Croatia Two Centre - Pula and Veli Brijun Island

This is a superior property where many aspects are truly five star and this may be due to it being a five-star property when it was built in the 70’s and the ambience has continued. Many of the staff have been at the “Histria” (as locals call it) for years and there are many returning guests.

The furniture and furnishings are all very high quality, some of it Italian.

It is located on the green Verudela peninsula just 15 minutes by bus from central Pula and set in beautiful Mediterranean gardens with lots of space. It is right by the sea, with sea actually on three sides of the building and there is a direct path to the seaside promenade and the beach – no cars. The scent of pine hangs in the air here.

There is a small stone deck beach directly in front of the hotel accessed by a few steps and a larger white pebble beach under five minutes’ walk along a flat path. Here there are double bed loungers for hire and a simple beach bar.

There are two pools, outdoor and indoor (the indoor pool is the largest in any Croatian hotel) and both have free sunbeds and pool towels, the outside pool offers parasols. Excellent beach bar-bistro serving snacks, light meals and salads.

The feel inside the hotel is stylish and in some places intimate, as in the cool Luna’s cocktail bar. There is a private cinema seating around 40 people in comfortable chairs. Regular “movie nights” and when not being used, guests can book for their own use and select their preferred movie. Big sporting events (such as World Cup, Wimbledon Tennis) are often shown.

The Comfort Zone Space Histria Spa covers a huge area and has direct access to the indoor and outdoor pools. There is a wide range of treatments, plus a sauna and relaxation zone with heated beds and a large, well-equipped gym.

The outdoor lounge terrace has beautiful views across the gardens and outdoor pool and outside seating. From June to late September there is high quality live music on most evenings.

In our opinion the buffet breakfast and half board has the best and widest choice of any four star hotel in Croatia.

Around eight minutes’ walk from the hotel, Aquarium Verudela is housed in a historic old Austrian fortress and has some interesting residents and displays including a number of sea turtles which are recovering after injury or illness at sea (usually brought in by fishermen). When back in good health these are released together from the beach, usually on a day in mid-June. Please ask us if interested although the date is normally selected only a few weeks in advance.

This hotel is perfect for couples or groups of friends.

Accommodation

• There are 242 stylishly furnished bedrooms and suites including standard, premium rooms and suites. 126 rooms and suites in the Marina wing and 116 rooms in the main building. The Marina Wing is styled rather like a boutique hotel and guests check in at main reception and use all facilities of the main building.
• Standard rooms have inland or garden view although a few have a partial side sea view. Premium rooms and suites have sea view

Amenities/Features

• Indoor lounge and Mediterranean style outdoor lounge terrace surrounded by gardens and trees
• Lobby bar with outside terrace seating inland facing
• Main Histria buffet restaurant for breakfast and half board dinner with outside seating area. A la carte menu also served.
• Luna’s Cocktail bar, open evenings only with a feel of a Soho lounge (think beaded curtains and velvet sofas). Excellent outside seating including high stools.
• Yacht seafront a la carte restaurant is probably our favourite spot. Open for lunch and dinner, usually from early May until mid-October (weather dependent), it is located in a semi-circular space fronted by see through, perspex walls offering fantastic views. Dishes include homemade pasta and seafood including seasonal specialities.
• The Yacht deck below the restaurant is a sun deck terrace, open daily, furnished with quality padded sunbeds and parasols, towels provided and there is a charge for these facilities.
• Newly added in 2022 were stylish four poster baldachins located on beach pebbles close to the water’s edge, charge applies
• Huge, heated indoor pool almost Olympic size, relaxation beds and towels (free of charge) with panoramic windows to the gardens
• Outdoor pool with sunbeds, parasols, pool towels (free of charge)
• Pool bar and bistro serving wide range of drinks, snacks and light meals
• Extensive spa with wide range of treatments, services and sauna zone. Gym
• Free WiFi throughout the hotel
• Lift
• Room service (not 24 hours)
• Parking (currently free of charge)
• Excursion and activity programme (details close to reception) including boat trips and olive oil farm visits and tastings with the hotel’s own knowledgeable guide. The boat excursion including Cape Kamenjak is not to be missed as it includes several swimming stops and the amazing Kamenjak with its unusual steeped rock formation. Charge applies and must be booked in advance.
• High quality live entertainment most nights from June – September.
• Verudela Avenue (pedestrianised) is opposite the hotel with some shops including a good supermarket, ice cream parlour, café, gift, fashion and beachwear shops, chemist, a la carte restaurant (these are not hotel owned).
• There is an adjacent sports complex, owned and operated by the hotel group with 16 tennis courts, basketball, volleyball, diving school (privately owned) , bicycle rental. Close by yet far enough away that no noise is heard.

