Ploče

Hotel Excelsior Dubrovnik

★★★★★

The Excelsior is Dubrovnik's most famous hotel and still the benchmark for classic luxury close to the Old Town. It stands on the waterfront on Frana Supila street in Ploče, about half a kilometre from the walls, which means a five-minute walk to the Ploče Gate and the old port, and its terraces face straight across the water to the Old Town, Lokrum and the harbour: the view of the walls rising from the sea at dusk is the one people remember. The property combines two buildings. Villa Odak, the original villa from 1913 and once a royal residence, holds some of the most characterful rooms and suites, while the larger Tower, built in later decades and comprehensively modernised, holds most of the rooms, the majority with sea views and many with balconies; at the top of the range are four individually designed signature suites. The hotel has a long guest book of the famous, from Queen Elizabeth II to Elizabeth Taylor, and it carries that history lightly, with polished service rather than stuffiness. Facilities include a spa, an indoor swimming pool and a fitness centre, plus the hotel's own beach on the rocks below, where you can swim in clear water with the Old Town in view. Dining runs from the Sensus fine-dining restaurant to Salin for breakfast, Prora for beachside lunches in the summer months, and the Abakus Piano Bar, open all year, for drinks with the view. The Excelsior belongs to Adriatic Luxury Hotels, the Dubrovnik-based group that also runs the Bellevue, the Dubrovnik Palace and the Kompas, and it is one of the group's flagships.

For many travellers the Excelsior hits the sweet spot between location and resort. You can walk to the Old Town in five minutes for dinner, the walls or an early market visit, yet you come home to a hotel with a beach, a pool, a spa and a terrace bar, which makes the long hot afternoons of summer much easier. Ploče is also a calmer district than the area around the Pile Gate, with Banje beach and the Lazareti, the old quarantine buildings, between the hotel and the city. Sea-view rooms are the point here; it is worth paying for them, and for a balcony if you can.

Some things to know. The road in front of the hotel is busy, and some lower-category rooms face the hillside rather than the sea. As one of the city's best-known luxury hotels, it fills with weddings, events and groups in high season, and its rates are at the top of the market, especially in July and August. The beach is a rocky platform with ladders into the sea rather than sand, which suits strong swimmers better than toddlers. The Prora beach restaurant operates only from June to October, while the piano bar stays open year-round, so off-season stays are quieter but still well served.

Book the Excelsior for a first visit with a bit of luxury, for couples who want the walk-in location and a beach, and for occasions where the hotel's history matters. Ask for a room in Villa Odak for character or high in the Tower for the widest view, have at least one aperitif on the terrace at sunset, and use the walk along Frana Supila to the Ploče Gate as your nightly approach to the Old Town.