Hotel Odisej Mljet — Hotel in Općina Mljet

I could write an essay about it. The title would be "Welcome back to 1980's!" Arriving to the hotel following an impressive and dazzling photos outside of the hotel on their website, we entered in a proper Soviet style environment, I felt like 7 years old again :) (I'm 43) The hotel is properly worn, passing through the restaurant we've been welcomed by that good old Soviet diner stink/smell - boy, that brought me some memories... Have a look at the photos to visualize the blandness and greyness of the environment - proof is in the pudding. I almost felt some pictures of Lenin or Stalin on the walls would have made more sense to embrace the Soviet nostalgia fully. On the top of that, the excruciating prices of alcohol beverages exceeded the ones you'd pay in the center of Paris or Rome. Couple of nasties: my son in the restaurant was shouted at by the elderly waitress for accidentally walking on her way which I felt was not fair; and outside bar man attempted to double charge me for 1 pint of beer - after pointing this out to him he apologized, but on my way back I could hear him swearing (kurwa, kurwa!) The music played all the time was mostly known hits however remade by unknown artists, not sure whether this is due to avoiding costs of royalties, anyway - the music was cheesy and untasteful. The mini fridge in the room was barely able to keep the drinks barely cold which was really annoying after a hot day. The conditioner was unable to cool our room below 25 degrees which again was very disappointing. We had a "pleasure" to hear some entertainment in the lobby by a man playing the keyboard, I saw 2 elderly couples dancing, however I wish to be able to unhear that music... It's important to note that about 80% hotel visitors are elderly/pensioners and at times we felt like we are in the geriatric pension. I have to give a credit to a few room maids that appeared working hard and ensure that room and bathroom are clean. The nature and landscape of the island is beautiful, the sea and lake water blue/green and crystal clear, but I don't see how this could be credited to the hotel except it's location. Hotel Odisej could be a crown jewel in this island with a proper investment and effective management, however instead it's just a dead fly floating in your cold soup... I would give a 5 star rating if the hotel would be called "Chruschev Dacha" or "Miloshevich Villa" with an invite to explore the Soviet/communist experience with all the attributes that it already has, however Odisej Hotel is just a failed attempt to prove something it is not... Do not believe the pictures on their website, this is just a manipulation to get you booked and eventually...

There aren't too many accommodation options on Mljet and within the National Park but, despite this, the prices at Odisej are fair and the service is exceptional. The price included a ticket to the National Park for the duration of the stay. I was staying in the annex building. As others have said, it is dated but that adds to the charm. Everywhere is spotlessly clean. It is a bit of a rabbit warren though! My room overlooked the sea. As the photos show, the views were beautiful. The balcony was an unexpected bonus. It's a lovely place to sit and watch the sunset after a long walk. The room itself was large and was equipped with a good sized empty fridge for my own drink. The television only had a couple of working channels but I wasn't there to watch tv! All of the staff were efficient, friendly and spoke fantastic English. Special mention to the lady who cleaned room 55, she was lovely :-) The food at the buffet breakfast and dinner was delicious and plentiful with items constantly replenished. Despite being busy, I was always severed my drink very quickly. Entertainment was provided some nights from a guitarist outside. Only downside was the coffee. I love about 5 coffees in a morning but here it was just a large vat of what appeared to be instant. It's the only hotel I've been to in a long time which doesn't have a proper machine. As someone else mentioned, there was a group playing their music outside on the veranda but, luckily they were stopped after two nights and, to be fair, they did stop around 23:00.Their Croatian (I think) sing along, did add to the atmosphere!

Just a couple of notes; You sit anywhere at meal times. Just turn up, claim a seat and eat! This wasn't made clear and I stood by the door for a while on my first day before grabbing the attention of a member of staff. Everyone queues outside the dining room just before 7. It's much better to wait until about 8, so much easier to get a good table outside and there is still a full quota of food. If you're on your own, take a small bag or jacket to put on your chair to claim your spot when you get up for the buffet. One night, I went up to get desert and my table, including my half full bottle of drink was about to get cleared away. Perhaps get your desert with the main course if you're alone with nobody to 'guard' the table. You can fill up your flasks for the day from the water machine at breakfast. Simply move the wooden sign to reveal a button. A few of us did this and...

Stayed here with the other half at the end of last summer (September) and have to say it was lovely. It’s an ideal base for exploring the National Park and a 15 minute walk gets you to the lakes.

The hotel itself was clean and tidy and the staff were very friendly which always helps.

The room was clean and there was plenty of space. The bathroom smelt a little of drains initially but some air freshener and a little airing was able to see to that. The entrance to the shower could certainly have done with being a little bigger. I’m not sure a well padded person would have actually fitted through the gap... The room had a small balcony overlooking the marina which was perfect for relaxing if you didn’t fancy the sea. For valuables a row of small lockers was available by the reception.

Thoroughly enjoyed the food at both breakfast and dinner. There was a decent selection for both, cooked breakfast and then different dishes depending on what day it was for dinner.

Outside the hotel you cross over the road to find the outdoor bar. This overlooks a very small kids pool, a paved area for sunbathing and of course sea - an area of which is marked out for hotel guest use. The sunbathing area is only open for hotel guests but goes get pretty busy so getting out early is pretty essential if you want something to lie on.

Some suggestions I have that didn’t negatively affect my stay but could assist the hotel are detailed below - given that my stay was last year some of this may already have been done and it’s also possible that I missed some anyway.

As dinner was set for each day of the week a menu in/info on what was being served in the rooms would be useful. Would make planning meals a little easier.

The steps into the sea could have done with being serviced more regularly, although perfectly useable they were in relatively poor condition.

Some underwater lighting for the designated swimming area in the sea would really improve the luxury feel the hotel’s website suggests it has.

Some more appropriate shower doors to enable access for the larger person.

Other than that, the stay was wonderful and I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone...