Hotel Ambasador - Liburnia

This was our third and last hotel during our stay in Croatia (Istria and Krk), but unfortunately not the best. Let me begin this review by giving some positive feedback: - we had a room with a balcony and seaview. The view was just stunning, and the balcony a nice place to sit and watch over the sea. - the bed was good, as was the room itself (not taking about the bathroom, more about that later) - the breakfast was excellent. Lots of choice, eggs made à la minute, fresh produce... loved it! - if you found yourself a good spot by the sea on the beach, you could enjoy the scenery - personnel was friendly - you eat very good at Cubo, the fine dining restaurant. Very very good even (but there are other issues there) Now, why do I state that the Ambasador is not a 5-star hotel, although it is rated as a 5-star hotel? Well, there are some clear issues: a lack of oversight, no managerial direction, and no taking responsability. I'll give some examples: - by the poolside and at the beach it is clearly stated that smoking is forbidden. Everyone who wanted to smoke, smoked. Staff even handed out lighters and ashtrays. If you have rules, enforce them. - the sun loungers at the pool and at the beach had a tag that stated that seat reservation was not allowed. At 7am there were already hotel guests putting down towels to reserve seats. In the weekend this meant that by 8.30 half of the seats was already taken, whilst no one was on them. If you have rules, enforce them. - at breakfast, dirty plates were quickly taken away, but then lingered on carts in the middle of the breakfast area. In a proper 5star hotel, plates are immediately taken away to the kitchen to be washed. - we had a reservation at Cubo, the fine dining restaurant for our final night. We already had to come back 45min later because nobody of the staff (because there is no oversight by a maitre d') cared to check the reservations and there was no table for us or called ahead (they knew our room number) to say we could come a bit later. If you have a proper maitre d'h (which a fine dining restaurant should have), this would be taken care of. - And there were 2 big tables (5-6 people each) who where screaming, doing loud video calls, walking back and forth ... If you are a fine dining restaurant (not my words, those are the words of the hotel/restaurant itself) with a price tag that goes with fine dining, this is behaviour which you can simply not put up with and staff should intervene. Btw, the food itself is excellent at Cubo, they received 14/20 in Gault Millau and for the food that is well deserved. - the menus at the lunch restaurant: we had lunch 2 times by the pool side (the garden restaurant was closed - we don't know why). The menu was full of mistakes. E.g. one of the dishes promised grilled bell peppers and courgettes. There were no courgettes to be found on the plate, and the peppers weren't grilled. Another said that it came with burrata. Again, no burrata, but something that

Based on last year's positive experiences, we returned to the same hotel for a four-night stay this year. The hotel lived up to its five-star rating in every aspect. In order to help other travelers with mobility issues, in my review, I wish to focus on accessibility. Three handicap parking spaces close to the entrance provide adequate parking and when filled up, friendly hotel personnel is available for valet parking. Hotel lobby, reception, restaurants, bar, pool area and elevators are all easy to reach with wheelchair. Our room, Room 314, had two spacious bathrooms, one regular and one wheelchair accessible, a very nice arrangement. Some minor inconveniences were that the door to the accessible bathroom opened into the hallway thus making its operation cumbersome. A sliding door would have been a better design. The sink has very limited flat surface to place toiletries, same in the shower area. This is also the case in the regular bathroom in the shower where toiletries must be placed on the floor. The bed is rather soft and even a memory foam overlay did not help much. Firm beds for guests with limited mobility would provide a better support. The sun deck at sea level is only accessible via stairs but there is plenty of accessible sunning area at the huge seawater pool thus I did not think of it as a negative aspect. The beauty of the place, the many delicious food choices, friendly and polite hotel personnel, etc., all make me want to come back for anther visit and hopefully I will.

Amazing experience, our suite was one of the best ones in hotel worh amazing sea view. The buffet is extraordinary, from meat dishes to fish and every type of side dish you can imagine. There is also a beautiful indoor pool, various treatments..we tried massage and body peeling, it was all we couldve asked for. No time for sauna, maybe next time . You get proper value for your money

Excellent experience all around! The reception, spa, restaurant and housekeeping staff were all fantastic and very helpful. The location is great- within walking distance of many restaurants and shops on the back side and immediately adjacent to a long sea-side promenade at the front. The common areas including the restaurant, spa, pool and beach are beautiful, very clean and well maintained. Also appreciated that the sea-side chairs and spa access are included. The room was also beautiful, spacious, very comfortable and the view was amazing as was the buffet breakfast. Highly recommend!!

Lovely 2 night stay in this modern hotel. Rooms were small but adequate. Nice to have coffee and tea making facilities seldom available in European hotels. Check in was seamless. Lovely buffet dinner with extensive choice of food. Also had nice indoor pool. Easy access to beach promenade.

Stunning hotel overlooking the sea, five star experience. Two good pools, wellness spa, excellent massage! Comfy beds and quiet at night. The buffet breakfast was the largest I have ever seen! The Cubo restaurant was first class food at very good prices.

We regularly visit you and we are very satisfied with the experience and the treatment of staff.

Nice property with lovely views, pool and spa area was very good. Breakfast has lots of options and doesn’t feel overly crowded for a large hotel.