Hotel Parentium Plava Laguna — Hotel in Grad Poreč

We stayed for 11 nights at the Hotel Parentium which sits on a peninsula between Plava and Zelena Laguna to the south of Poreč. We had two Classic rooms. The rooms were relatively spacious, well equipped and clean. They have a balcony, although the view is of an astro turf covered roof and other rooms with balconies. It didn't bother us as we didn't spend a lot of time in the room. Wi-Fi was very usable throughout the hotel although it is an open network so you might want to consider using a VPN.

The hotel itself is lovely. It is really clean and well maintained. It has a wellbeing centre with a gym, pool and spa facilities. The gym is well equipped and was not too busy. The indoor pool was lovely and warm and also never over full. The two outside pools were nice although a little on the cold side. Sunbeds are around the pool as well as in the grounds and by the sea. Towels can be picked up by the pool. The sunbeds were busy especially by mid afternoon but it was usually possible to find one or two.

The hotel also has a sort of beach which is a concrete promenade you can walk on with areas that provide access to the sea. They were actually quite nice and we used this quite a lot. The sea was relatively warm. I would recommend using pool shoes and the steps in and some of the rocks can be a little slippery. There are also areas with trees including hammocks that can be freely used. The view of the sunset was excellent from here.

There are a couple of restaurants next to the hotel as well as a small shop which was useful for snacks and drinks. It has a limited supply but is convenient. On the other side of the hotel you can walk towards all the other hotels and restaurants for Zelena Laguna. This is the busier and more touristy side. There are beach volleyball courts here and also some following the footpath towards Poreč . There are a few table tennis tables next to the restaurant by the hotel (not sure if these are paid for or not).

We stayed half board (we got a good deal) and I would recommend doing this if you can. The breakfast buffet is good with a lot of variety. The same can be said for the evening buffet. On the whole the quality and variety were very good and they did vary it a bit each day. Some of the food is cooked at the buffet. In the morning there is plenty of juice - if you want coffee or hot water for tea just ask one of the waiters if they don't approach you immediately. In the evening you will need to pay for drinks - these are a little on the pricey side. It is convenient to be able to easily sign things to the room.

Most evenings there is also some form of musical entertainment. This ranges from piano music in the reception area to duets or small bands either there or outside. All were of a pretty decent quality and we regularly grabbed a drink and listened to them in the evening. We took cards and Uno with us and played them with the kids while listening - a very good move bringing the games.

Parking is charged at 1 euro per day and they have a car park behind a barrier. This is always busy and can be difficult to find a space sometimes. If you have the card on the dashboard you can park on the hill up to the hotel, as long as it is not directly In front of the hotel - maybe worth checking if you are unsure.

The main nationality of guests seems to be Germans with a smattering of various other nationalities including a few British. The staff all spoke good English and were very helpful. A nice touch was a bottle of wine and a card in the room on my wife's birthday - we hadn't told them.

The cleaners are good although they sometimes have a tendency to knock and enter without much warning in the morning so do use the "do not disturb" door hanger when needed. Air conditioning worked well and all the lights are controlled from a few consoles around the room. There are electric plugs next to the bed. There is a safe, a mini bar and a TV in each room and lots of storage space.

We really enjoyed our stay and would recommend it, especially...

