Sunny Dubrovnik by Valamar

The second time we have been to this hotel and it didn't disappoint. We had a sea view room which was worth the extra money. The hotel has great facilities, with access to the nearby Maro World for kids being a major plus point. Maro World is a genuinely world-class play centre and my son loved visiting there with us. I'm surprised at some of the previous reviews criticising the food, as it was well prepared and there was a good choice. The only thing I found lacking was the availability of fresh juice e.g. orange, which would have been nice at breakfast. If you are going to be out during the day, then you can order a packed lunch at reception on the day before. We did this a few times, and the lunches were really good, including a nice sandwich, snack, fruit, water and a carton of juice. The room was clean, with plenty of storage space and a nice balcony. There was only one chair, but we just used another one from the room. The pool is good, with a children's pool that has a couple of slides and a larger pool. Though it was sometimes busy, we didn't ever struggle to get loungers and a parasol. The location is great on the quieter Babin Kuk peninsula. It's easy to get the number 6 bus to the Old Town and you can buy tickets from the hotel gift shop. The buses are crowded sometimes, but frequent. There are also some lovely beaches nearby. All of the staff at the hotel were very helpful and friendly. We'd certainly visit again.

Really great stay. Excellent location, stunning views, comfortable rooms, tasty food and most of all great, kind, professional and helpful personal, specialy girls on the reception...Lea, Franica and Ana. Many thanks and well be back for sure!!!

Just got back from a lovely week here. We travelled as a family with our 13 month old baby. Location - Everything you need, we wanted a chilled week and didn't go out much. We walked down to the beach a few times which is a 5 min walk down the hill and we went into Old Town on the number 6 bus for the morning, that was very quick and easy, about 20 minutes journey. Rooms - Perfect size for the 3 of us, as we had a travel cot it was a bit of a tight squeeze so we had to move stuff around but it was doable. We had a sea view which was lovely! One downfall is that there is only one seat outside, it would have been nice to have two but we used to stalls in the room and took that outside instead. Pool - Two pools, a baby one with the slides and a bigger one. The baby pool can get very busy with all the kids coming down the slides there isn't much room for us to be in there with our baby which is a shame, but understandable as the slides are a great addition! We used the bigger one which wasn't a problem. There were a lot of teenagers there going down the slides as groups, splashing around and pushing each other over which looked to be ruining it for other kids and babies. I would say that pool is only there for the slides and not a 'kids pool' as it was stated. Food - Mixed reviews on this one, my husband really liked it and thought the choice was great. However, I am a little more fussy. I found breakfast boring, it was the same every morning. Very greasy bacon, no pancakes/waffles, no hashbrowns or potatoes and the bread was quite stale. I managed to get by though, the omelettes are great! Lunch was nice, its a buffet style which had a lot of choice. Always a fresh meat on the grill and a different risotto. Always pizza available. There are no chips at lunch, I didn't mind this but I spoke with a few families who were annoyed about this situation due to their kids wanting chips. Snacks was nice, a choice of sandwiches (quite soggy bread from being on the heat counter) or beef koftas/burgers and chips every day, it did get a bit samey but it was nice so can't complain. Dinner was pretty much the same as lunch with options, a few dishes to choice from, potatoes/rice, veg, pizza, chips, fish of the night etc. Desserts were the same every day, we didn't have them other than the fruit salad which was nice. Be careful when eating the cherries, we cut into them for our baby and there were maggots in them.. If they are soft, don't eat them! No ice cream/lollies at all which is a bit of a let down. Soft drinks were awful, not branded and not great. The coke had no taste and the fizzy orange tasted like syrup. Great coffee out the coffee machine though! Staff - AMAZING. Couldn't fault any of them! All so friendly and helpful. They all made such an effort with our baby, every time he waved at them they waved back and made sure they would keep coming back to say hello. The bar staff were a little more on the moody side but hey ho! Maro World - Great! Best kids entertainment we have ever seen, they have a disco and a show every evening which is great. We had a thunderstorm one day when we were there and we spent a good few hours here! Entertainment - Other than Maro World, the hotel don't have anything in the evenings. We asked and they said it was at their sister hotel but we didn't bother going there and we went to Maro World instead. Overall, we had a lovely week here!

