Villa Vulin — Hotel in Grad Pula

We're just back from a long weekend staying at this lovely hotel in Pula. Before we left for our trip, we did see a negative review on here about this hotel which threw is into a bit of a panic, however we made contact with the hotel and from that point onward the service we received was brilliant! Martina couldn't do enough for us, reassuring us by answering questions the trip advisor review had thrown up as well as booking our taxi to meet us from the hotel. Mr Vulin was there to greet us personally and invited us to check into our room 10am on the morning of our arrival. We also enjoyed a late checkout on the day of our departure, access to the hotel for the day and again, a taxi booked (and local going-rate price agreed) for us. ||||The room was just lovely. We are a family of 4. The room was a superior suite and had 1 double room, 1 twin room, a living room area and a private balcony with comfortable seating. The pictures on the hotel's site are very accurate and I would suggest taken recently. The hotel was very clean, comfortable, secure and air conditioned. I did read reviews on here criticizing the star rating of this hotel. I personally think that is very unfair. There is no global star rating scheme which suggests a 5* hotel in Dubai for example, would or should be matched by a 5* elsewhere. I fully believe this is a deserved rating for a 5* hotel for this area - and if you check the prices, it is not really much more expensive than lesser starred hotels that can't offer the comfort or air conditioning nor deliver the level of service we enjoyed.||||It is true that the hotel is a little out of the way. But just a little. It is not in the city centre, nor at the beach (which were both very busy with tourists due to it being peak season), but what we really liked about that is that we were in the middle of both of these spots with a short walk and an easy 10 minute bus journey to either destination for about the equivalent of £3.50 for our family fare. Buses ran every 20 minutes up until midnight including Sundays. The children enjoyed the fun of catching the bus with the locals and to be honest, so did I and when we got back to our hotel, we had space and peace and slept brilliantly. No traffic noise, no hustle and bustle of other tourists. ||||The only thing that we did feel was a terrible shame is that there were so few guests. I think during our 3 night break there was only 1 other room booked for part of the time and this is peak season! It's such a shame because it's such a wonderful place to stay. We do suggest people take Trip Advisor reviews as a subjective review by someone who may not have exactly the same needs, wants or ideas as you. We read comments about the restaurant being closed etc. We were invited to dine in the restaurant and offered breakfast. We declined as we wanted to keep a free schedule and get out and about exploring as much as we could but the offer was there and I am absolutely in no doubt that had we booked for dinner or breakfast, the food and service would have been great. ||||I would recommend this hotel to others, particularly families and couples - anyone who can walk for 5 minutes to a bus stop really.||||Thank you Mr Vulin and your team. Thank for a lovely stay and for your warm and generous...

We are here now 29-8-2023 for two nights. Villa Vulin is a beautifull building and it oozes potential. But it lacks maintenance and it shows. It is the little things that show. No airco at entrance so not a comfortable entree. Personell is very friendly and do there best but have non to low experience in this industry. Not perse a bad thing because everyone has to learn. This review is not about these people. Allthough tidy and relative clean large parts of the building are a 'mess'. Room as booked is large and clean and as such comfortable. But entrance door does not close well and needs to be locked to stay closed. No toiletpaper in holder just empty role is first sign off attention detail. Another shows with lightbulb sticking out of bedlamp. Makes me sceptical right away. Airco in bedroom and in 'living room' work. Airco in bedroom stops/starts with enough clacking noice to prevent continuous sleep. You keep waking up. Airco cannot be turned off as it selfstarts after a while. With high temperatures you cannot do without. Tonight it will be cool enought. The bedroom light keeps glowing after switching off because of leakage current. This is potential hazardous because it means there is a fault in the wiring system. If light keeps you awake this residual light is bright enough to do so. With a circus worthy chair on bed balancing act I had to unscrew the bulbs at one o'clock in the morning.... The bed? It's what your used to, but it is not a good bed or matrass. It moves with the tossing and turning which we did a lot. We did not sleep well. The door to the balcony cannot be locked and basically stays open. The external blind on this door does not work. Not the best way for safe feeling. Not all the window blinds work without manual interference. One has no curtain at all. The handle in the shower is fixed at the wrong spot so the floor next to bath in front of sink gets really wet. Yes a big towel can do wonders. You want to be five star? The details remember? Breakfast is continental and one can discuss what this should minimal include or means. This breakfast is not worth it's name and you beter off getting it somewhere else. This is not a five star stay and we think it is not worth the high price off 220 euro/night. The location is ok and there are restaurants close by. We did consider going somewhere else even with higher price and taking our loss here, but decide not to so. We'll see how coming night turns out. Pula is waiting and we only have one day so we're making the most of it. If you look through it all, can handle the flaws and are willing to pay a relative high price.....but we do not recommend it until some serious work on quality has been done. We are not returning here and our advice would be to let this one pass. But do make up your own mind. Maybe we...

The local is off the beaten path in Pula which is nice. The parking is great at the hotel. Most of Pula has horrible parking which you pay for. This hotel you do not have to pay for it. The rooms are nicely equipped. The shower and provided toiletries were also very nice. The bed slept comfy. The tv was great with a couple of English news channels. AC works great which is nice after spending the hot day in the sun. Super friendly owner and wife work there. It felt like we were staying at mom's house and we joke it was mom and dad and sister working there. ||So why not a five star? Couple of issues that did not make a huge deal but could have. We asked the young front desk lady to book us a taxi for an early morning for a ferry to Italy. It appears she forgot which made us run around to get there at the last minute early in the morning. Not a big deal, just I would make my own reservations and not worry others. There is a phone in the room that has local calls. Next issue, same young lady "lost" the room key when it was returned. The owner, who spoke limited English, was extremely worried about the key for over a day (note we left for Italy overnight). She even forgot that we gave her the key after asking personally were the key was. Also about the keys, they are laid on the front desk when the staff goes out of the hotel. So anyone can have access to your room while your gone. Maybe there's no theft issue in the area of Pula but seems to me there's a breakdown when it comes to keys. ||All in all- loved the hotel and would be back if in the Pula area again. Would recommend...