Sol Aurora Reviews

this was probaly the best 2 week holiday we have had.
the hotel, food staff and overall service was exellent.
the area ";katoro"; complex was outstanding.
i would highly recommend this hotel the area and the people of croatia who are very very freindly.

We have just returned from Croatia, spending a week at the Sol Aurora.We booked just for the week and to be honest, although we have no complaints about the resort or the hotel a week was just enough time.

The hotel is spotlessly clean, rooms large and comfortable and the food was good (although the desserts were the same every evening which was a good excuse not to have one). We had a room on the first floor overlooking the pool,the gardens and out onto the sea. It was well worth paying the supplement for the sea view room because not all of the rooms had great outlooks.The first floor is also the floor of the dining room so it was really convenient.The entertainment was not the best I have seen at a hotel, but with little else to do in the evening you make the best of it. Everything seems to be over fairly eary so the complex is really quiet at night and you should not be disturbed by loud music.The room has a mini bar that you can use as a fridge and we kept it stocked up with milk and juice. There are no tea/coffee making facilities in the room but we took our own as we have to start the day with a decent brew no matter where we are.

To get to the nearest supermarket, go out of the main doors and taking a left, walk past the front of the Hotel Garden Istra until you come to the next road, a right turn here will bring you to the handful of shops and pizzeria/ice cream parlour restaurants/gift shops etc. The pool area was never too overcrowded and we always got a sunbed when we wanted one. If you prefer to be beside the sea, then within a stones throw of the hotel are the bathing platforms where there are loads of sunbeds and shades free of charge to hotel guests. it is very difficult to swim from the platforms as they lead straight down onto some very sharp, slippery rocks and although there is sand further out, the water is very deep even at the edge and certainly not safe for young children or inexperienced swimmers. If you take a ten minute walk into Katoro just passed where the mini train terminus is, there is a a spot where the rocks have been cleared from under the water and you can walk out on sand. There is also a small shingle stretch of beach which is better to enter the sea from. The mini train is the ideal way to get into the town of Umag. The brochure says the distance is a gentle stroll from the hotel but that gentle stroll will take just over an hour and for a little over £1 each way the train is a lovely way of enjoying the views over the bays and having a look at the other hotels in the area. Umag itself is very small and pretty if you get into the old back streets. The marina is lovely and you can enjoy a relaxed drink in the town square. There is no nightlife as such anywhere in Umag and you can probably see as much as you want to see in one morning.

We went on two trips. Venice(of course) and to Lake Bled. Don't miss the 30 minute gondola ride in Venice it was the highlight of the day and far more memorable than the water taxi ride along the Grande Canal (although you have to do that too). The gondoliers take you into the back ";streets"; and as you drink the sparkling wine that is included you appreciate the tranquility of no traffic noise, just the serenading of the gondoliers.At 24 euros each, it just has to be done.

Lake Bled and Slovenia, what a beautiful spot in a stunningly beautiful country. However be prepared for a three hour coach drive each way. The trip would also be unsuitable for those with walking difficulties as the path up to Bled Castle is very steep and I imagine trecherous in the rain. The boat ride across to the island in the middle of the lake was fun but be prepared for the 95 steps to reach the church. Wish we had done the Istria tour as we heard great feedback from those who went on it.

All in all we had a lovely time and if we wanted a quiet relaxing week away again I would consider going back to this hotel. Looking for nightlife, and a lively time forget it. Great for couples and families with very young children but teenagers will get bored very soon here.

The holiday was advertised by Thomson as suitable for families and young couples - for young couples it is not. The hotel itself was pleasant and the rooms very clean and in good condition. The food was also of a good standard and buffet style for both breakfast and evening meal. Some unusal combinations though (eg chips being offered at breakfast) but generally plenty of choice.

Umag and the resort is generally very quiet. If you don't stay at the hotel in the evenings and have a few drinks you really were struggling (and their entertainment was very poor). There was no ";night life"; whatsover apart from one cocktail bar which was not good to say the least. There are a number of restaurants in the area and in the centre of Umag and the food was generally of a good standard but they all served practically the same menu.

Local beer and wine is reasonably cheap (about £1.80 a pint of draught beer and £6.50 for a litre of wine in the hotel!) Trying to get served it wasn't always quick particularly at the pool bar.

