Valamar Tamaris Residence

GOOD: great staff, mostly clean villa (see below), nice location close to beach and pools, good variety of all inclusive food (although this refers to breakfast & dinner as we never got round to eating lunch there) NOT SO GOOD: ants were an issue in our villa, had to ask for cleaning and new toilet roll, sunbeds on the beach are extra

We paid for all inclusive but when we got there it was all inclusive light. Hotel very clean and rooms cleaned daily. Drinks expensive. Dining room experience poor as had to queue for food. Unable to get table some nights. Food very good apart from under cooked burgers

The hotel is very secluded, we would have struggled without our hire car. On arrival we found we all had rooms on completely separate floors (even though the 3 rooms were all under 1 booking), and so our 84 year old gran spent the holiday being a bit nervous as she wasn’t close to us. Rooms were quite ‘poky’ although clean. We had to pay over £30 at the end of the holiday towards the baby’s cot, which I think is ridiculous considering we’ve already paid a good amount for the holiday. No air con!! The rooms got quite stuffy, and when I asked reception about air con I was told they only have heating on at this time of year! I was told we could open our windows, although the place has mosquitos everywhere! There was a burn mark on our sofa, which was attempted to be covered by a patio chair cushion. I found most staff to be quite rude, apart from some lovely people in the canteen. Food was good, and the full board was worth the money. You had all drinks included whilst you were in the canteen (soft drinks, hot drinks, beer and wine). Overall a nice enough hotel, but I won’t be rushing back or recommending it to friends or family unfortunately.

We traveled her for a family holidays , the structure is good for family , rooms are clean but not too big, the food is good but monotonous, the sea is clean and warm but there’s too much rocks for young baby if not in the little beach close to the harbor

This resort is situated on the Lanterna peninsula together with couple of camps, holiday villas and apartment blocks, in other words, the whole peninsula is a holiday area (and some parts of its unfortunately resemble the "golden socialist era", especially the Sunny appartments, which are, however, situated on the opposite side of the peninsula, and therefore staying in the Tamaris Resort you do not have to see them if you do not want to). The resort is situated in a large park so there is a lot of green, flowers, grass and woods. There are a couple of excellent beaches on the peninsula, those pebble ones closest to the Tamaris resort facing Novigrad are the best in my opinion. There is even a small sandy beach (most likely manmade). Beware however, that the nearest towns are several kilometers away (Tar, Poreč or Novigrad) so going for evening stroll to enjoy some nightlife in a pictoresque Croatian town is not possible without going by car or taxi. There is also a taxi boat going to Novigrad several times a day. The wonderful location of the resort has some downsides though. First, the mosquitoes. Lots of them. They bite in daytime but especially at dusk. In my experience they are present all over coastal regions of Croatia but here as the whole peninsula is a green park, they have particularly good habitat, so use of repellents is highly advisable. Also, if you have a room on a lower level facing the garden, do not forget to close balcony or terrace doors when you are not in the room and at nights, otherwise it is a possibility that you receive unexpected wildlife visitors. In our case it was a mouse one day which gnawed through some of our clothes and toiletry supplies and made a mess in couple of suitcases. To the credit of the hotel it has to be said that immediately after this was reported they changed our room, provided some free extras and washed the affected laudry at no charge. Rooms are nice and clean, although a bit on a small side for a 4*. There is a double bed, small table and a chair and not much else in the room, for example, no sofa or amrchair to relax. The rooms have fridges, however, they are empty and if you want a minibar you have to ask. All rooms have terraces or balconies and are air conditioned, A/C was working well even in hot days. The hotel claims free broadband internet, however, the connection was getting lost at times. If you want a quiet room, opt for a room WITHOUT the sea view. Rooms facing the sea have truly beautiful view, however, they are also facing the pool area where there is a music stage with bands (some really good ones, especially the one on Sundays) playing on most evenings. We had a full board (all inclusive light), which meant three full means a day. The food was excellent, many local specialities and options for kids (pizza, pasta, ice cream, etc.) and complimentary beer and wines which we did not get bored of until the end of our stay. Every Thursday there is a Valamar show near the pool with a buffet of excellent deserts and ending with fireworks. Hotel has many facilities for kids, including the much revered Maro club and Maro discos every night. There is also a indoor and outdoor playground, and several gaming rooms. The whole hotel is pretty much accessible for a wheelchair or stroller. To summarize, we had a good time there, although perhaps the fair price should be slightly lower. In any case do not forget to close your balcony doors.