Holiday Homes / Holiday Resort Kačjak — Hotel in Grad Crikvenica

Tourist settlement Kacjak was built in the 60s, and you can tell - the asphalt is cracked, the paved walkways are slightly disheveled, the tables and chairs are scuffed and there's chipped paint, worn out by the sun everywhere. There's a sense of wounded defiance about the place, misplaced and overlooked in the passing of time. Even if you don't view such things through a tinge of romantic nostalgia as i do, it must be noted that all these deficiencies are mostly cosmetic, while everything is completely functional, clean and comfortable. There is no AC in the rooms and no TVs, but i found that the absence of such contributors to the sterility and crowded isolation of city life only amplified the sense of unladen rest and removed relaxation. The absolute upside to Kacjak is the settlement's beach, which is highly accessible without being industrial, rather maintaining a portion of it's natural beauty. The nature on the whole is lovely. Kacjak itself is a tiny promontory/headland, entirely traversable through a scenic walkway winding around it, splendid for evening walks and observing the sunset, while the settlement is removed enough from Crikvenica and noise pollution to offer a peaceful ambiance to enjoy such nature in. Besides these pluses, the most delightful aspect of my stay was the food! Breakfast is offered in the form of an ample buffet table, with a selection of bagels, salamis, cheeses, sausages, eggs, butter, jams and chocolate spreads. But dinner is simply unrivaled - among other things i was offered roast lamb, sauteed chicken tenders and beef and pork roast with a varied selection of delicious side-orders and salads. However, there were also other dishes aimed at patrons with a less amicable relationship with meat.||||Not to sound completely smitten, there were some missteps and oversights about Kacjak. The most glaring being that beverages aren't included with dinner, in fact one can't get a simple glass of water without paying for it. It's oddly inconsistent to be so forthcoming with the selection and quality of dinner dishes and then charge for water. In my opinion, it would make more sense to try and make a buck within another arena of services and offers. Another downside is that the rooms also lack a telephone and there's only one electrical outlet per room, inconveniently located away from the nightstands and beds.||||I came to Kacjak for dining, bathing and relaxation. However, those demanding of more active rest will be suited just as well - Kacjak is located a short distance from Crikvenica which has ample tourist spots and activities, including excursions, water sports and some nightlife. All this at a price that rivals that of daily expenses of city life - i'd have to be insane...

The only advantage of the hotel is its location. Nice view, clear water, close to the houses. There is a lot of potential in the hotel, but unfortunately it all remains untapped.|There are few bins in the area, so there is a lot of rubbish (nappies in the bush etc). There is no animation contrary to description, the sports fields are used for parking. We stayed for a week, the room was not cleaned once, towels are supposed to be changed every 3 days, but this did not happen for us either. The double bed was two single beds with a huge hole between them, and the mattress on one of the beds was shorter than the bed frame. There were no mosquito nets on the windows, so we could not open the windows at night, and it was very hot because of this (no air conditioning of course). The lamps were covered with bug carcasses inside, so there was hardly any light. There was only one power socket in the room, and that was at head height near the entrance. There was no fridge in the room either, which was much missed in the summer. |No wifi in the room, in fact none in most of the area. Only in one part of the beach, at the reception and in the restaurant.|The restaurant is the weakest point of the hotel. The view is very nice, but that is about all that can be said about it. For breakfast it is plastic flavoured cheese and ham, filter coffee, one kind of vegetables and a bowl of donuts that are only refilled every hour, even though they are gone in 5 minutes. Breakfast lasts until 10am, but what runs out after 9am is not refilled. Dinner is the same. The same food every day. Spiny fish, chewy meats, dilute soups. Sweets are pudding every day, and at the beginning of dinner, 10 portions of a more delicious dessert that guests take away immediately and the staff does not bring any more. Also, there is ice cream, which is delicious, but the waiter tells you to put it in a small instead of a muh because "a mug can hold too much". The food is hardly ever refilled. If they run out of a salad (also the same every day), they don't refill it, they just take the bowl away and pull the bowl next to it in the middle so there is no hole. The waiters are inexperienced, slow, no smiles, always feel you are in the way, almost push you over. They push a small cart around the restaurant with a bowl to collect the leftovers. This bowl is in front of the customers' eyes all the time, they don't take it to the back, it's a real appetite killer. The plates are dirty, the floor is full of food waste, if there is a spillage they put cardboard down to soak it up and don't clean it up. The restaurant has a terrace, which is always full, but they don't set the table, only the inside. Clean cutlery is constantly missing, nowhere...

After arrival, where we had to ask around where the reception exactly was, we got the keys to our room. We had booked bungalow with sea view on Expedia. But the bungalow was in the middle of trees and the only view we had were the bungalows of the neighbours. Inside, the room was not as on the pictures, very outdated, room was not clean, insects were walking on the floor. The shower had no holder, so it just was laying in the bathroom. We were so dissapointed, that we decided to leave immediately. At the reception, we did asked about the sea view, and we were told that "sea view" is a category, were our bungalow was part of. Very strange explanation. Sea view is not the same as the view of your neighbours and other bungalow and trees around you. They offered us a alternative bungalow, but we didn't accept this, even that this room "was better". Probably the room that we should have got in the first place. We didn't even bother to get our 67 euros back, we felt so uncomfortable and just wanted to leave and go to another hotel. The staff was friendly, but they tried to rip us off by giving us a far cheaper bungalow then what we paid for. We also blame Expedia for this, by advertising with wrong pictures, which is a shame. We always check the Tripadvisor reviews before booking a hotel, and sadly for this booking we didn't, because then we would have not booked this hotel. So, a big dissapointment, which was luckily made up by the other hotel we booked in Rakovica for just 50 euros. The other good thing: We learned our lesson to always check the...