A management reply will apply the usual psychology of thanking me and my wife in detail for the good points in our review and say they note the negative points, glossing over them. They are not in a position to fix anything and nothing will change. We came back to this hotel after staying four days a few years ago on a coach trip. It was then the Club, a modest 3 star with adequate quality food. It now appears to have been rebranded as the low quality Sunny, much to its detriment. In fairness to those who like it, if it suits their desires that is great. However our desires are a degree of quiet, good varied food well cooked, a low percentage of youths and young children. The Club was like that so it is our mistake to have come back. Food In summary it was, to our taste (readers, your tastes will differ), simply awful: cold, boring, bland, tough burnt/over/under cooked meat, burnt croissants, watery yoghourt, same milk puddings *every* lunch/dinner, limited continental selection at breakfast, *no ice cream* despite being a family hotel, poorly cooked vegetables, no salad variety, pizza and tough grilled meat every lunch/dinner, three unchanging types of hard cheese only at breakfast, awful wine and beer on tap, hot water with a stock cube for many of the soups. Room The bed slid from the wall when sitting up. The room was a bit cramped with a settee bed in it. There was a deckchair for a seat in the balcony, which is useless for older/larger people and quite dangerous for kids. Staff We had an over helpful room cleaner. Most up front staff were slovenly: the hotel "look" seems to be cheap and cheerful in jeans, trainers and T shirts. Even old style holiday camp staff look smarter. We did not find them particularly helpful or friendly or respectful. Security Seven local youths were seen and reported by us to reception for climbing the fence. Receptionist had done nothing after I went back an hour later. Three hours later youths were still there using the outdoor facilities. Was told the pool team had been informed but clearly they chose to do nothing. Reception had not checked up. I think this goes on a lot (see previous comments) but the hotel turns a blind eye to it. Noise There is no soundproofing. The lounge area is painfully noisy with guests shouting and that noise reflecting off the walls. The staff do not help either by shouting at each other instead of going closer and talking normally. The dining areas inside suffer from the same problem. The families enjoying themselves naturally make a lot of noise and the level was actually painful. Conversation across a table was difficult at its worst. Lounge This is quite small for the size of the hotel. It has mostly hard furniture, not designed for relaxation. Waiting hours for an airport coach from 10am checkout to 3:30pm pickup was horrible. Pool The pool was actually really good. At its busiest it was difficult to have a decent swim due to floaters, groups playing with themselves throwing their balls about, kids jumping into the pool. Swimming after 4:30pm was better. Drinks Machines There are no kettles provided but there are coffee and hot water machines in the lounge (no hot chocolate). These are not convenient though. They don't dispense normal coffee but just the likes of espresso and milky coffee variations. There are also two soft drink dispensing machines that simply mix concentrate and water. They tasted awful. Clientele Mostly there were families meaning a large number of unsupervised children doing enthusiastically what children do (we have had two). There were very, very few senior citizens. There were a few couples mostly younger than mid thirties. Youth groups There were quite a few youth groups who dominated the lounge and the dining area as they all went for food together. Imagine a group of twenty all queuing up to get three grilled pieces of meat and a whole pizza each! It was a soul destroying experience when they came in so we avoided those times. The hotel also seemed to cater for school groups at lunchtime. The hotel is overpriced for the experience it offers. However the hotel does appear to please the easily satisfied, less discerning guest. Dubrovnik old town is pretty crowded with cruise ships. Should a family or young couple want more comfort, good quality food, trained smart staff then look elsewhere e.g. Spain. If you are senior citizens like us, avoid this hotel.

Overall a very good half term break that worked well for a three generation group of ten. The hotel was pretty good. There's a pool table and table football in the main area. Rooms clean but maybe a little tired. The food and drink was good throughout; the children particularly liked the mid-afternoon snacks. Lots of time by the pool where there are slides and a bar. The sea is just a short walk away. A five minute walk away, past all the stray cats, is Maro world which is free and was good for trampolining and gaming. There are also some shops close by. Durbrovnik old town was a 10 Euro Uber away, other taxis cost more, especially coming back which tended to be 20 Euros. There's also a bus available. The old town is beautiful. Lots of boat trips and tours available, and a cable car. The only negatives: there was no onsite entertainment, this was available at a sister hotel although we didn't check it out; there are no water bottle refill stations; the pillows are a bit flimsy. But overall, a very good holiday. Thank you!