I found the best hotel in Croatia’s less-crowded hotspot

The hotel

Armerun Heritage Hotel & Residences

Check-in

It’s nudging midnight, and on this Friday night in Sibenik on Croatia’s Adriatic coast, the candlelit bars of the waterfront promenade are buzzing with social fireflies. The hotel entrance is located down a 15th-century pathway between two restaurants (one of which they own). During the mercifully speedy check-in, the information of “27 breakfast options”, sparks mental fireworks and intrigue. This gateway to the Adriatic is an easy hour from Split’s Saint Jerome Airport and a quieter, more charming departure point for small ship companies like Unforgettable Croatia.

The look

Officially rated four stars, it feels like five and is arguably the best hotel in town. The 17-room historic bijoux is just that, an opalescent gem of white stone sandwiched between the harbour front and old town. Located in a former 14th-century Dominican monastery building, resurrected as the fish market, it’s now a divine intersection of history and modernity. There’s high-tech everything from fast Wi-Fi to hand-wave activated bathroom doors in reception, married with swathes of exposed stone (revived, under the supervision of conservators, by architects Arhikon d.o.o).

The room

Bone-tired, I nearly weep with joy at the spacious Superior Old Town Terrace room in earthy tones with stylish navy accents. Tucked on the top (third) floor, the high sloping roof creates a chic cocoon aesthetic adding a characterful “only in Europe” vibe. An exciting discovery is the furnished terrace overlooking an alleyway of tottering stone houses, while blackout curtains and a double-glazed terrace door ensure a solid night’s sleep. Some prefer the harbour-front rooms with water views, but for me, the sturdy stone surrounds and centuries-old saggy rooflines give a pleasing sense of destination.

Food + drink

Given it’s predicted to be a raging 35 degrees, I slip out early after a fresh orange juice and prowl the town for three hours. Returning ravenous, with hotel guest priority I score a foliage-fringed “terrasse” table to attack those “27 breakfast menu” options. A pear, honey and gorgonzola bruschetta tempts, but a nutritious smoked salmon with scrambled eggs and guacamole wins. Living on the edge, I order a chia pudding chaser at 11.56am, meaning lunch is now also sorted. For hotel guests the unlimited dishes with a hot beverage, fresh orange juice and prosecco (€32/$56 for non-guests) warrants the raving online reviews of “best hotel breakfast ever”.

Out + about

The sights are easily won in this compact, charming old town. Just 300 metres from the hotel is the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Cathedral of Saint James opposite a stunning Venetian-built Town Hall. The tangle of alleyways reveals washing being air-dried in the Mediterranean heat one moment, a monastery medicinal garden with cafe the next. After a hike up to Saint Michael’s Fortress, the hotel room’s strong air conditioning is bliss.

The verdict

Šibenik, who knew? This is the Croatian town you’ve probably never heard of but will be glad you chose to pause in over busier nearby Split (an hour away) or heaving Dubrovnik (three hours). Small but perfectly formed, the hotel makes for a soft pre- or post-cruise landing.

Essentials

Armerun Heritage Hotel & Residences, Obala palih omladinaca 6, 22000, Šibenik, Croatia. From €130 ($233) in low-season for a Superior Old Town Terrace room. No accessible rooms. See armerun.com

Our rating out of five

★★★★

Highlight

Hotel street access, meaning no bag lugging through the pedestrian-only old town.

Lowlight

Due to full occupancy, and the building’s small footprint, there’s no nook to unfold a board and iron a shirt when retrieving bags post check-out. Hence, I arrive on a cruise crumpled and creased.

The writer stayed as a guest of Unforgettable Croatia Cruises. See unforgettablecroatia.com

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