Sun Gardens Dubrovnik

Just arrived back in the UK and we were truly sad to leave Sun Gardens even though the weather was hotter here. To quote Arnie "I'll be back" To start. This fantastic 5 star resort hotel has all you need for a very relaxing and enjoyable stay. First impressions are important and this has it all. Bell boys, reception staff and concierge were truly welcoming and their smily attention made us feel really at home. Thankfully our room was ready. Check in is 4 pm. We arrived 1 pm quite tired as our 07.15 trip from Manchester meant we had little sleep. Its evident why this hotel is part of The Leading Hotels of the World. Service is exemplory. From the airport to Sun gardens is about 40 minutes by car. We prebooked with a private company or the hotel will arrange transfers for you. Sun Gardens is a 20 minute Uber ride to the old town and about 15 euros. Which is about a third of the price of a taxi........Avoid taxis unless you are foolish with your cash. As an example. My phone crashed in the old town and I had to pay the taxi 45 euros in cash to get back to the hotel. The hotel also has a shuttle service for 10 euros per person, which we used once when Uber was not available.I have the Bolt app but never used them once. They hardly had anything available and were always more expensive than Uber. We did not use the bus as we were advised that the service was intermitant. Our room was 410. A deluxe spacious room with a quirky and truly unique see through bathroom glass wall giving the room a far bigger feel and of course still seeing the outside view. Beds are extra large and very comfy. I particularly enjoyed getting back when the room had been made up like new again. The maids are as sweet as sugar. Lovely people. The view from the balcony is truly spectacular over the manicured gardens, apartments, and the glorious sea. This side of the hotel gets the morning sun. So you can sunbath here until midday and go out later if you wish to plan your day accordingly. I regret not bringing my binoculars. As the constant variety of boats and jet skis required my closer attention. Watching a Celebrity cruise ship sail out of the port from distance whilst drinking an ice cold Gin and Tonic on the balcony brought back fond memories of our numerous cruises from Miami Beach. Breakfast was a huge spread of food with every choice available. So you could feast to your hearts content whilst also enjoying the free bubbly. Again the staff were absolutley marvellous. They started our day with the warmest greeting. I must mention the bacon though. Its the worst I have ever had. Our English one is far,far superior. This is tough and stringy. Room service was very handy if you diidnt feel like going out in the evening and prices were reasonable. We used it twice. A special mention to the bar staff at Maraska on the recertion level. My nightly trip with the ice bucket for our room G & Ts were always met with good cheer. They even supplied lemon for us. One night we enjoyed some specialist whiskys sitting there choosing from quite a large list of drinks. We wanted to sample the local food so tried a couple of local "Konobas" We had Wild boar stew at Konoba Savoroni in Orasac. An 8 euros Uber trip. Huge portion of meat. Enough for 2 meals and Octopus salad starter. One portion easily enough for two. Local food at non tourist prices. Just a short Uber (8 euros) visit to Zaton....Konoba Ankora is literally on the waters edge. More expensive but very romantic and still good value. You are paying for the view. The starters are, as large as a main course, only bigger. We had mussels and a huge seafood risotto with clams, prawns, squid. So order starters not mains. The hotel has a good selection of restaurants at resort prices. We dined at one only. La Pasta. This was very disappointing. But I won't go into detail here. I will write a seperate review. We spent most of our time at the hotel. On the balcony and the spa, which is fantastic. BUT be VERY careful by the spa pool. It is extremely slippy underfoot. I nearly slipped three or four times. This needs looking into. Its dangerous when exiting the pool in bare feet. Our favourite outdoor spot was the Marina pool. Spectacular views. Loads of free sunbeds everywhere. So no worry about getting there early. The small marina offers Jet ski hire, or take a boat ride to the old town. Or get there early and watch the boats leaving. Or later to watch them coming back. Again lots of free sunbeds at any time of the day at the beach. Or if you are feeling rich you can rent a Cabana for about 100 euros. We visited the Old Town Dubrovnik three times. The last one was to take a boat trip around one of the islands and the coastline and the spectacular fortified old town. For 15 euros per person its excellent value for 45 minutes on the water. I booked through Viator online. One of the highlights of the boat trip is watching some very brave youngsters diving off the cliffs from Buza bar one and two. The very brave jump from the highest ones. We were tipped off about Buza bar from a Youtube video and its difficult to find. We visited Buza bar 1 two days before the boat trip so we knew we were in for a treat seeing things from a different prospective. Seek it out. It was a highlight of our holiday. Sadly we did not walk the walls. Its scorching hot and I have a few health issues so didn't want to risk it. But next time I'm sure. Something else I fancied doing was a kayak trip around the old town, but the heat is incessant so I didn't want to risk it. Its worth mentioning the terrain of Sun Gardens, as its built into a hillside. So there are many steps down and back to the beach. The apartments, (which I fancied) have lots and lots of stairs, so my dodgy hip would not cope with them. I just about managed the beach and back I think that I have covered most of our seven day trip to Sun Gardens and Dubrovnik To sum up. Sun Gardens is certainly not cheap but its very good value compared to some other five star hotels. It certainly lives up to the promise. So.. I would return at the drop of a hat. It had everthing that my wife and I desired. Luxurious room, all the facilities of a resort hotel. Imacculate gardens. Lots of free sunbeds, no scrambling for spaces. The best staff in all my travels in all hotels we have stayed in. A true five star experiance. Flights are very reasonable through Jet 2.... We booked direct with the hotel. So I will be keeping my eye out for any deals that may tempt me. The Croation people are very friendly and warm hearted. Thank you Sun Gardens. I

We have been to Sun Gardens twice. Our second trip was in July 2025. Love this resort, so beautiful and relaxed - great choice of restaurants.

Second visit and equally as good. Staff especially friendly and helpful, room beautifully positioned and cared for by housekeeping staff, breakfast buffet difficult to beat, wonderful surroundings with choice of pools or beach. Also, a choice of five independent restaurants on site with at least one exceptional. Property beautifuly maintained and a really pleasant welcoming atmosphere.

The sungardens is a beautiful part of the world with gorgeous views and great weather. It’s not a 5 star though so just don’t expect that standard and you won’t be disappointed. We stayed in a 2 bed with sea views and the apartment was spacious and comfortable. It looked tired though and needs a bit of TLC, it was also infested with ants which meant we couldn’t use the kitchen at all as any food just brought them out. Overall it’s a lovely place it just lacks a level of professionalism and luxury that you’d expect from a 5 star. A simple example is the towels were small and there are no face cloths, small things that 5 stars always have are missing.

Went in off season and the value for the price we paid is awesome. The suite is large with full kitchen, a furnished large terrace and great views of the ocean. Designer toiletries and nice welcome amenity in room. The hotel has many amenities including multiple pools, large gym/sports courts. The indoor pool with many different water features, dry/wet saunas and Jacuzzi was very impressive. The Spa service was OK, not that exciting. Breakfast buffet was underwhelming though.