This hotel is top class, the location is perfect, and the wider resort has well-kept grounds and is very clean. I have visited this hotel with my family four times now, and it has always been maintained to a very high standard. Some families may not like the absence of a sandy beach, but we much prefer being around a pool, so this is not an issue for us.||The staff are great. Room cleaners are always quick and efficient, and they do the rooms up nicely each day. Waiters and bar staff all have a positive attitude and are very friendly, making you feel at home. At some hotels, you feel like you are being served by robots, but the staff here are thorough and attentive. They often strike up conversation, which creates a great atmosphere around the hotel. It was nice to be recognised by some of the staff we spoke to during our stay last year. The maintenance team is also very good. We had a couple of very minor issues, both of which were sorted out right away. Reception is helpful as well.||The resort is a little bit out of the way from Porec and other places, so keep that in mind if you are not a pool dweller like myself. A taxi into Porec is usually the best option or you can hire a car if you want to explore. We have done this in previous years but just wanted to relax this time. You can also get a speedboat taxi, normal taxi boat or the road train. We still enjoyed a couple of nights in Porec, but the hotel buffet is very good, probably one of the widest spreads I have seen at any hotel. There is always pizza and fries at dinner for picky eaters too. There are plenty of shops and cafes around the resort and within a short walking distance to grab lunch if you are on bed and breakfast or half-board.||SOME SLIGHT CRITICISMS ||Both pools were closed for maintenance at different times during our stay, but only one at a time, so there was always somewhere to swim. However, this work should be done during the off-season. The pool bar tends to play exactly the same music every day. I would prefer if they could put on a mix for some variety. The bottled water price felt excessive at €5 for a 0.75L bottle of Jana, while the nearby market sells 1L for €1.30 only, significantly less. While a markup is expected, wanting bottled water with a meal makes you feel cornered into paying an excessive price. I am generally tolerant of children, especially during peak season, but staff seemed too lenient with disruptive behaviour. Kids riding scooters indoors in the lobby and restaurant (yes the restaurant) at night was noisy and unsafe for elderly guests and waiters moving quickly with trays full of drinks. It felt like an accident waiting to happen, yet no intervention occurred. Some parents seem okay with, which is to be expected, their children behaving disruptively without teaching the basics of mindfulness towards others. I also saw young children climbing on gym equipment, which is distracting to older teens and adults trying to exercise properly. The indoor spa pool, likely being warmer, was always full of kids, making a relaxing swim difficult during the day.||Overall, this is a great hotel and deserving of a five-star review rating. The criticisms are too minor from my personal perspective to knock anything off, but may be worth keeping in mind depending on what you are looking for. I would definitely return to this hotel in the future. Thanks for another great stay here.||Pictured is a friendly resident cat that we have seen around the hotel both of the last two years we have stayed here. Make sure to say hello if...

First some general remarks: This is a hotel tailored for the German population. Everyone speaks German and adresses you in German. Some keep on responding in German although you ask them in English and make clear you don't understand German... so be aware you are likely to feel in Germany, more than in Croatia.

First the good stuff: The location of the hotel at the top of the peninsula is great. Sunset views are everywhere around you can walk into the sea right from the hotel. There are plenty of sun beds both in shade and in the sun, although 60% of them are already reserved before you can even say 'breakfast'. The rooms are nice with a spacious balcony. I don't like taking a shower in a bath tub, but that's a personal thing I guess.

But unfortunately there are also some issues, especially in light of the huge price tag for this hotel. staff isn't unfriendly, but they are absolutely not warm and welcoming at all, expecially at the reception. at check-in, virtually no info about the hotel is given except your room key and a false direction of how to get there. All practicalities of the hotel are on a 'find-out-yourself'- base. once in the room one can try to find info via a QR-code, but apparently they are to lazy to update that info. For ex. Breakfast hours are incorrect, resulting in being at the breakfast half an hour too early (there goes our early breakfast and morning trip). Alsof information about the towel card is ancient and we had to find out how it worked by getting looked at like a couple of morons when we asked for a towel entertainment program should have been available in the lobby, according to the obsolete info from the room QR code. We never found anything. The first evening there was fire work, but we missed it, because we simply didn't know, although we actively looked for it. menus at the bar are available via QR, which is fine for me, but when prices are no longer up to date. So then, what's the point of it... just another example of laziness. the food is mediocre at best. Quantity above quality. Especially the breakfast is below standards. There is nothing remotely resembling any kind of fruit juice, everything is so artificial. Cold cuts and chees are very, very basic. The hot breakfast looks huge, but is is nothing more than eggs and bacon in essence. Food is generally speaking blend. There is not al lot of variation in dinner if you eliminate all the fried stuff or food soaked in creme and cheese. the fact Plava Laguna obviously bought the whole peninsula results in, when walking along the shore line, you ending up in the other hotels and it gives you a very artificial feeling. But I admit this is more of a personal feeling, than an objective fact. The animation team at the pool lacks any drive and does nothing more than throwing an occasional ball at a child.

In conclusion: The hotel is very 'vanilla'. The staff is not very motivated and it is very mediocre on multiple levels. I would not recommend coming here because it is massively overpriced for the service and quality you receive. Find yourselves another...