Maistra Select Astarea Hotel

Just had a wonderful week at the Astarea. It's location is superb, being situated a few minutes walk from the ferry terminal at Mlini and thus only 20 minutes boat ride away from Dubrovnik in one direction or Cavtat in the other. A return ticket will cost you 15 Euros per person to either place. It is also just 15 minutes drive from the airport which saves the misery of a long coach journey after sitting on a plane for hours. Mlini itself has an attactive and vibrant waterfront with a choice of bars & restaurants spanning along the bay, ideal for an evening stroll. The hotel had just been refurbished when we visited at the end of August (2024) and was spotlessly clean and attractively furnished in the public areas. My only criticism was the room size (about the same as a cabin on the Britannia if you are into cruising) and storage space. Although the room was clean and had a free safe, air con, fridge & balcony, it did not possess any drawers! And I mean there was not one single drawer anywhere in the entire room - just a solitary built in wardrobe with some hanging space and a handful of shelves for all of your clothing and possessions. Consequently everything ended up being piled up on what few surfaces were available which made the room look cluttered and untidy for the whole stay. I get a minimalist style but frankly this is just plain stupid and wholly impractical for the guests they are supposed to be catering for. The restaurant was lovely, bright and airy, with a very good sized balcony affording views over the sea and surrounding woodland - quite stunning. The buffet food choices were not as varied as other similar hotels I have stayed in, but in my opinion it was all of good quality and very tasty. If you are a tea drinker like me however, take your own teabags as you won't find many there! The pool was clean and a lovely temperature in the heat and there were usually sunbeds available if you look, but if you want any in the shade you will struggle as there are few trees and it is very exposed to the sun. Having the beach right in front of the hotel was fantastic as it gives you another option to swimming in the pool and the water was incredibly warm and lovely & clear. The staff were a real credit to the place, everyone was polite, friendly and helpful which all adds to the feelgood factor of the holiday. In summary we had a fabulous time and I would have no hesitation in recommending it; we certainly hope to return, but it would be good if they could get some chests of drawers fitted so guests have somewhere to put their socks, undies & phone chargers!

Good hotel in a beautiful part of the country. Staff and locals very friendly. Our friends who stayed in the main building struggled with the air con however we stayed in the annex and it was perfect. We hired a private speedboat with skipper for 4 hours which took us round the islands.

We have just returned from an 11 night stay at this hotel. We had a standard room in the annexe with a sea view. The room was not very big but adequate for our needs. The bed was really comfortable and the air con was superb.I was really pleased with the fact it had a fridge and kettle too. We had breakfast included with our stay and we found it to be ok, the cooked breakfast left a bit to be desired with the bacon especially, not sure how they cook this but it was either charcoal or raw and swimming in oil. Nonetheless, there are plenty other options which were lovely…..fresh fruit, pancakes, croissants etc. It was a bit manic at times with some guests acting like they hadn’t had a meal in ages. We found it quite amusing but the hotel cannot be held responsible for others appalling behaviour. I agree with previous reviewers about the pool area. The pool really should be larger for the amount of people using it. Although you could go to the beach which is just metres away. They charge for using sun loungers and parasols here which were quite expensive. We had meals in the bistro and pizzeria quite often and were impressed with both. There is a bit of a walk if you want to venture along the promenade but options there too. The only thing we found odd was the lack of shops nearby. The hotel itself has just been renovated and is lovely and bright and modern. Overall we had a lovely time and the staff were always really friendly and helpful.

A really lovely hotel. Newly modernised and a great feel to it. We had interconnecting rooms and although we paid for a basic room, we could still see the sea, and it was so peaceful and relaxing, especially listening to the church bells. We had a mini fridge and kettle, so after a trip to the supermarket (about a 20 min walk) we had snacks and drinks in our room. Housekeeping staff came every day and were lovely. Great facilities and having a pool table, table footy and table tennis was great too. We didn't use the swimming pool as the beach was right outside the hotel door and was simply beautiful. I loved that Mlini wasn't too busy. Sbrena, the next village along, has plenty of restaurants and bars, but is a bit busier. The hotel's pizza restaurant is fabulous, and so beautiful sitting by the sea. Cavtat, just along the coast is stunning, and a 20 minute boat ride gets you to Dubrovnik old town. Loved our holiday and would love to go back.

We had a room in the annex and the pathway to the room was not complete. Checkin took about 30 mins. Overall hotel ok but pool area full of screaming kids and loads of balls flying everywhere. Breakfast was carnage with no one queuing up and people grabbing at food. Fine for one night as we booked it as it was close to the airport but definitely wouldn't stay here for an actual holiday.

For those of you disbelieving the hotel’s “Renovation” excuse, it’s true. We are not staying there but we just walked past it and it is closed, I can only imagine planned refurbishment work has badly overrun. Looks like it will be great when finished.

Our family holiday to this hotel was cancelled a week before we were due to fly. We had stayed here last year and had a fabulous time, hence our wish to return. The hotel claims that this is due to refurbishment but we don’t believe this - hotels do not get refurbished in peak season. There has been no apology from the hotel and we were forced to find alternative accommodation which had cost us a great deal more. Disgraceful behaviour from this hotel, especially since we were returning guests. Suffice to say we will NOT attempt to return here.

As per another advisor's review, we received an update from our tour operator just one week before we were due to arrive at this hotel for our holiday to say the hotel would not be open. We booked this holiday months ago - very short notice and very disappointed.