I have just returned from a 2 week stay at the Aurora Hotel in Umag. Before booking I read previous reviews, which persuaded me to book my holiday. How disappointed I was by the present reality of the hotel. The flight to Pula was late in arriving which meant I arrived late at the hotel. I was given a room which was dirty and the air conditioning did not work . I was given another room but this room was also dirty. The third room I was given was acceptable but not four star standard. On the day we arrived , the hotel was hosting a corporate 4 day sports event which meant the hotel was busy and noisy but not unacceptably so. On the same day the next week, another group arrived - a very large group. It made the hotel very noisy and other guests took second place in the dining room, as a good part of it was cordoned off for the group's sole use. This made the rest of the dining room cramped.for space. The staff did their best to clear tables but really were understaffed for the number of guests.
For the next three nights we were woken up between 2-3am by people talking/singing at the top of their voices, obviously drunk. On the 3rd night this happened, my husband opened the door to ask them to be quiet and was met with a large group of drunk people with bottles in their hands. We phoned reception to ask someone to come - the young man on reception clearly did not know what to do. The hotel clearly did not have any security and goodness knows what would have happened if the group had turned nasty.The group went into one of their rooms to continue to party . I finally managed to get to sleep and was awoken by someone banging the door shut in the room next to ours and throwing up in the bathroom ( I hope!). Another night with little sleep!
We spoke to the manager next morning who apologised for the noise but said the group were hear for games and to party. He said he had had complaints from others but had clearly no intention of speaking to the group about the noise. He knew some were having all night parties in their rooms . He appeared to think this was acceptable and advised us to claim compensation. We told him if the same thing happened again we would call the police as the hotel was clearly not capable of protecing us. Fortunately, the group left that day.

Clearly, this situation left us tired and disillusioned. However, we booked three tours and thoroughly enjoyed them and seeing Croatia. The guides put a lot of effort into these tours.

The food at the hotel is bland but you will not starve. The staff, as usual , were helpful, friendly and polite. The hotel is not a 4 star hotel and not even a good 3 star.

As we were leaving , another group arrived for 4 days of games and partying. I think this must be a new arrangment for this hotel and no other review mentioned these groups. We were all glad to be leaving and I felt sorry for some of the guests we had got to know and were leaving behind.

The manager of this hotel needs to make up his mind what he wants his hotel to be - a tourist hotel or a hotel for Croatians to come and play games and party in for 4 days.

I am writing this review to warn people of what might happen to them if these groups continue to come to this hotel.

This is a truly 4* hotel. It is located 3km from Umag, very close to the tennis court. Still, the access in the city is easy and cheap if you use the local tourist train. Its a rather big hotel, about 300 rooms nicely furnished with big terraces.

Service is good and the hotel crew speak alot of foreign languages. They were very helpful and always cheerful, they were hospitable but not annoyingly hospitable :)

Food was great. There was a large selection which could suit every taste. (Italian cuisine, German cuisine, Hungarian cuisine and even Romanian)

The beach was great from my point of view. Istria has rocky beaches, which i like. Sol Aurora beach is man-made: a concrete platform with stairs for access to the water.

Near the hotel there is a water sports center where you rent boats, kayaks, aqua-bikes

We booked with Thomson's as we wished to take a trip on offer to visit Venice. We had read the reviews which are so positive that we did feel they could not be fulfilled, but the hotel manager is a wonderful man whose dedication is to be admired by all. His staff adore him which results in their cooperation and enthusiasm for their work. We benefit. Hence the reviews! The food is first class as is every aspect of their service. All who were on our flight had nothing but praise.

Just back from a week at the Sol Aurora booked through Thomsons. I loved the location of the hotel although it mght not suit everyone. Its a 50 minute stroll from the centre of town but there is the local tourist train that runs regularly and only cost a £1 each way. This picks up just outside the hotel and as the hotel is near the start of the tourist centre in peak season there should always be room on the train.
In the local vicinity there are a few shops, bars restaurants but not many - there are 3 hotels and 2 apartment complex in the area so lots of sports facilities available - the usual water sports and a great many tennis courts. Nearly everyone hires a bike and there are 2 hire outlets nearby - but take care the brakes on mine were a bit iffy - the promenade into town is luckily very flat.
My room was adequate - I was there alone so seemed to have a slightly smaller than normal room - there was a comfy double bed but really it was pretty standard. They were very generous with the number of hangers though.
It was the last week of the season and as we had a late flight the hotel were happy to extend us of room till half an hour before pick up with no extra charge and the staff in general were nice and really couldn't do enough for you.
The breakfast buffet was excellent - a very wide choice, including a diet corner - as if! The evening meal also had a very wide choice but was a bit samey over the week. The veg was also limited - one night darrots were the only option on offer. The desserts were also a bit unexiting and again not a great deal of variety.
The hotel was kept clean though and the pool area was lovely. There is also a bathing platform which I prefered just outside the hotel. Here you can lie next to the sea and have a quick did in the sea to cool off.
The hotel has a massage but not really much else - no indoor pool (heavy rain first 2 days I was there) or gym. It is officially rated a 4* but is probably nearer a 3* and if you bear that in mind I would still recommend it. The price seemed fair but this may increase as Croatia becomes more popular.
The country itself is beautiful and I would strongly recommend you visit before the area becomes more popular.