Hotel Istra, NP Brijuni — Hotel in Grad Pula

We stayed at Hotel Karmen for 2 nights, it was pleasant but somewhat eerie & rather dated, the decor & furniture hasn't changed in over 40 years & parts of the hotel is in need of a lick of paint & some TLC, old can be beautiful, but it needs to be maintained. The hotel is relatively clean & the cleaning staff were very polite. The mattress in the room was comfortable but the actual bed was shockingly noisy, even the slightest movement of a limb as you slept created a very loud creaking noise, enough to wake you everytime.||There is no air conditioning, but the room was fairly big with high ceilings, no refrigerator either, so no way to keep any drinks/food cool.||The island itself is very peaceful & quite, I would recommend hiring a bicycle to make to most of looking around, it was good fun, I'm sure the golf buggy would have been good too, but they were rather expensive! We managed to see the whole island in a day & there is a free boat which runs regualary back to Fazana on the mainland, it's much cheaper to eat there (about half the price in comparison to the restaurant on Brujuni Island).||The breakfast was included in the price, with a good selection of self service food & drinks, it is served in the neighbouring hotel Neptun.||If we did decide to return, I would stay for 1 night, but I think I would choose to pay a bit more & stay in the other hotel - Neptun Istria. ||There are some nice sights to see during the day & some lovely areas to swim, the evenings are extremely quiet, almost has a ghost town feel, we went for a walk at 9pm & didn't see another soul until the following morning at breakfast.||If you wanted to just visit the Island, you could always stay in Fazana & get an early boat for the day & return on the last...

To start with the hotel experience and organisation of services offered on the island: Most service and staff were very rude. We got scammed with our room. We paid for a room which was renovated, moden with a couch and a nice view on the sea, instead we got a room which was not renovated since 1960s and had no AC (We had to request a FAN on the reception which they did deliver 2 hours later, which was older than the hotel itself). View from the room was also horrible.

The description of our stay mentioned it was “All inclusive” which was false once we learned we had to pay for the drinks. If you want to see anything on the island you MUST rent a golf cart, which costs around 50€ per hour, and it takes about 2 and a half hours to tour the entire island and take a swim once. If you’re looking for a cheaper version you can rent a bike, just keep in mind that the temperature on the island during the day is 36C or 96F and that there are a lot of inclines to climb. They advertised electric scooters as well which were supposed to be cheaper, but when we asked the staff if they’re available they replied in a very rude manner that the scooters are only available to staff members. Food in the hotel was simply mediocre.

As a Croatian citizen, I am ashamed that this is what Brijuni, a location knowh for being exotic and beautiful, has to offer. I would not recommend to go there, as I saw it as a complete waste of...

Brijuni is exceptional place. We booked two nights in superior room but I am not sure that is the room we got (even though at reception they said we did- photos and description of the room at the booking page did not match the actual room and we didnt have sofa in room, just bed and futon). I wrote to hotel reception beforehand and they provided information about parking in Fazana (very close to pier and reception where you pick up free vouchers for boat transfer to Brijuni). Parking is great and in shade. It is not very expensive. Check in is fast. Room is big and renovated. Bathroom is partly renovated. Toiletries are provided (but dont forget toothpaste and brush). No slippers or robes. Beach towels are provided. Towels smell amazing whick really surprised me. Rooms are clean bit carpets smell and two pillows on the bed are not enough for good night sleep, they are not confortable. Air-con works poorly, the trick is to open the door in front of it so air blows out freely, then the room cools faster. Breakfast is very basic, at 9.20 there were no more toast, yoghurt. Dinner is OK, but food generally is dissapointing for what you pay. We didnt really enjoy food. What is outstanding is the nature. We rented electric golf cart and drove all around the island- its way better than bycicles in the summer heat. We will probably be back next year because of amazing nature and tranquility but hotel ahoild...