[Advertisement] Upon invitation of Valamar Girandella Resort.
It comes always differently than you think. I did a little workation at Lake Garda on Monday and it was planned to fly to Hamburg on Tuesday and come back on Wednesday (more about this trip in a separate post). Well, I’d planned to remain a whole week at home before I would be going to Switzerland. But then weather forecast was so bad that I was longing for some time by the sea again. My mum had swooned over the blue and clear water, such as the great bays in Croatia. Why not drive there? Given the fact, that I can work everywhere why not hit the road again?
My mum was off from work and joined me. Our travels started on Wednesday and I could persuade her to get me at the airport in Verona. No point of driving all the way up home again and then down. Unfortunately, the plane had a huge delay due to the bad weather in Verona. Therefore, we’d arrived super late in Croatia. Luckily the rain had stopped the next day. It was sunny again but with a stormy sea.
find my bathing suit here, similar here!
VALAMAR GIRANDELLA RESORT
Adults Only Hotel in Rabac
We stayed at the newly opened Valamar Girandella Resort 4* in Rabac. The Valamar Girandella resort is divided into the Adults Only, Premium and Family part. The whole resort is gut – at first, we were a little bit overwhelmed! The entrance to the resort leads through a big parking space. We followed the signs until the main reception where some golf cars awaited us. A friendly lobby boy welcomed us and told us that we should drive back to the main parking. A golf car would follow us and get our luggage, which would be brought to the Girandella Adults Only Hotel. The friendly receptionist introduced us to the area while our luggage was brought to our room. Phew – quite big!
Each hotel has its own pool in front of the building. However, the restaurants are located in the main building where we were welcomed upon arrival. The Heaven42, restaurant for Adults Only Hotel in Rabac, lies at the very end. Therefore, a vallet service is offered in a ten minute rhythm each evening. We used this service only once. A little bit walking doesn’t do any harm, right?
view onto the Valamar Premium Villas
Given the fact, that the Valamar Girandella Resort had just opened in June, everything was new. The resort is nicely designed with a lot of green spaces. I absolutely loved the whole furnishings, especially the stylish outdoor furniture on the balconies of the villas, of the beach bars and on the restaurant’s terraces. Some of the outdoor areas weren’t completed but you wouldn’t notice that.
Superior room of the Adults Only Hotel in Rabac
Valamar Girandella Resort
ROOMS
We stayed in one of the modern rooms with maritime flair, sea view and a small balcony. I loved the huge kingsize beg with lots of pillows. We definitely slept like babys given that the resort was nice and calm.
The bath room was divided with glass from the sleeping zone. The design was flexible that you could either use toilette and shower separately or all at once. However, we discovered this system on our second day. There was enough storing but some more hangers would have been nice.
- Superior room with park view at Adults Only Hotel in Rabac starts from 231€ / room with half board
- Superior room with sea view starts from 275€ / room with half board
- best is to book directly on their website for further discounts
Directly into the sea!
We spent our free time at Valamar Girandella Adults Only Hotel in Rabac at the beach. We woke up super early everyday and went swimming for the first time around half past 8. Memo to myself – in bigger resorts all the good beach loungers are already occupied by that time (of course guests who leave their towels and go for breakfast). Unbelievable!
to start each morning with a dive into the sea – I could get used to that!
Valamar Girandella Resort
FOOD & DRINKS
The continental breakfast had everything what the vacationer desires – fresh bread (very good), pancakes, omelettes, fresh fruit (the cherries were so good), muesli, yoghurt, some sweets and of course something hearty. Unfortunately, no soft-boiled eggs were offered. Even though I’d asked for it they just denied it. I mean, it’s not that much of work to take the eggs out a little bit earlier, right? Moreover, I wasn’t used to the fact that you had to pay extra for some drinks – smoothies, fresh pressed juices (I can understand that, though). But to charge extra for a cappuccino, latte macchiato or so not. A great coffee machine would be better. On the other hand, the staff went around with the filter coffee and milk. This is also a nice way to communicate with the guests. At first glance it reminded me more of a canteen rather a 4* hotel. The breakfast on the terrace was great. I also always love to style my dishes: pancakes with yoghurt, bio-black currant jam, fresh oatmeal and cherries – delicious!
my pancake food styling each morning – so delicious!
Dinner takes also place at Heaven42 Restaurant. The buffet varies each day and has a good choice. As for me, I would crave some dishes à la carte after some days. Therefore, the steak house restaurant below would be great!
so cute – the children’s buffet at the Mediterraneo ramily restaurant
After some work, beach was calling and a dive into the cold water. For lunch we went for a small snack at the beach café.
off to the
GYM
At the late afternoon I got a bit bored of doing nothing. Therefore, I went off to the gym. Back home I rarely take the time to do some sport, which I make good during the holiday. Most of the times I only use the treadmill or the cross trainer. Unfortunately, I didn’t work out here because all the machines were occupied. Moreover, there were no towels. It’s also a pity that they’ve placed the treadmills along the wall instead at the windows with great view onto the sea. Also, I’d forgotten my headphones at home and hoped for some to borrow (until then the other hotels always had some to lend). Worse things happen at the sea. I took a nice run along the promenade, which was definitely a better choice. The wind was nicely refreshing.
I finished my fitness program with swimming some laps in the adults only pool. The lenght of both pools are great. Since the sun hides behind the building already around 6 pm most of the guests had left. I enjoyed the pool all to myself which is open until 8 pm.
Relaxation during bad weather
WELLNESS AREA
We still caught a bad weather, which wasn’t so bad. Since it rained cats and dogs I went off to the wellness center and enjoyed a hot sauna. The steaming sauna was great. Afterwards you can enjoy the whirlpool or just enjoy the calm on the terrace of the wellness center with view onto the sea. The whole area is nicely designed. Very elegant! Since everything is new a few more hanging options are still missing.
Excursion to LABIN
I highly recommend a stroll at the medieval village Labin. It is quite small but very cute. We also had a pizza on the main square, which I highly recommend.
We spent some nice and relaxed days at the Valamar Resort Girandella Adulsts only Hotel in Rabac. As for me the resort would be too big for a longer stay. However, who doesn’t bother spending the holiday in a bigger hotel structure with more people, I highly recommend the resort. There are lots of activities offered be it for young kids up to adults. The pebble bay is beautiful and you’ve got a nice view onto the island Cres. And everything is new!
bay in Brseč on our way back home (of course super crowded on a Sunday)
… 
photo: Phil Klever / 
who needs a drone – from the ship we were high enough to have a great view onto Rhodes!
Amandine & moi – cheering to over four years of friendship and our first trip together
our cool blogger crew
Trouble Triple – 
