Hotel Zorna Reviews

We stayed at the Zorna at the beginning of October this year on a half-board choice with Thomson.

The room itself was tiny as was the en-suite shower-room, however the bed was comfortable and both were very clean as was the rest of the hotel. Although our room had a rather crummy view of the car park - we talked with other couples who had paid for an upgrade to a sea-view room for about £5 so if you're bothered - it may be worth doing this.

The food in the restaurant was fair but nothing to rave about, but meals were accompanied by free flowing wine and lager which in my experience is unusual and very welcome.

The hotel bar - certainly at this time of year - isn't terribly welcoming. With stark lighting and no entertainment (apart from a singing duo one evening) it feels more like an extension of the reception and foyer. Due to the lack of atmosphere - even just an after-dinner drink feels more like a job-interview than a relaxing night out with a friend.

The staff were all friendly and helpful and credit and debit cards are accepted both in the hotel and the resort in general. There are also ATM machines everywhere so there's no need to bring a lot of money with you.

The resort of Porec was very pretty and made for some beautifully scenic photographs. However, both Porec and Zelena Laguna were all but closed in entirety due to it being the end of the season. In the latter, there was one 'english' pub which is really a quiet table-service bar and one cafe/bar which provided entertainment in the form of the same duo, performing the same set every night so was therefore only really entertaining for the first night. This bar closed at midnight and as there was no other venue open that meant it was bed-time!

We did partake in a few of the Thomson organised excursions - all of which were very good and I would say pretty good value for money.

The day-trip to Venice was lovely although the journey back - or 'vomit-fest' as we now refer to it - was pretty terrible. However - I don't suppose it's fair to blame either Thomson or the tour company for the bad weather! That said - the journey could have been less stressful if the crew had offered more information regarding the route the boat was taking and journey duration. Also - it was generally felt that there were too many passengers per tour guide for the walk into Venice itself. Our group had about one hundred people to one guide so only the first twenty or so could hear anything. It was also a real struggle to keep up with the rest of the group.

Venice itself though is all that you expect of it. I recommend doing the gondola ride and getting the water taxi back to the boat at the end of the day. These will cost an additional 33 euros but it seems a shame to leave without doing them.

All said and done we had a lovely week here. I would imagine that in high-season there is much more to do and experience but would not recommend staying here outside of high-season unless your ideal holiday is one of pure relaxation in beautiful surroundings and early nights followed by lazy uneventful days!