Sun Gardens Dubrovnik

We were fortunate enough to be upgraded to one of the suites through Amex Travel, and it was incredible. The suite had a spacious balcony complete with lounge chairs and a dining table, and the swing inside the room was such a unique and fun touch. The TV was also very convenient, allowing us to easily navigate the hotel’s amenities and even order room service. One thing to keep in mind is that the property is located a bit outside of Dubrovnik, and there isn’t much to do in the immediate area. I would recommend bringing your own goggles, beach toys, and swim shoes, as the on-site store is quite expensive. Also, all of the pools closed at 7 PM during our stay, so there weren’t many activities available at the property in the evening. Breakfast was excellent, with a wide variety of options, and the restaurants on the property were great as well. Overall, we really enjoyed our stay and especially appreciated the quality of the suite and the beautiful property.

Disappointing stay despite a beautiful resort I’m currently staying at Sun Gardens Dubrovnik and, unfortunately, our experience has been far below what I would expect from a resort of this standard and price. The biggest issue has been the condition of our room. We have found ants in the room, including on the bed, which is completely unacceptable, particularly in a resort marketed as a luxury family destination. Finding ants on the bed has made us uncomfortable using the room and has significantly affected our stay. Another major disappointment is the extremely high pricing throughout the resort. The shop, restaurants and other facilities are all very expensive, and the prices feel disproportionate to the overall experience and quality being provided. As guests staying on the resort, there are very limited alternatives without travelling elsewhere, which makes this particularly frustrating for families. We booked this holiday expecting a high-quality, relaxing family break and paid a premium price to stay at Sun Gardens Dubrovnik. Unfortunately, the issues with the room and the consistently excessive pricing have taken away from the experience considerably. I hope management takes these concerns seriously and recognises that, given the amount paid for this holiday, the experience has simply not lived up to the standard or value we expected.

We were absolutely delighted with our 10-day stay at Sun Gardens Dubrovnik. From the moment we arrived, the whole resort felt immaculate, beautifully maintained and a genuine step up in quality and luxury. We stayed in a Garden Sea View Suite, which was spacious, really well appointed and a lovely place to come back to each day. A special mention has to go to the housekeeping team, who were absolutely brilliant. Our suite was kept spotlessly clean throughout the entire stay, and the attention to detail was exceptional. One of the biggest surprises for us was the beach. We have always been very much a sandy-beach family and weren’t particularly excited about the idea of a pebbly beach. We have completely changed our minds! The sea here is absolutely beautiful – incredibly clear, warm and full of fish. Definitely bring some snorkelling gear because there is so much to see. With a pair of sea shoes, the pebbles really aren’t an issue at all, and we’ve now discovered the considerable joy of coming back from the beach without sand absolutely everywhere! Another huge positive was the complete absence of the dreaded “sunbed wars”. We found that if we went down to the beach anytime before around 10.30–11am, we could always find sunbeds, and it never felt unpleasantly crowded. There are also two pools suitable for families – one with a livelier atmosphere and another that’s a little quieter – so you can choose depending on what you’re looking for. In 10 days, we only spotted one family doing the traditional 8am towel-on-the-sunbed routine before disappearing for several hours, which probably says everything about how relaxed the whole resort is. Everyone else seemed to simply turn up when they actually wanted to use the pool or beach. What a refreshing change! We ate at several of the restaurants and thought the standard of food was exceptional. It’s worth saying that eating and drinking at the resort isn’t cheap, so you should factor that into your holiday budget, but we consistently felt that the quality was excellent. The restaurants themselves are lovely places to spend an evening, and we had some genuinely memorable meals. Most importantly, though, the staff were fantastic. From reception to the waiting teams, housekeeping and everyone else we encountered, people were consistently friendly, helpful and incredibly accommodating. Nothing ever seemed too much trouble, and that makes an enormous difference over a 10-day holiday. We’ve often gone for all-inclusive holidays in the past, so we were slightly conscious beforehand that Sun Gardens would be a different type of holiday. In reality, we loved it. It felt like we’d taken a real step up in terms of quality, surroundings, food and the overall experience, while still being somewhere that worked brilliantly for us as a family. Beautiful surroundings, fantastic sea, excellent food, wonderful staff, a lovely suite and, perhaps most miraculously of all, no getting up at dawn to fight over a sunbed (even if one family were determined to break the rules!). We had a fantastic 10 days and would happily recommend Sun Gardens Dubrovnik. An easy five stars from us.

