Central Beach 9 — Hotel in Grad Makarska

We've stayed at Central Beach for 6 nights, as part of our first trip to Croatia.

Location: The location is wonderful, located across the beach (not saying on the beach, because it's separated from it by a promenade area; although you could really consider it as being on the beach). About parking, there are some parking spots in front of the hotel, and a few more a bit further, but in walking distance (2 minutes).

Hotel: Had an apartment, very spacious and clean, everything was almost new and in very good state. Cleaning of the room was performed daily. Comfortable bed, two A/C units, one for each room (bedroom, living room with small kitchen area - open space). Bathroom was very clean, good shower. There was also a second, smaller, service-like bathroom.

Restaurant: The food is very tasty, quality ingredients, we ate there every night; tried quite a few options from the menu, except for pizza. Tuna carpaccio, beef steak, mussels, black risotto, chicken with peanut sauce, grilled calamari, cevapi, everything was delicious. Breakfast is also good, same choices every day, but it's not something to complain for; maybe if the stay is longer than 7-8 days, it might get awkward though. Service was impeccable and fast, read more in the next section.

Staff: All staff members were very polite and helpful, always smiling and making sure everything is ok. But the one who stands out is Krešo. He is the waiter that took care of us at the restaurant. Besides his impeccable waiting skills, made very good recommendations on what to eat when I was unsure what to choose, suggested drinks, made excellent wine choices. Probably the best waiter I've ever encountered (overall). Also, a very friendly guy, he made our dinners even more enjoyable. It was great talking to him, finding more info about the area and secret places. What makes a trip even better is actually making contact with the local people, getting to know them, their culture, habits and so on. Maybe it will sound cheesy, but I think I've made a new friend :)

Conclusions: Central Beach 9 is a very good choice for a stay in Makarska, you won't regret it. Pricey or not, I can not say, as this was our first contact with Croatia. Considering the location, apartment space and cleanliness, staff, having a great restaurant on premises, it's surely worth the money, as price/quality ratio is a good one, from my point of view. Even if there are a lot of places to eat around, some of which we've tried for lunch, dinner always happened at Central Beach 9, as the food is really, really good. Plus, Krešo was there :) We will definitely return at some point, after we explore other parts of this...

Location is perfect (you have beach, sea, bakery, shop in 1 minute distance from the hotel). First parking that is close to the hotel has only few places. Second parking is in 1 minute distance and has a little bit more parking places (I parked there). Everybody was extremely helpfull, apartment equipment is OK, air condition is OK, furnitures were average but the smell of the apartment (110 number) was extremely disgusting. Important thing to note is that Hotel forces to pay in cash (ATM is available) and Hotel does not want to give you receipt or payment confirmation (tax frauds?). Will I come again? because of disgusting room smell I will never come here again. For cheaper price you have better / more luxurious options available in Croatia. EDIT: 1 hour after publishing opinion here I finally received invoice with confirmation (just to point: before leaving I asked about confirmation 3 times in reception without effect - only posting...

Booked 2 nights at Hotel Central Beach 9, Makarska mainly based on the location and sea views shown online. The hotel is right opposite the beach however, what wasn’t known was that the view is of a huge green inflatable assault course in the sea. ||The location is ideal for young families which was not what we were looking for, we would have preferred somewhere less commercial. The hotel itself is clean, modern and the staff were very friendly. Breakfast was good with a variety of foods to chose from. Internet was not great and the smart tv did not work which was reported but not sorted. Parking was reserved at €14 a night which in my view should have been included. ||The marina is a short walk from the hotel with a range of nice restaurants and bars to chose from. ||Overall a nice hotel but the views are not...