Valamar Amicor Resort

The bike Explorer tour this morning with Aurel was fantastic. What a wonderful way to see the island! Highly recommend

First of all, Stari Grad and Hvar itself are fantastically beatutiful and quaint locations to stay. although Hvar is a lot busier and more cosmipolitan - especially of an evening, it is so beautiful. This Hotel is based in Stari Grad, which is just half an hour drive from Hvar and I think is a much quaniter and more tranquil place sto stay with is own littl fishing port centre. The Amicor is nicely situated right on the beach with just a 15 min promenade walk to the little village of Stari Grad. We felt the best bits of this hotel were the slides, the kids games area and the beach area. We found some gorgeous little Habanas and sun loungers down towards the sister hotel located in the shade of the pines which were perfect for realxing, jumping in and out of the sea, accessing the watersports and also the pool of the sister hotel - which you were able to use as a guest of the amicor. We spent most of out time down by the beach and the kids juggled between that and running up to use the main pool and the slides. There is just one resturant which is used for breakfast and the buffet evening meal. The food quality was good, great omlettes in the morning and a decent selction of evening meals. Quite a nice setting the restaurants were in as well. Again as per my review of the other valamar we stayed in in Croatia, this hotel was very expensive per night and perhaps doesn't compare to the value of other hotels of a similar price magnitude but still a very nice resort in many ways and would reccomend, budget permitting.

This resort is top notch. Their dedication to being a green facility using renewable energy is noticeable throughout the resort. Everything just makes sense with what they do and how they do it. Upon arrival, we were greeted at the reception desk with warm smiles and wristbands to access the room and pay for drinks throughout the resort. We were taken to our Villa 2+1 via golf cart with our bags in the back. We received a brief tour of our room highlighting the watch placement for air conditioning, fan controls and the use of the hot tub. Since we booked through Booking.com, we received a complimentary bottle of wine, which was local variety and was very tasty. Additionally, there were two water glasses and a bottle of still water that they refilled each day for us. The room was spacious, clean and offered plenty of storage for clothes. The bathroom and shower were very nice. All around the room was great and we were comfortable at night with the air conditioning and fan running. Valamar Amicor is definitely geared towards families. We came with some friends and their kids who used more of the kid amenities than we did. We found ourselves walking down the beach area and grabbing a lounge chair most days or enjoying the pool at Places by Hvar. We did not know the relationship that the other resorts near Valamar Amicor had. We found our that they were all related through the Valamar family and our wristbands worked at all the bars throughout the resort. Maybe they choose to highlight this or they don’t, but it was is very convenient to use the amenities at Places vs up at Valamar if we were not nearby. The pool at Places by Hvar was two-tiered and water was perfect. We found it less crowded and quieter than the large kid pool at Valamar Amicor. The drinks here at the Places by Hvar were very delicious and offered more of a variety than Valamar Amicor and we found ourselves drinking more here due to the choices. The resort fees include breakfast and dinner which classifies as half board, and it was well worth it. The breakfast had some of the best croissants I have ever had among other fruits, eggs and options to get an early breakfast or a later brunch. We showed up for dinner at 4:30 pm – 5 pm each night of the stay before some of the larger crowds and families arrive. We had delicious food each night, highlighted by a night with mussels and other seafood. I even had the squid ink risotto, and it was amazing. The salad bar and charcuterie board style options at the buffet were tasty. We enjoyed glasses of wines; Aperol spritz and one night even splurged and had a bottle of wine. Our service was excellent each night. Slight negatives that I had were mostly things that are just different in Europe…that I am not used to. For instance, I love ice with my drinks, we got it upon request however the only ice machine I saw was at the lobby of Places by Hvar and it was never working or was out of ice from others using it. Furthermore, I would like to have additional places to fill my personal water bottles throughout the resort, such as water fill stations in different spots. We were always able to fill at poolside/beachside bar so it wasn’t terrible, I just feel that there could be more options to fill throughout the resort.

So I’m still here at the resort and I really want to give it more stars but unfortunately there are a few things that seem to be a repeat complaint from customers and nothing is done. Firstly I should say most of the resort is beautiful well maintained, lovely accommodation, beautiful surroundings and lots for the kids to do. Complaints would be the following: 1) beds are really hard and uncomfortable 2) kids slide area not well manned and borderline dangerous for younger kids and in general. As someone said before no lifeguard monitoring how many kids go down at one time and one of our group kids chipped a tooth in the process. 3) restaurant open till 9 but no bar available past this time in the resort you have to walk five minutes downhill to neighbouring resort if you want to continue drinking. To the point where two minutes to nine the bar person is screaming to stop taking orders. Normally hotels have a bar for a reasonable amount of time that guests can use especially when there is entertainment poolside but no ability to get any drinks. Big loss in money making id imagine. 4) food in restaurant is nice but can be a bit same same every night. Half board is only evening meal and so you don’t have the ability to change to lunch if you want to go out at night and try some of the other local restaurants. 5) Even when finishing your post dinner drinks if it’s past nine the staff will switch off the lights if you’re sitting in the grill area so you are sitting in pitch black with no warning, I’d say people will enjoy this place but it just feels like with a few tweaks it could be so much more excellent. Put the customer first and you will see a huge improvement in satisfaction scores

We really enjoyed our stay at the Valamar Amicor resort. The staff were friendly, and the location right by the sea was beautiful, just a short walk from historic Stari Grad on a gorgeous island. A highlight was the family activity program run by Aurel, including bike rides, SUP tours, kayaking, and morning exercise by the sea. Aurel was calm, positive, and wonderfully patient with the children. Thoroughly recommended!