Many local people use the word “intriguing” when talking about this part of the Istria region and they will tell you that the turbulent yet fascinating history – and the story – about the Brijuni islands are unique. They might say that the islands’ story would make a fantastic Hollywood movie and yet they would also say that the Brijuni islands remain authentic and unspoiled. They are probably right on both counts and are justifiably proud of the environmental protection of the Brijuni islands. (The small archipelago of 14 islands became a National Park in 1983 when visitors were first allowed onto the islands.)

The Hotel Neptun is a three-star hotel built around 1908 without any thought to ideas of modern tourism. Of the 68 rooms and suites, we offer only renovated superior rooms with sea view and huge stone balconies with original columns. These rooms are a four-star plus category and remind us of the Austro-Hungarian heritage here with high ceilings and a balcony where one can imagine socialites to have hung out.

There is no swimming pool (the Adriatic is just steps away), no spa-wellness centre nor chocolate massages, there is no animation team and so on. Like its sister Hotel Istra, any stay here was traditionally about a special feeling within nature and surrounded by a turquoise blue sea when visitors often believed they were special too. This was about privacy, escape and some kind of affluence. Hotel managers point to the Adriatic Sea as “our best swimming pool”.

Visitors who choose to stay here today do so because they too are not interested in those chocolate massages or cocktail bars yet who want to experience something unique, a nostalgic time-warp experience when hotels were built to provide comfort and space rather than high-speed internet. All amid unspoilt nature, the beautiful Adriatic Sea, some amazing Roman and Byzantine ruins and a remarkable feeling of privacy.

This hotel has a historic structure and was built to provide space and comfort to elite visitors. The lobby -reception area is large; the main restaurant is large and spacious and so it continues. It was designed like that. Standard rooms here are larger than many superior rooms in more modern hotels. There is a wonderful feeling of a bygone era here. It is almost impossible to describe.

On arrival after the 15-minute boat trip from Fazana on the mainland, the exterior of the hotel looks special. The sea facing arched stone balconies with their original columns always attract a gasp from arriving guests. Different. Charming too.

The entrance and reception area are shared with the adjacent three-star Hotel Istra and there is a feeling that important matters of state might have been discussed late into the night in that lobby. Think dark polished wood, mirrors and some memorable old photographs.

Also shared with sister hotel Istra, is the Kavana café-bar with terrace and most guests choose to sit on the outside terrace with the most amazing views across the bay and the Fazana channel to the mainland. Some guests seem to reside there from coffee time to the late afternoon with only an hour or two departure for a swim. It is that kind of place, a chill out zone created by Nature with the only distraction the coming going of the boat connection with Fazana on the mainland coast.

The main restaurant (also services the sister hotel) serves buffet breakfast and half board buffet dinner although many guests opt for the bed and breakfast option and either dine at the Galija a la carte restaurant (with beautiful waterfront terrace) or use the free boat trip pass to enjoy the numerous restaurants and bistros of Fazana on the mainland 15 minutes away (last boat back in summer is usually at 10 or 1030, check at reception). Or a combination of the two.

A lovely beach restaurant is open on Saluga beach from early July to early September and is about 10 minutes’ walk from the hotel. There are sun loungers on the stone-pebble beach there and a choice of simple a la carte menu featuring pasta, risotto, pizza, salads and burgers and a good selection of drinks.

There is a “folly” yet challenging golf course (18 or 22 holes depending how you look at it) and with some holes over the Adriatic Sea to the green or fairway (club hire available) , tennis courts, bicycles for hire along with golf buggies to get around as well as walking of course.

Occasionally a roaming deer or peacock may expect golfers to wait until they clear the fairway!

This hotel location is perfect for adults seeking relaxation, who want to swim in the sea from secluded little coves and yet who want to be able to be close to bars, restaurants and a few shops in low-key Fazana on the mainland. Marbella this is not!

A perfect option is to have a few nights on Veli Brijun for a pure chill out experience after a busy sightseeing holiday taking in other parts of the Istria region or indeed elsewhere in Croatia. Yet some people just come here for 10 or 14 nights to stay put and enjoy nature and the sea. They claim to “forget the outside world”. There are many repeat visitors.

Accommodation

• There are 68 rooms including 17 suites in total.
• We offer 15 very spacious and well-appointed superior bedrooms (lots of space was the key in the era when this hotel was built), all with sea views and very large traditional stone arched balcony
• All rooms have large double beds or twin beds. Twin bedded rooms should be requested at the time of booking.
• All rooms have large walk-in showers.

Amenities/Features

• Beautiful waterfront terraces serving the a la carte restaurant and the café bar
• Restaurant serving breakfast and half board dinner buffet style
• Small shop near hotel reception for essentials, usually open June-September
• Indoor café-bar area
• Close to hire of bicycles and golf buggies
• Room service subject to availability and not 24 hours
• Free WiFi throughout hotel
• Free daily return ticket per passenger from island to Fazana (mainland)
• No lift. Ground floor plus two floors
• Parking – not relevant, this is car-free island except for emergency vehicles or those of national park rangers