Park Plaza Histria

"Opulence — THAT’s the word! Tucked away on its own on quite a select peninsula. Plenty of safe and scenic walks with splendid views across the sea. The minute I walked into the spacious reception/lounge area, I told myself: “this is nice” and I was right. My (twin bed) room was more than ample. And well-appointed. Pleasant view from the balcony plus some late afternoon sun. Solo holiday for a week so things get noticed (and appreciated). The little shopping street has a very adequate supermarket for anyone (naming no names) who needs a bottle of wine. But here’s a tip: on a shelf in the cupboard, and out of sight, are wine glasses . . . and a corkscrew! Quality touch, that. One of many pros but hard to find any cons, really. The crêpes! Difficult to fault the spectacular choice of breakfast options but the crêpes fell short. But that’s it. Quite the widest buffet selection I’ve ever seen. Loved it. Ditto dinner. The staff were lovely and saying goodbye, I really was sorry to leave. Stayed in plenty of memorable 4* hotels but Radisson is one extremely reliable brand name . . . in my opinion 😀"

"Just back from a lovely week at the Park Plaza Histria. Our third visit to Croatia but the first time we’ve visited Pula and we had a fabulous time. We loved the hotel and really couldn’t fault it but the location isn’t great. There’s literally nothing within walking distance, apart from their own shops/supermarket which appeared to be closed more than open. The town of Pula is a very long walk if you’re feeling super-fit but we jumped on the bus (the stop is about a 10 min walk away from the hotel) and at just €2.20, well worth a visit. There are lots of nice walks and plenty of beaches around the hotel, all the beaches are stony/pebbly but some beautiful scenery and the sea is amazing. We went for a swim most days and loved our beach time. Pula itself is beautiful, some amazing historical sites, including the amphitheater, plus lots of cafes, restaurants and shops. We went three times during our week. It’s very ‘Italian’, with ice cream shops and pizzas galore but we loved it. Back to the hotel, it’s definitely worth its 4 stars, the place is spotless and the decor is beautiful. The pool is small but overlooking the sea, with lots of sunbeds (we didn’t really spend time at the pool as the sea was our preference). Our room was cleaned daily, was a good size and included a fridge and kettle, along with basic supplies topped up daily. We had a nice balcony overlooking the port and really couldn’t fault it. We stayed half board and made the most of the food/restaurant. The choice was amazing, loads of variety and again, all very clean. The food was excellent, with lots for everyone (meat, fish, veg, gluten free etc). There was a bit of a queue at the coffee machine in the morning but they served filter coffee too which was was readily available. The only downside to the restaurant was that you had a long wait to be served drinks, we’d nearly finished our meals on a couple of occasions before the staff came to our table. It’d be far easier if water was on the table and they only had to serve the alcoholic drinks. All in all, a lovely hotel and good value for money but a bit far from any life. If you like the sea, enjoy a walk and are happy to jump on a bus or take a taxi, then I’d recommend this hotel is great as a base for your visit to Pula."

"Overall, this is a nice hotel. It’s clean, the food is good and the staff are friendly. Most of the staff we dealt with were very helpful and welcoming. It was refreshing to see the manager also cleaning away tables and helping out. However, there were a couple of things that let it down for us. The standard of the room cleaning wasn’t what we would expect from a 4star hotel. In particular, the beds weren’t made, which was disappointing. The hotel also has a conference suite which was being used during our stay. The conference delegates mixed with the holiday guests at breakfast, and unfortunately we found some of them quite inconsiderate. They also spent time sitting around the hotel working on laptops and having business conversations on their phones. We appreciate that hotels cater for both business and leisure guests, but for us it did affect the atmosphere. When you’re away on holiday, you want to switch off and enjoy a relaxed environment, and at times it felt more like being in a business or conference hotel than a holiday hotel. There are plenty of positives about the hotel, particularly the food and friendly staff, but the housekeeping and conference atmosphere did take the shine off our stay."