Whether it's Croatia generally or just Umag but they seem to like building casino's - went in one for 10 minutes and hated it - no idea what's going on but i'm sure others would love it.

I went in September and the weather was variable to say the least but only to be expected I guess. When it rained it really was a struggle to find anything to do. The Thomson rep was local as was absolutely fantastic. She advised what was good value and what wasn't rather than just trying to sell every trip possible. I would recommend doing more of the trips than not ot avoid boredom - particularly on a 2 week stay. The Venice trip is a very long day (a 3 hour boat trip each way) but something that has o be done.

My mum and dad would have loved this resort and i think that pretty much sums it up.

Well, don't rely on getting sunshine! We had 3 days of torrential thunderstorms in August! The hotel itself was OK, mostly German and Russian tourists. I have been to other resorts where British tourists were in the minority and loved it, but I found it somewhat trying here. I normally pride myself on not being a Brit Abroad, but just felt that we were not quite as welcome as other nationalities. So, when the sun finally came out, we found the pool area is becomming shabby, and most of the sunbeds were broken. I became fed up with being hit on the head by the back of a broken sunbed when trying to use it! as a result of this, there were few sunbeds to be had, so we sat on the grass with our towels, only be be told that wasn't allowed. We had our sunbeds whipped away from under our noses by staff taking them for other people because we'd taken our towels off for 2 minutes to dry ourselves! They still took them even when we protested we were using them!! The tiled area around the entertainment stage was incredibly slippery when wet, many people fell over!

The entertainment - what can I say but excrutiating! by the third night i was wondering if i'd be a killjoy by just staying in the hotel room because I thought it'd be more interesting! The entertainment staff were good with the kids, but I found their general enthusiasm somewhat underwhelming. All drinks from the bar are waiter service. Problem is, you have to wait AGES to get a drink. If you go to the bar, they seem offended and tell you to go and sit down again and wont' serve you at the bar, but we honestly waited up to an hour most evenings to get a drink, they just seem so understaffed. No chance of any hangovers here!! Drinks were cheap, which was good, but one night we managed to get 3 drinks throughout the evening which was the most all holiday. The rooms were quite nice, although the thinness of the walls between your bathroom and the next room's bathroom meant that every sound, and i mean, EVERY slight sound echoed into your room as if the person was there with you which was a bit disconcerting!

Umag itself was very disappointing, I think this resort is not a particularly good one, as I understand others are beautiful. Not Umag. I wouldn't go souvenire shopping either as it is very limited tacky stuff. On the last morning, a baby got badly burnt in the restaurant as jugs of boilign water are put on the tables to make tea, and the baby pulled it over. The staff didn't appear to react particularly quickly, even tho the parents were hysterical, and casually told them to pour olive oil onto the burns, not cool water to stop the skin burning, then carried on clearing tables as if nothign had happened. I found this deeply upsetting, and after the week there, felt really quite emotional about wanting to get out! Frankly, if we'd had a 2 week holiday instead of the 1 week, I'd have swum home with my suitcase on my back!

umag itself is very quiet which is nice.the problem though is if you want to go exploring everything is far away.we had terrible storms which lasted about 2 days[hi to the other reviewer who was also there in august we were there at the same time!].

during the 2 day storm we were literally grounded.it was good for our daughter because the hotel did put activities on for the kids.not so good for adults!we were that bored as there were no activities for adults unless you can count the game of lets see how many hot chocolates we can drink in the hotel foyer to see whos sick first![only kidding.anyway

if you want to go sightseeing further afield porec is a must by taxi or car{couldnt tell you where the bus stop was}.porecs nice,lively with lovely buildings,good restaurants,cobbled streets with lovely shops.a big must has got to be the trip to venice.a must see if you havnt been before.its stunning.the hotel sol arora itself wasnt too bad but i wouldnt have rated it as 4 star.going for breakfast and dinner in the dining room though is like a rugby scrum so try and time it when you go for your food.i watched in high amusment at many people who looked like they were going to try out their kungfoo moves on each other scrambling for pancakes!{im not kidding}theres no need!because there was was plenty of food and the staff{who are lovely}fill the serving hotplates up constantly.

croatia is lovely ,umag is boring,not quiet boring just boring fullstop.wish i would have stayed in porec or further down the coast.croatia is up and coming,the scenery is beautiful but just research on the best resort to stay.