams/marmalade etc. fruit, yogurt drinks plus fruit
drinks (not like English juice) and of course tea and coffee. Evening salads, cold mixed choices like
rice/pasta, plus soup, cooked veg & meat/fish every night, additionally risotto and hot pasta sishes,
desserts and fruit. So it wasnt difficult to find something. They did seem to be a bit heavy on the
seasoning with the salt but still OK. Sometimes the buffet hot items couldve been a bit hotter but not
too bad. No ice creams but there were lots of ice cream parlours around the town. You could have
drinks in the bar and order drinks at the table for the evening meal too at reasonable prices. You could
choose your own table each time and the tables were busy by 7.30 pm but they never seemed to be
completely full. It may be that you would have to share a table for 4 with another couple and maybe as
it is adults only there should be more tables for 2 rather than for 4 or more but it didnt seem to be a
big issue. They had a long breakfast time of 7 am to 11am and a reasonable 7pm to 9pm for dinner.
You could get into breakfast earlier if you had an early trip out that day.

What I did find to be a wonderful idea was the payment options. You could either charge everything to
the room and pay a final bill, pay as you go with cash or a combination of both. It meant you didnt
have to carry cash with you everywhere if you didnt want to but also you didnt have to get a big lump
sum bill at the end if you didnt want to. I wish all venues could do this and not force you into one way
or other.

Also a couple of noddy land train rides in the local area too. It was lovely to sit around the harbour
and town. Note for some reason all the coffees we purchased in Porec (Lattes/Cappuccinos) were
only warm not hot.

Porec is a great place for activities and water sports, and, with the local bus station a short walk away,
a good centre for venturing further afield. The hotel provides a free water taxi and shuttle service to its
sister Hotel on the island in the bay, where you can enjoy even more amenities.

Pre - dinner drinks can be taken in the outside lounge area at the Riviera or at the caf/bar Parentino
a few yards away along the waterfront - Our choice It was an easy to support this wine bar due to the
polite and outgoing personality of Edy who has been with the Valamar Group 30+ years and
overseeing his present role for 6 years.His wine knowledge was extensive - you are able to book any
purchases here on your hotel tab.

As others have commented, a complimentary taxi launch will take you to the sister hotel
Valamar Isabella opposite.

A turndown service was available upon request.

Plenty of local boat trips outside the hotel and also a 45 minute bus ride to Rovinj from the bus station
- around 54Kn per person.

Loads of cafes/restaurants all within 5 minutes walk from the hotel.

Early breakfast could be booked for day trips and was available for our day of departure.

To get into restricted roadway the hotel is on, just push the button at the gate and announce yourself.
Ditto on pushing button on way out--but no communication needed.

Hotel is directly across the street from the ferry dock if you want to make a day trip to Venice (2 hour
boat ride each way).

We had intended eating out sometimes but the food was so good we didn't bother.
Lovely walks if you go south out of town, miles with the path running under the shade of pine trees
along the coastline with beautiful sea views all the way.
We also very much enjoyed taking the free ferry over to the island for swimming, walking, having
lunch. And yes the sunbeds are now free on certain selected beaches.
And, lastly, the hotel knew it was our anniversary and my birthday while we were there and surprised
us with a bottle of prosecco on ice in our room, plus a fruit basket and further bottle of red wine.
Really lovely hotel, highly recommend, we'll be back.

Room Tip: Front with sea view well worth the extra, view is just amazing.

When planning our vacation we also looked at staying in nearby Rovinj vs Porec. Rovinj is bigger and
there certainly would have been more to explore, especially at night. We were there for a few hours to
see the sights and shop and in retrospect would have preferred to stay in Rovinj. The problem is that
the hotels are all quite expensive and Porec seemed like a better deal (although nowhere along the
Austrian coast in summer is inexpensive!)

