Apartment:
Modern and very clean and comfortable with easy-to-use, effective air-conditioning and good wifi. The apartment is on the second storey in a quiet residential area which is only 10 minutes walk from the beach.
Lower floor of apartment has living space with sofa (which makes a comfortable sofa bed), smart tv, small coffee table, dining table and four chairs in kitchen area, bathroom and lower balcony. Lower balcony is very private with table and four chairs. Bathroom has a shower cubicle (shower water pressure is very strong and hot water is plentiful). The washing machine is in the bathroom at the far end. There is an airer for drying clothes. Bathroom was very clean. Toilet paper and complimentary travel toothbrush and paste was provided.
The kitchen has a microwave, fridge and freezer, oven and hob (two rings). We found the kitchen adequately equipped for when we did eat in, which wasn't often as there are lots of good restaurants and also a good take away pizza place up the road a bit. The kitchen knives are sharp and things like chopping board and vinegar/oil/salt/pepper is provided.
Upper floor has main double bedroom, twin bedroom, second toilet, and second balcony (with small sofa, two chairs and coffee table; again, very private). Air conditioning unit upstairs is on the landing but effectively cools all areas upstairs if bedroom doors are left open. The master bed is very comfortable and doesn't have a footboard (great if you are tall like my husband!). It is larger than a double- queen or king size. It doesn't creak or sag at all and we had very good night’s sleep. The other two beds are also very comfortable. There are only velux windows in both bedrooms which have extremely effective black out blinds. There is ample wardrobe and shelving space in both bedrooms and there were about four coat hangers provided in each wardrobe. Although there are direct neighbours below and to the side, the buildings are solidly built and we didn't find there was much noise coming through.
Location:
The apartment is in a quiet, well-kept residential area and was very quiet at night. The owner/manager Tonci and his family live next door which was reassuring to know in case there was a problem. We always felt that our privacy was respected the whole time. The apartment is about 10 minutes walk to the promenade/beaches or harbour. Bol itself is an extremely attractive harbour town with lovely beaches (gravel though, not sand). The town has invested heavily in catering for families and water-sports and as such there are many activities to choose from: for example, kayaking, ringo-rides, wind-surfing lessons or hire, kite-surfing lessons or hire, jet-skiing, boat-hire, scuba diving lessons/hire and more/ quad-bike hire. There are also plenty of day trips organised to other locations (e.g. Hvar) and boat tours of the wider region.
Our favourite activity was hiring a small petrol-engine boat and exploring the coastline, resulting in us finding our own private cove which was idyllic and was a good place to snorkel.
There is also a very large floating inflatable for children (and adults!).
I have never been to a gravel beach before, but actually found it quite nice because you don't have the problem of sand blowing up in your face and getting into everything! Most people wore waterproof swim-shoes when entering the water which are on sale nearby.
Note: There isn't much else to do or see on the island of Brac.
Tonci:
Very helpful host. As is typical of me, I left everything till the very last moment and only phoned Tonci when we were on the ferry to Brac. Despite the short notice, he arranged for a taxi driver to greet us off the ferry and take us directly to the apartment for a reasonable price. He was there to introduce himself and to quickly show us around the apartment. He spent some time explaining our location using a map and telling us lots of useful information about things to do that we may not otherwise have known about eg. on Wednesday evenings there are stalls set up in the harbour where locals cook and sell their local produce (mostly fish) and it is quite atmospheric.
Additional info:
-The doctors is above the pharmacy and was open for walk-in appointments during the late afternoon / evening. Free if you have an EHIC card to show.
-The cost of a taxi from Split airport to the port, then the ferry, then taxi to the apartment all added up to roughly £100.
All bookings are direct with the owner 