Hotel Pinija

Hotel and room were beautifully decorated and immaculate, however, if you book this hotel be aware of the drinks service and hidden costs. There is no all inclusive option at this hotel , drinks at lunch and dinner are served by table service only. However, there were only 1-2 staff members max at each meal who served drinks. We stayed at peak summer time and they simply did not have enough staff working to cope with demand for drinks - there were 3 meals in which we didn’t have a drink as staff simply could not make it round to us. Further to this, once served they will ask if drinks are to be paid via cash, card or billed to the room. The first night we opted for cash. They do not take payment at the time they serve you the drink. This left us waiting for 15 minutes trying to pay for the drink at the end of the meal. We asked several staff members if we could pay but they advised their role was only to clear tables and they could not take payment. We charged all drink to the room after this in order to have smoother meal times. This worked well but if you do not keep track of what you have spending be prepared for a hefty bill. Drinks in the hotel are extortionate for context 300ml water is €5. Further to this there are hidden costs with sun loungers. The hotel pool is not big enough the accommodate all guests and has max 25 sun loungers around it. However the hotel is situated on a large beach front with ample space for everyone. The catch is, if you sit at the beach you have to pay €5 per sun lounger daily. They sun loungers at the beach are hotel branded. They cannot accommodate many guest around the pool but if you sit on the exact same sun lounger on the beach front ( which is on hotel grounds) they charge you. Depending how many are in your party and how many days you wish to use the beach this again can add another hefty fee to your trip.

It was a very good trip and I recommend this hotel specifically if you have kids and toddler. It is really family friendly. If the weather is not good enough to swimm outdoor pools,there would be many other options to do indoor. Nice indoor swimming pools,indoor playground and spa. The personnel were very kind. Specially thanks to Mr.Ali who helped me alot to find my lost gold earring. Enjoy!

The Pinija hotel sits right by the water. They have a small outdoor pool and a heated indoor pool. The rooms are very smart and clean, although I would have preferred a walk in shower than a shower over the bath. My shower lead was leaking heavily from the connection with the shower head so my water pressure was not great. The room had its own aircon but this was not working. Apparently everything is controlled centrally. Maybe because it was only May and the temperatures were not very high. I thought it odd that there were no free plug sockets in the room. If you wanted to charge anything you had to either unplug the kettle or the bedside lamp. Tea and coffee provided, but despite there being a fridge in the room there was no milk. Eventually sourced at the breakfast buffet in a cup and stored in the fridge. The food in the buffet was excellent with a huge choice, although my tip would be to get whatever you want to drink from the bar before you go in as ordering drinks once you were at your table was incredibly slow (around 10/15 minutes), there only seemed to be one waiter doing this among around 150 people. Prices in the bar were standard eg 2.50 for coffee, 5-6 euros for a beer, 8 euros for a G & T, wine around 25-30 euros a bottle. All in all an excellent place to stay

Whilst a taxi ride to Zadar is required, good rates can be obtained booking through reception and you can sort return journeys through them nothing too much trouble. Room overlooking the sea was comfortable and kept clean, bathroom large and shower amazing. Kristie hostess with mostest had the biggest smile and remembered us from the first moment we spoke making meal times a joy. Food quality was excellent and dining room spacious, our drinks waitress was also lovely but sorry didn’t get her name. Overall the staff across the hotel were lovely, friendly and couldn’t do enough and if you get a chance try out the alacart restaurant not over pricy great quality and again really welcoming… overall a lovely weeks stay and couldn’t thank the people of Croatia more.

Lovely hotel in a lovely setting. Fantastic staff and amenities, in a gorgeous little bay area. Perfect pool area and next to the sea.