Note: This may be a 4-star hotel in Croatian terms, but in relation to Western Europe and the USA, it is the equivalent to a 2-star.

We just came back from a week visit to Makarska, Croatia and stayed in the Hotel Meteor for the week. There were 3 of us including a married couple and our daughter who is 3 in October. Our first impressions of the Hotel as we entered the lobby were positive and it was a welcome relief to go from an outside temperature of 36c to an air conditioned lobby. The lobby and reception area are up to date and clean.
The lobby consists of a souvenir shop, a small jewellery shop, an internet café for residents, toilets and 2 rental car offices (Avis and an unaffiliated car renter). If you go down the stairs you have the dining room, a gym and to our surprise a Strip Club. We were shocked to see the sign - Striptease, lap dance club. Needless to say we were horrified as this had not been advertised on the brochure for the holiday. Also, there is a beautiful swimming pool, but no children’s swimming pool. We ended up going to the hotel down the promenade called the Hotel Dalmacija every day. There our 2 year old daughter was able to play in the hotels children’s swimming pool. I will give just a quick summary of positives versus minuses:-
- Positives
1. Clean Lobby area.
2. Good Air conditioning system.
3. Good breakfast provided every morning.
4. Nice swimming pool.
5. Good tourist information provided by reception.
6. Quiet and slept well.
- Minuses
1. Room dirty on arrival with previous guests toe nail clippings on carpet.
2. Very bad customer service all round - for example when they ran out of whiskey at the pool bar, they got my wife to go up to the lobby bar and get it her self.
3. They charged a surplus charge of 25% if you wanted drink or food delivered to your room.
4. Prices were expensive - 40kuna = €5.72 for a Hennessey brandy and 12kuna = €1.72 for a 250ml bottle of coke. Prices dearer than hotels in Dublin, Ireland were I am from.
5. Room very small. They are basically 2 people rooms but are advertising as family rooms. They put my wife and I in separate single beds and our daughter in a pull out sofa. I complained as we had paid nearly full price for our 2 year old daughter and she deserved a proper bed. I also complained that they had put my wife and I in separate beds. They only had one other room on the 3rd floor - this had a double for us and a pull out for the daughter. As it had a bigger balcony, they wanted to charge us an additional 120kuna = €17.15 per day. We said no and had to lodge an official complaint with the hotel and our travel agent in Ireland.
Note: All rooms are small and were initially made for 2 people. They are getting around and advertising for families by putting pull-out sofa beds in all rooms. Only the apartments out the front of the hotel have a proper 3rd bed. We did not find this out till we lodged the complaint with the Travel agent.
6. Electric outlets in room accessible to children - we had to go out and purchase blockers to protect our 2 year old as we caught her playing at them.
7. Nothing provided in room except for small fridge with drinks in it. When we went to buy an iron for our room, we were advised that we were not allowed to have one in the room.
8. They charged 70kuna (€10) per day to view the TV provided in the room.
9. They charged to use the resident’s internet café (which consists of 2 PCs connected to the net via phone - not broadband). This was not advertised or advised until departure when I received a bill.
10. Staff and people in general very unfriendly. I do not mean to sound harsh or bad but my lasting impression would not be positive. The staff in the hotel, bars, restaurants, etc were all very unfriendly, no warm smiles or greetings, did not make you feel welcome. They were not rude, just not at all inviting.
11. English is not widely understood in the area. They can tell you the price and that is basically it, apart from the odd exception. There were a lot of Eastern Europeans, Germans and Italians there and found very few Irish, English or Americans.

On the whole I can honestly say that I would have no inclination to return to Makarska, the Hotel Meteor or Croatia in general. If you have a family, I would advise against going. If you are use to good customer service whilst on holidays, I would advise against going. If you want sandy beaches, I would advise against going (as they are small beaches and covered in pebbles).

Thats it!

Rooms are renovated and furniture is OK, just a little bit crowded; rooms are not very big. If you are not on some higher floor (as we were not), it is not possible to see sea, even you booked 'seaside room'. Restaurant is big and there is enough space. Food is excellent. Pool is not too big, but as beach is very nice and close, there are no too many people around the pool. Beach is just in front of the hotel, with natural shadow, but sun beds is chargeable (2,7€ per day). City center and old town is in walking distance (15 min), but there is also touristic train.
As summary - extra location, very clean rooms, great food, kind staff, nice beach... This hotel is right choice if you are in Makarska

We have just returned from a one week stay at this hotel. We were not impressed with the accommodation or the service. Markarska is a very lively resort and the hotel is in a good position but it seems extremely dated.

The rooms were extremely small with barely enough clothes storage even for a week and a very small balcony. The maid service consisted of making the bed and changing the towels - the bathroom sink was not cleaned, rooms were not hoovered at all during the week or tops wiped down. The air conditioning was, at best, adequate. This is a 9 floor hotel with just two lifts which meant an awful lot of waiting time!

The pool area is very cluttered - no poolside service - no food available from the pool bar - and insufficient sunbed cushions and umbrellas - and bring your own towels as these are not provided. This sort of sums up the service in the hotel, ie. DIY! This was true at breakfast where you had to find your own cutlery and tea and coffee came stewed from urns. The food at breakfast was ok and adequate.

All in all this hotel did not live up to a 4* rating, barely making 3* for accommodation and service.

Still, we landed in the middle of a heatwave and had a week in a resort which though rather busy had amazing views and stunning sunsets. If we were to go to Croatia again, we would probably look for a smaller resort along the Makarska Riviera.

We were pleasantly surprised at the quality of this hotel, as we didn't know what sort of standard to expect as it was our first visit to Croatia. The rooms were very clean, spacious and airy, and there was a cold salad meal waiting in our room, as we arrived quite late, and the dining room was closed. Location was excellent - on the sea front, with lots of bars and restaurants to go to in the evenings. The food in the hotel was standard European fare, with plenty of choice for all tastes. However, the restaurants outside are so cheap, and offer superbly presented dishes, we would have been better off going bed and breakfast. Staff at the hotel were very friendly, as indeed all the Croatian people that we dealt with were. There is a swimming pool at the hotel, but beds and parasols are limited. However, it is very reasonable to hire a bed on the beach for the day.There is a promenade between the hotel and sea front which takes you into the old town of Makarska, so there is plenty to do day and night. The resort itself was clean and beautifully presented, no tackiness at all, and it was nice to mix with so many different nationalities. This hotel caters mainly for the older person, but the resort itself has lots to offer for children as well.