TUI BLUE Jadran

We stayed here last May and October, we have just returned again. The flight time is good at around two and half hours, however Tui used a Spanish airline due to the grounding of some of their 737 Max’s. There is no inflight service as you would expect with Tui so be warned. The hotel though is stunning, it’s clean fresh and you wouldn’t know its about 70 years old.(interesting history). We had rooms on the fourth floor facing the sea and very definitely worth the upgrade. It’s not adults only but we only spotted a few babies occasionally, it’s very much like Tui Sensimar type holidays ie quiet, on the beach, low key entertainment (actually usually just an hour or so of easy acoustic song/music on evenings) and no beach wear in the restaurant etc. It’s got to be the best hotel in the area and situated in a quiet location at the end of a lovely promenade, Hotel Jadran is up at the very top of the list of holiday accommodation in recent years. So we booked it again for this September!

Travelled 6th May so quite early in their season, a few bars not open along the promenade but enough for a drink or something to eat. All mini supermarkets were open. Before leaving home downloaded the TUI Blue App, managed to check in before arrival so no hassle at the desk just pick up the door card. Via the App requested a room to take photos of sunsets. Already had a room with sea view booked. They gave us a room which was on the end of the building with stunning views of the sea and mountains. Larger veranda which wrapped around the corner of the building. The App also allows you to see and book any activities within the hotel. Greeted with a cold refreshing drink (non-alcoholic) in the reception area while the suitcases were taken to room. The room (607) was brilliant on the top floor, 6 floors in total. Ice machine near the stairs on each floor. If you get a chance well worth going to the top floor to look down though the central staircase, it’s a work of art. Separate toilet to shower area. Large safe which we could fit 2 DSLR cameras and lenses in, USB sockets to charge up your devices. Bose speaker above the tv which you can link your device to. The usual tea, coffee and kettle etc. The TUI rep did assure us the tap water is safe to drink so don’t really need to buy bottled water for making tea/coffee. I did take some extra teabags because I like an extra cuppa sometimes, I’m sure if you asked they would provide more. I did buy a carton of UHT milk at a local shop on the promenade which we stored in the mini bar. Not keen on the little capsules left of long life UHT milk. You can’t buy fresh milk anywhere. We used the mini bar to chill our water. The room was very clean and modern. Plenty of storage space. Hair dryer in the bathroom with decent output. Dining area had seats inside and out. You would be hard pressed not to find anything you didn’t like to eat here, vegan dishes also. Breakfast, usual cereals, fresh juice, healthy smoothies, fresh fruit, nuts, cheeses, cold meats, bacon, sausage. Eggs, scrambled, fried or omelette with choice of fillings. Didn’t think much of there sausages and bacon though, bacon was more like streaky and not crispy. Sausages more like Frankfurters. Over 30 types of bread from the in house bakery, pancakes, waffles with honey and chocolate hazelnut sauce. Usual Danish pastries. If you like English tea look for the packets that say black tea (English breakfast tea). Coffee machine for all types of coffees. Evening meal Cold meats, salads etc Very good choice again. For fish lovers there is usually 2 different type of fish being cooked at the fish station. Meat lovers also plenty of choice from meat joints being carved, casserole type dishes, skewers. Pizza Also a pasta station. Mini style puddings, ice cream, fresh fruit, cheese and biscuits. Ask for the wine menu so no surprises when you come to pay your drinks bill. Water available at breakfast time with lemon etc, but not in the evening. Have to buy bottled water. 2 pools outside, one of the pools is not heated, gym, bookable treatments, hair salon and small souvenir shop. The hotel is close to small town called Tucepi, which is a few minutes walk along the promenade. The other way is main town Makarska, which can be accessed through a pine forest, takes about 40-50mins. Took us about an 1hr due to stopping to take photos and a few sit downs on the way. Had an early departure on our last day before breakfast so they had arranged a snack bag for us with a roll, bottle of water and 2 pieces of fruit which was a very nice touch as not much at Split airport. Just a few very minor cons/preferences: No closable plug in the sink by the shower. Would prefer larger towel by the shower. Not enough light by the sofa bed area. Road being built behind the hotel which we weren’t told about but to be honest didn’t disturb us as far enough away. Think it’s to improve access to the hotels in the area. Summary: Had a lovely stay at this hotel and would not hesitate to recommend it to family and friends, especially if you like beautiful views and away from the hustle of big towns. Still within walking distance of bars if you want them. Can't speak for the activities, Treatments, Gym etc as we didn't use any of them.

We could not have chosen a better hotel than the Blue Jadran. Wonderful inside and out, a sea view room is a must as although the mountain views are stunning, these rooms appear to be in the shade all day. Food was of a very high standard but the evening entertainment was not to our taste. We did a lovely all day boat trip to two nearby islands though a man on the promenade, which included hotel pick up and lunch on board for 250 kuna (about £30) each, great value and much cheaper than TUI! Our other trip was to Krka National Park through TUI. Krka was stunning and well worth visiting, although quite expensive with TUI although you did have a guide. On reflection, we would have booked this trip with the man on the promenade too as they could provide return transportation to the Park entrance and, with paying your own entrance fee, this too was significantly cheaper. No guide but not necessary for the Park itself. Croatia is a beautiful country and a must visit destination, we just hope it stays that way!!