Hotel Supetar Cavtat review: understated elegance on the Dalmatian Riviera
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Score 8/10There's a calming mix of English and French country-house style and some bold design touches, including eye-catching (but not jarring) wallpaper in some of the rooms. Florals are fresh rather than chintzy, with hints of Englishness in the fabric headboards that come from Andrew Martin, based in Chelsea, west London. The whole effect is a soothing one, featuring light oak floors and marble bathrooms, with a touch of art nouveau in the tiling adding to a spacious and airy feel. There are 16 rooms in the main house and five in a neighbouring stone house, with views either of the seafront or the palm-shaded greenery of the gardens leading to the pool area. The smallest room in the main house comes with a little patio — if you'd like it ask for room No 107.
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Score 9/10You'll eat well here. Not surprisingly, the restaurant's Mediterranean-Croatian menu is heavy on local seafood — crab, octopus, swordfish, dentex fish and scallops from nearby Ston — while Istrian beef, Pag lamb and wild rabbit satisfy the carnivores. But it's all done with a delicate and assured touch. The setting is very romantic: a wide roof terrace with views of the sea for those sultry Dalmatian summer evenings. Sink into one of the squashy sofas for a cocktail before you eat.
Breakfast is just as impressive, with most produce sourced from nearby suppliers. An expansive buffet of salad, meat, cheese, seafood, fresh fruit and pastries competes with a tempting menu of eggs cooked numerous ways, plus sausages, bacon and courgette fritters.
One of the hotel's cosiest spots is its ground-floor bar, a clubby, cocoon-like space that has an excellent selection of wines, including those made from local grape varieties such as grk, posip and plavac mali. There's also a lounge terrace in the area between the hotel's two buildings.
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Score 7/10Behind the hotel are the gardens, where you can relax under palm and citrus trees before walking up stone steps to the pool and flopping on one of the sunbeds. It's not a very big pool, but it is certainly a peaceful spot to while away the hours.
The hotel's neighbouring building has massage rooms and a sauna, and guests are able to use the extensive facilities at its five-star sister property Hotel Croatia Cavtat, accessed via a shuttle. Here you can swim in the saltwater outdoor and indoor pools before drying off in the sauna or unwinding in the steam room. The resort also has loungers on the nearby beach that Hotel Supetar Cavtat guests can use for free.
Score 8/10The hotel is in a prime waterfront spot in the main harbour, discreetly back from the water's edge. There is a beach just a few yards away, and if you continue along the footpath you can wander around the pine-shaded headland that forms one of Cavtat's two forested peninsulas. The town makes an appealing alternative base to Dubrovnik: it's only a 15-minute drive from the airport and boat trips to nearby islands are offered just a few minutes' walk from the hotel. You can also sail to Dubrovnik — or just hop on the bus if you're not in a hurry (about 40 minutes).
Price B&B doubles from £427Restaurant mains from £33Family-friendly NAccessible N
Mary Novakovich was a guest of Hotel Supetar Cavtat (adriaticluxuryhotels.com)
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