We also made a few tours out to Rovinj and Pula which turned out to be equally enjoyable, as well as
going over to the sister hotel which is 5 minutes away by water taxi to have a swim in its many
beaches. Overall it's a great holiday and we're definitely coming back again.
We loved being so close to the old town but still had easy access to the beach. Towels were available
at the beach so no need to transport to/from the hotel.

Hotel is situated in a great location on the harbour and the view is lovely. It is a short walking distance
to the old town centre and about a 10 minute stroll to the local bus station.

I would definitely recommend that if you chose these resort that you pack a pair of beach shoes with
you as the coast line is very stony. I also recommend the following trips:- Wine trail Parenza, a lovely
trip on a little train to two wineries in Istria. A great way to spend the afternoon. Lake Bled where the
views are absolutely stunning and a trip to the Postonja Caves where you actually take a train to get
to the hidden galleries, stalagmites and stalactites. Boat trips I would recommend are the BBQ trip
and the sunset trip to see the dolphins. T

A high-quality hotel in an excellent location. I won't go over the details of the hotel again - other
reviewers have described it perfectly. I will say that the bonus of staying at the Riviera is that there are
a number of options for the kind of holiday you can have - even in just one day! Rest and relaxation is
available just pottering around the old town's bars, shops and cafes - all within an easy walk of the
hotel. For a beach break, take a 3-minute trip across the harbour on the free boat and you are at the
Valamar Isabella Island resort with plenty of sunbeds, swimming pool, pool bar, water sports etc. (our
only gripe - 110 Kuna for hire of 2 sunbeds - including a 20% hotel discount!!). Want to do some
sightseeing? Take one of the many excursions on offer through the hotel (or from operators on the
harbour front outside) including a ferry to Venice and coach trips to local beauty spots. We had a great
stay and will return.

There is a regular free boat to the sister hotel with plenty of loungers. There is a fee to use them but
you do get a towel so can crash anywhere. A deserved high rating hotel.

It is only a short complementary boat ride to the island where there are two adult only Riviera
beaches. You do, however, have to pay for your sun loungers. The upside though is a button on your
table to press for waiter service.

We booked trips to Venice and Rovinj with a lady opposite the hotel at a discounted price - both trips
well worth it.

Biggest gripe though was the charge for sunbeds at the sister hotel on the island.

We took advantage of both the water taxi directly outside the hotel (free for 2 hours in the morning
and 2 hours in the late afternoon) and the larger Riviera ferry (free all day) to visit the Valamar Isabella
on Sveti Nikola Island. The service was quick, efficient and steps from the hotel meaning you could be
by the pool/beach 5 minutes from leaving the Valamar Riviera reception. Prices for food and drinks on
the island were higher than those around central Porec, but this is to be expected as a 'captive
audience'.

One minus point is the sunbeds on the island charging 11 Kunas a day for beds and parasols is a bit
steep come on Riviera you can change that and get that 5 stars .

There was the use of a safe, this was free. There was a kettle and all the tea and coffee provided, free
also.

Groznjan (wonderful restaurant, Bastia). Try pasta with local black truffles).

The hotel also provided low key evening entertainment on 3 evenings whilst we were at the hotel by
way of quality acoustic musicians and singers which was a treat to listen to whilst relaxing in the
terrace furniture with a drink in hand

This is available for Riviera guests and there is a free taxi boat every 15 minutes.
Porec itself was a good choice for our first visit to Croatia. We enjoyed our walks around the town,
taking the local bus to Rovinj and to Pula and we also enjoyed the wine tasting with Eddie and the
guided tour around Porec with Anna. Porec and in particular the Valamar Riviera was the right choice
for a lovely relaxing week's holiday.

On Sundays the hotel provides a free wine tasting a walking tour of Porec. Try to do this if you can.
Eddie is great explaining the local grapes.

Theres another alternative al a Carte restaurant where you can get 30% deduction if not taking your
buffet dinner.

Drinks are by UK standards pretty good value, in pounds, 2.80 large beer, large glass of house wine
(can recommend) 2.80, cocktails 4/5 ish. Wander into town and find it cheaper, but not so elegantly
served.