Hotel Sol Sipar

We booked this as a late break at the end of September. The hotel was fairly busy as they were accommodating competitors for a big tennis competition at the nearby Goran Ivanisevic tennis centre. The food was not particularly outstanding but pleasant and plentiful. Meals are buffet style in the main but there is an a la carte restaurant with a very small menu, i'd stick to the buffet. The rooms are very nice and always clean, as is the whole hotel and the whole resort. Reception are helpful and most staff speak some English. The choice of bar drinks is not huge and are a little expensive. Outside the hotel is a lovely pool and subathing area. there are no beaches in the region, there are pebbles and some concreted flat areas with sun loungers. The sea is not too cold and shelves very gradually. We had a disabled adapted room that was perfect for our needs, great bathroom, plenty of wheelchair space and access to the sun patio. Within the resort, the hotel and the whole of the Umag area we found lots and lots of dropped kerbs, probably the most we've ever seen. The whole area is very flat, so great for wheelchairs. There is only 1 bar in the immediate vicinity of the hotel and it's a 2km walk to the town centre. The town is very pretty, loads of restaurants and shops, lovely views and sea front bars. In all honesty there is very little to do in the area unless you are playing tennis or sea fishing, so ideal for a relaxing break.

We booked this hotel through an on-line booking agency and the first thing that should be said is that it does NOT have an indoor pool, nor does it have a spa or shop. This is a very modern and spacious hotel located right on the Adriatic. The carparking is plentiful and close to the hotel. The reception area is light, modern and somewhat spartan. The reception staff were not exactly warm and welcoming but got the job done without managing to give away any information regarding the hotel, facilities or activities. The room was clean, well appointed and spacious. The view from the balcony was amazing. It overlooked the pool area and the Adriatic. Only around a third of the rooms enjoy that type of view. The remainder overlook the carpark or general open space. The hotel boasted a buffet restaurant and an a la carte restaurant. On our first night we decided to try the buffet. It should be said that the quality of the food was excellent, as was the selection on offer. It was unfortunately like feeding time at the zoo! It would seem that the majority of guests were on half board, breakfast and evening meal, and the buffet restaurant just couldn't cope with the numbers and getting a table was like entering a scrummage. Management were simply overwhelmed. On our second night we decided to go al a carte. There were two areas for al a carte dining, one inside and a terrace by the pool area. We arrived at 19.30 to find that the buffet guests had taken over both areas completely and that there was no where to sit. A staff member asked us to wait and then offered us a place on a table already being used by buffet dinners that happened to have two seats free. Eventually we were offered a table for two. Again, the food was excellent but the management of the resources was non-existent. The following day I asked if it was possible to book a table in the al a carte section, the answer was no. We were there for a week and realised that the hotel was simply overwhelmed by half-board customers and did not have a solution. Those guests staying on bed and breakfast, being in the minority, got little or no consideration. We finally started going down to dinner after 8pm when the frenzy had ended. This hotel could be 4 star but needs to up its game. It is understaffed and management needs to get a grip on the mechanics of catering for the types of guest that it wants to attract. It cannot be all things to all people. It does so well in so many ways, the quality of the food, the bedrooms and the views but it fails at the basic mechanics of coping with the number and type of guest. We were booked to stay for 7 days, we felt that 3 would have been more than enough.

Stayed here for a week in July and was very pleased with the service, quality of food and location. It is situated about half hour walk around the harbour from old town Umag. The resort where the hotel is sited is mainly geared up for tourism and there aren't many places to eat if you are self catering. There are plenty of restaurants in the old town though. We stayed half board and the food was good with a very wide selection, which varied from day to day. Staff were pleasant and helpful. The rep we had recommended places to eat and travel to for days out. The resort and region of Istria has a very Italian feel to it as it was part of Italy for many years. Would recommend getting out on a trip to see the wider area. You can also get a ferry to Venice for a day trip. Overall, we would recommend this hotel.

Everything was excellent! Very cleaned and wonderful room with sea view. Stuff kind and available (even though did not give support during the night when my boyfriend had stomache and needed a hot water cup). Dinner was good. Free sun beds and very cheap umbrellas (2€)

Sol Sipar is a very modern hotel. Great air con, just about acceptable WiFi and, in our case, a clean and functional room. My family and I were greeted by professional (if not quite friendly) staff. We left our bags in the room and explored the surrounding area. We were a bit overawed at 1st. There isn’t much of a beach, it’s more of a mix of rock, concrete and grass - and people were everywhere!! It was very crowded. We headed back to the hotel pool but could only find 1 sun lounger. The crowded pool was salt-water which I wasn’t keen on. We headed to the room and got ready for dinner. My goodness! Dinner was crazy busy but we easily found a good table outside (we never had a problem finding a table). The food was reasonable, our children loved it. We quickly learned to avoid peak-times and to be honest I quite liked the food. We were half-board and it was well worth it. After the 1st day we quickly found our bearings and found the location to be excellent. It can be extremely busy but we found a good spot. The water’s calm and warm. Again the pool is very busy but there’s a no reserve policy (you can’t just put your towel down for the day). This meant sun loungers came up regularly and whilst I prefer a fresh (chlorinated) pool we did really enjoy the swimming pool. Days would start with 10am Yoga and at 11am would be water aerobics with the fabulous Michael. There seems to be better entertainment at the nearby sister-hotel Sol Umag but it was fine. As far as kids go you’ll need to entertainment them yourself but there plenty to do. There’s lots to do in the surrounding area, the best being the inflatable water park approx 20 minutes walk. Other things to do cycling, cycle-cars, segways, scooters, fish-spa, volleyball, tennis and all the usual water-sports. It’s a lovely 30 minute walk to Umag town along the marina. It’s a very pretty town with a market and a good few restaurant. Again there’s plenty to do here. There’s also a tourist-train running frequently to take you back if you’ve had too much gelato. Finally we took a trip to Istralandia waterpark which was fantastic however we had to take a taxi. Not cheap. We also took a trip to Venice which was amazing. Book early though as the boat from Umag only travels on Wednesdays which was full so we had to go Friday from Poreč. This was with Kompas travel which I’ll do a separate review for. As a note I’d say the resort was 40% Germans, 30% Italians, 15% Russians and about 5% Brits. I used Croatian as much as I could but I found English to be very widely spoken. In summary we had the best family holiday ever at Sol Sipar. The hotel is really nice in a superb location. Very busy area but lots to do. I’d have liked more of a sandy beach and more open space but I spent more time in the sea here than any other holiday. It was a real pleasure having breakfast 20 metes from the sea and eating dinner as the sun sets. We’ll definitely be back. Thank you Sol Sipar.