Beautiful resort! Plenty of pools and beach area to choose from. Overall incredible experience.

We stayed at Sun Gardens Dubrovnik in early August as a family and had a fantastic time.It is a beautiful resort and, despite travelling during peak season, what stood out most was how relaxed and peaceful everything felt. The grounds are beautifully maintained, the views are incredible, and the service throughout our stay was excellent. We especially appreciated that the resort never felt overcrowded. Even going down to the beach at around 9:00 in the morning, we could still easily find lounge chairs, which is definitely not something you can take for granted at a resort in August. Our room was spacious, very well maintained and nicely decorated. We also had a large private terrace with two loungers, a table and chairs, and a beautiful view. The Wi-Fi worked extremely well throughout the resort, including around the pools and beach areas. Breakfast was also very, very good, with plenty of choice and good-quality food. Another thing we appreciated was that the hotel had more than one breakfast area. The restaurant just below the lobby, on (Floor R), has an amazing view, but we found it quite busy and noisy in the mornings. We much preferred the restaurant on the garden floor (Floor 0), which had a noticeably calmer and more laid-back atmosphere. My only small criticism of breakfast is that I would have liked to see a few more sweet options, such as pastries, muffins, cakes or something similar. A special mention has to go to the spa and wellness centre, which is probably one of the best hotel spas we have experienced. There are several steam rooms/Hammams, different saunas and excellent wellness facilities. It is a wonderful place to spend a couple of hours, particularly if you want a break from the heat. There are a couple of things worth knowing before booking. The resort is built on a hillside, so reaching the beach involves walking down quite a few stairs or using a sloping ramp. The beach itself is rocky rather than sandy, which is normal for this part of Croatia, so water shoes may be useful. Guests with mobility difficulties should also pay attention to the bathroom configuration when choosing a room. Our bathtub was very large and quite high, which could make getting in and out difficult for someone with reduced mobility. I would suggest asking the hotel whether they have rooms with walk-in showers and requesting one if this is a concern. The main negative for us was the pricing at the restaurants and for some of the spa services which we found quite high. The quality was generally good, but prices can add up very quickly, particularly for a family staying several days. One final piece of advice concerns getting into Dubrovnik. The hotel is approximately 10 km from the city, and I rented a car thinking this would make things easier. In hindsight, that was a mistake.An Uber from the hotel to Dubrovnik was around €22, which actually worked out much better. Driving meant paying roughly €17–€20 for parking, and the parking areas can still be around 1.5 km from the Old Town. Walking that distance in the August heat was not particularly appealing, so we sometimes ended up paying another €15–€20 for a taxi from the parking area to the Old Town and another €15–€20 to get back to the car. Suddenly, taking an Uber directly from the hotel looks like a bargain. If you do rent a car, I would particularly recommend avoiding Garaža Ilijina Glavica / Best in Parking, which we found ridiculously expensive. There are other parking options worth looking for. Overall, however, these are relatively minor criticisms of what was a genuinely excellent stay. Sun Gardens Dubrovnik combines the facilities of a large resort with a surprisingly calm and laid-back atmosphere**, excellent service, beautiful surroundings and fantastic views. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay and would happily return. One important tip: keep track of your expenses during your stay and check the final bill carefully before paying.We found several charges assigned to our room, and to our children’s room, that had not been made by us. It appeared that other guests had given our room numbers when making purchases. The hotel corrected the charges, but it is definitely worth checking everything before settling the bill.