In feb 08 we booked 7 night half board stay for May 2008. The details included free wine, beers and soft drinks with evening meals. On the first night we ordered red wine and beer and were presented witha bill for 46 Kuna. The restaurant manager
(quite a rude man) avised that they stopped doing it-no date given-and we should take it up with Thomas Cook. He also insisted that we pay him there and then for our drinks and that if we wanted water this would be 25Kuna a bottle.
Thomas Cook reps were new to the resort and hotel and whilst sympathetic did nothing to help.
This spoilt what was otherwise a very pleasant holiday. Hotel room excellent, food excellent, entertainment average,weather very wet but thats the chance you take going early in the season.
I would be interested in hearing from any other guests that booked half board with drinks at dinner and then had to pay extremely high prices in the hotel restaurant and bar

Unfortunately our initial room allocation had an ant problem, we were moved to another room and after this everything was fine overall. The hotel is located in a lovely green area surrounded by woodland. The hotel is very clean, staff friendly and helpful, food is of good standard but nothing special....entertainment is average and the same every night!

Walk into Porec takes around 15mins by quick route, or 30 mins by scenic wooded coastal route.

Would definately recommend a day trip across to Venice if you have never been as we had a lovely day. Porec is nice and has plenty of places to eat and drink....went to Pula to see the Roman ruins, and apart from this not much else there.
Rovinj is worth a visit, the old town is pretty with narrow cobbled backstreets leading up to the hilltop church.
The public buses are not very frequent at this time of year which can be a pain...and not that cheap either.

Overall our holiday was lovely but unfortunately was tainted by awful weather....we went in mid May and 5 out of 7 days we had rain!

We stayed at this hotel for a week.We had noted previous comments about the outside view of the hotel and do not agree.It was of good appearance. The cleanliness was very good and the food excellent with a very large selection.The only down side was the prices in the Bar which were very high.Id advise going outside to nearby bars.We had an excellent holiday and would definately recommend this hotel

I'd been to Porec before but only for a few days and loved it so wanted to return. My partner and I chose the Valamar Crystal based on value and reviews we'd read. The reviews were accurate as when you arrive you are faced with a concrete mostrosity of a building, however do not be put off! The hotel had clearly been refurbished and inside it was so lovely with a big reception area and cocktail bar and at the back a large decked area overlooking the pool where we drank cocktails in the evening. The rooms were very clean, and tastefully decorated in a modern style. The hotel was quite quiet with little night life or entertainment but this was due to when we went as the summer season had not yet begun but based on what I saw when I was there, karaoke etc I'm sure it would improve! We went half board and the food was great with a very extensive buffet that varied every day, however go to dinner earlier rather than later as when it was very busy it was sometimes hard to find a table and the table cloths were often dirty and the tables took a while to be cleared. The staff were polite and helpful. Wine and beer were free and unlimited at dinner which we were amazed by however you can't take it out of the dining room! Drinks in the cocktail bar were quite expensive.

The hotel is set in a wooded area 5 minutes walk down to the sea and a 15 minute walk from historic Porec which is well worth the trip and a little train runs too and from the town frequently, but i'd reccomend the walk. Food and drink was very cheap and we ate out several times. There are no beaches in Porec, mainly concrete man-made areas but the pool and decking around it was so nice with lots of sunbeds that we didn't mind at all!

I would definitely return to this hotel and reccomend it to families and couples including young people if the 18-30's scene isn't for you!