Okay. I will try and be as succinct as possible because I am quite sure that the other forum members on the trip will want to have their say, and I have already contacted Customer Care this morning with some major concerns.
I arrived at East Midlands Airport at the ungodly hour of 3.50am on departure day. No sign of a JY rep, but I was very early. Smooth baggage drop, and then I proceeded through security, and had breakfast at Frankie and Benny's. The airport was very busy, and I saw no sign of any fellow JY customers. Pleasant journey with Jet2, and arrived in Dubrovnik to rain. I got through to Arrivals fairly quickly, and found no sign of any JY presence. I wandered round for a bit, and ran finally into Ann, who had come in on the flight from Leeds/Bradford. We eventually located our T.M Sandra, who had been dealing with arrivals from a previous flight. We were taken, (minus Sandra, who had to wait for other flights to come in), to the hotel that we were originally supposed to be in, Hotel Albatros, in Cavtat, where Sandra had told us to go down to the restaurant for a light lunch. The group from Gatwick had arrived earlier, and were in the bar. There was confusion in the restaurant as to why we were there, and not particularly friendly staff. Not a great impression from the hotel.
Sandra came with the other arrivals, and we were taken on the bus to our alternative hotel, the Hotel Valimar Lacroma outside Dubrovnik in continued heavy rain. (For those who do not know, we were all informed by telephone on the Friday pre departure that because of flooding at the Albatros that we would be in the Valimar Hotel until the Tuesday morning, and then transferred back to the Albatros.
The Valimar Lacroma is a nice hotel, the staff were friendly, the food was decent, (in my opinion), and the rooms were fine, well mine was, apart from a constant waterfall on my balcony because of the heavy rain. However the location is somewhat remote although there is public transport into Dubrovnik.
I will list the excursions as I found them.
1. First day. Half day excursion to Dubrovnik. The Old Town is stunning, Slightly slippery underfoot because of the rain. We were taken afterwards to the cable car. Please be aware that there a lot of steps up to this,(and I suppose consequently down), without a handrail. I am afraid I cried off because of this, and enjoyed a nice meal at a restaurant at the foot of the entrance to the cable car.
2. Second day. Heavy rain overnight. Very early departure from the Hotel Valimar complete with our cases for a day trip to Montenegro. Slowly improving weather, and beautiful scenery all the way to Kotor. Euros needed for Montenegro, (NOT mentioned in final holiday itinerary, also of course, passports). Transfer, post excursion, to what should have been our original hotel, (Albatros in Cavtat). All issues with hotel to be treated separately.
3. Wednesday SHOULD have been a free day. However we went on the boat trip to the Elaphiti Islands, as the weather continued to improve. A really nice day in my opinion. Nice lunch on the boat, and 3 lovely islands.
4. Thursday. Ston and wine tasting with light seafood lunch. The weather had improved again, and although the salt pans were underwhelming, the sight of the walls in Ston was not! They are quite simply stunning. Good free time in Ston. It's only small, but a nice little town, and plenty of time to have a drink and a wander round. Then on to the wine tasting. Excellent small winery with a very welcoming owner. Different wines to try with oysters (my first try) and mussels. I think everyone enjoyed our time there. :)
5. Friday. FINALLY. A free day to look at Cavtat. The weather had redeemed itself, and there was hardly a cloud in the sky. It's an easy 10 minute walk into Cavtat from the hotel, but do be aware (for anyone who is going), that there is no crash barrier at the side of the road, and a drop into the sea, and also cars use the road.
Cavtat is lovely. Lots of bars and restaurants. What seems to be a fairly regular bus service into Dubrovnik. Mini market and post office, and many shops selling fairly typical souvenirs. Locals are friendly and welcoming. It's very easy to enjoy an enjoyable few hours there.
6. Saturday. Mostar. I didn't go, so will leave it to other Forum members on the trip to describe. I understand though they had a very enjoyable day, albeit with lots of travelling. As I have indicated previously I think that this excursion should not be on the last day, as most of those that DID go had very little time to change before a farewell meal in Dubrovnik. Very nice meal (set menu of Greek salad, rump steak or fish and panacotta) in the Old Town (well right against the harbour), but I think that it was held too late to do it justice.
Sandra our T.M was very efficient, welcoming, knowledgeable, and friendly. I felt she dealt with a large group of 40 very well. It couldn't have been easy for her at times.
Oggi, our driver was great. Always there to help, excellent English and friendly.
Okay, onto the ISSUES with the Hotel Albatros. :(
I would like to think that I am not particularly fussy. BUT. The hotel is stuck in a time warp. It is old, tired looking and BADLY in need of a major refurbishment. The pool area and the location IS stunning, but that is the only good thing to be said about the hotel. I understand that many of the JY travellers had issues with their rooms on arrival. Particularly in relation to the smell of smoke in the inside of the rooms. Why are Remisens allowing their visitors to still smoke in the rooms? I am a smoker, but I would not dream of smoking in a hotel room. Simple thing to take the ashtray provided out onto your balcony one would have thought! I had issues in my room with poor lighting, lack of power points, and the hairdryer falling apart the first night!.
The staff are not that friendly, and the buffet food is bland, repetitive, and the plates were either red hot or stone cold. Machine juices were watery, coffee was really disgusting. I could go on but won't.
The major issue I think most of us had was with the evening bar service. Nowhere near enough staff for most of the nights, and slow is the word. I do not expect to spend 20 minutes getting a drink. :@
I have addressed all these issues, and more with Customer Care this morning in an email. I certainly trust they will investigate with the hotel what is happening there. It is a huge shame that issues with the hotel detracted from what would have been a really great holiday otherwise. Cavtat is beautiful, the whole area is stunning, we had an excellent T.M, and some really, really good included excursions. We also had a really nice large group of 40, who all seemed to gel together well and were so friendly. The short transfer time to the airport, and all the local departures is a big bonus.
So. Would I go again? To Cavtat, certainly. But NEVER to that hotel. :-/
To future travellers this year. Try not to be put off by this. I have tried to be honest, and would have not have been if I had said that the hotel was okay. The excursions and area are outstanding.
Any questions? Please feel free to ask.
Fellow travellers (Kerry, Caroline, Ann and Lesley (from the Forum) Hi, and it was lovely to meet you all!! :D
Apologies in advance for any typos (I have tried to correct them all), and repeating of words! 😛