Trim Apartments Reviews

I went to Hvar for a one-week holiday with my sister, who was very keen to go to Croatia. After much deliberation we chose Hvar, one of the Dalmation islands, as our destination. The holiday was a huge disappointment, mostly due to the fact the apartment was so awful:

- As soon as we entered our apartment (no. B3) we were taken aback by how depressing the decor was and how claustrophobic and 'prison cell'-like it felt.
- The kitchen was poorly equipped. There was no oven (as stated in the brochure), no toaster (which would have been especially appreciated as there was no oven) and no kettle or kettle pot. The fridge made frequent rattling, mumbling sounds that kept waking us up at night. In addition, the kitchen units were in poor condition: old and deteriorating.
- The bathroom was tiled from floor to ceiling in dark brown tiles, which aside from being very unattractive, probably made what was already a dark room even darker. Showers could only be taken in daylight as the shower was in a corner, separated from the window and electric light by a high wall, and the shower area was very dark even in daylight.
- There was no hot water in the apartment after the first three days of our holiday.
- On some days during our stay the weather was rainy and windy, when the apartment was very chilly as there was no heating.
- The depressing ambience extended to the outside area, which consisted of a plain paved area, furnished only by a plastic table, chairs and umbrella, and surrounded by high walls on all sides: on three sides the walls of our and the adjoining apartments, and the front, facing side, an imposing, tall stone wall. The entrance was a tall dark gate. There were no plants or any other objects to distract from the closed-in and stark feel. Sitting in this area, even with the gate open, felt isolating and claustrophobic.
- The layout of Trim Apartments is isolating for all guests: there is no opportunity to meet and talk to other people staying there. There was a bar and a shop, but the bar was closed all the time and the shop was very rarely open. In addition, the reception was very rarely open.
- There were very few English-speaking TV channels - only CNBC and CNN - which would be very frustrating for families with children as neither of these channels are really suitable for children.

We told our representative of the problems and said we really wanted to move to other self-catering accommodation, and were willing to move to any other part of Croatia if necessary. They were unable to offer us alternative self-catering accommodation, only hotels, for which we would have had to pay extra.

The Arkada Hotel nearby, at which Trim guests can use the facilities, is also a very strange place. It felt very institutional, with darkened brown windows throughout and an unmaintained, scruffy, plain central garden area inhabited by noisy peacocks.

The representative's local knowledge was very lacking. For example, when we asked about walks in the area she claimed there weren't any, but we subsequently found a few paths that were both established and well-marked.

We also suffered significant travel delays in both directions, on the flights, boats and buses, though had our accommodation been better we wouldn't have minded too much!

After deciding to go to Croatia, we chose to travel with Holiday Options because we thought as a specialist holiday operator they would be more reliable than a bigger company, but we certainly did not receive 'the highest standards of holiday quality, personal service and value for money', as their brochure asserts.

The brochure said that their 'team of travel professionals have personally selected the resorts, hotels and apartments in this brochure for their comfort, facilities, location and ambience'. We are very puzzled how they can possibly have visited Trim Apartments and thought it was up to the required standard. The description of Trim Apartments in their brochure was very misleading: they are certainly neither 'attractive' nor 'well-maintained', and we feel either knowingly or otherwise Trim Apartments were misrepresented in the brochure, leading us to book a holiday that we would definitely not have done had we known what they were really like.

On a more positive note, we enjoyed exploring the island of Hvar (in rather inclement weather!). The island is lovely, though personally I did not find it as beautiful as the Greek or Balearic islands. Hvar town itself is lovely - well worth exploring. However, Stari Grad, though clean and well-kept, was quite down-at-heel and I think you can sense the lack of opportunity and freedom that people there have had over the years. In addition, we came across a nearby village that was almost deserted, with many properties becoming derelict - we don't know what had happened there, but pondered whether perhaps they were holiday homes of people from mainland Croatia who had been killed in the war in the nineties. The war being so recently in Croatia's history felt a little 'too close for comfort' for me, so I wouldn't recommend Croatia as a place to 'get away from it all'. It is, however, very interesting. Most people we met were friendly and helpful, and Hvar's bus service was very good value and reliable.

We complained about our holiday to the tour operator (to no avail) and pointed out the health and safety issues with Trim Apartments. We suggested that if they do offer Trim Apartments again in future brochures, they should describe it more honestly, to save other holiday-makers from suffering the same disappointment we did.