Apartment Luki Dubrovnik

Hotel Description

Look, I’ll be honest – when I first pulled up to Apartment Luki, I wasn’t expecting much from a 3-star place. But sometimes you stumble onto something that just works, you know? This little spot on Žrtava s Dakse sits in Lapad, which is actually perfect if you want to experience Dubrovnik without the tourist circus that is the Old Town every single day.

The apartment itself surprised me – it’s one of those places where someone clearly cares about the details. The owner, Luki (yeah, actual person, not some faceless corporation), has this way of making the space feel lived-in but not cluttered. The kitchen actually has proper knives and a coffee maker that doesn’t suck, which… honestly, you’d be amazed how rare that is in vacation rentals. There’s this small balcony where I ended up having my morning coffee most days, and you can catch glimpses of the water between the buildings if you crane your neck just right. Nothing fancy, but it felt real in a way that those sterile hotel rooms never do.

What really sold me on the location was how walkable everything is – and I mean actually walkable, not that “just a short 20-minute hike uphill” nonsense you usually get. The Lapad peninsula has this relaxed vibe that locals love, especially in the evenings when families come out for walks along the promenade. You’re maybe 15 minutes by bus to the Old Town (the stops are right there), but when you want to escape the crowds and grab dinner somewhere that doesn’t charge €25 for mediocre pasta, you can just walk down to the harbor area. There’s this little bakery around the corner that opens ridiculously early – I mean, we’re talking 5:30 AM – and their burek is legitimately better than anything I had in the tourist zone.

The practical stuff? Parking isn’t a nightmare, which in Dubrovnik is basically a miracle. Street parking is tight but doable, and Luki gives you the insider scoop on where locals actually park. The Wi-Fi works properly (tested it on video calls), and the AC doesn’t sound like a jet engine, which was clutch during those sticky July nights. I did notice the water pressure drops a bit in the evenings – probably when everyone’s showering – but nothing deal-breaking.

What struck me most was how this place achieves that sweet spot between being comfortable and feeling authentic. You’re not staying in some sanitized bubble, but you’re also not roughing it. The 9-star rating makes sense once you realize what you’re getting – it’s not luxury, but it’s thoughtful. Luki clearly knows what travelers actually need versus what hotels think they want. By the end of my stay, I felt like I’d discovered a little corner of Dubrovnik that wasn’t performing for tourists, just… existing. And sometimes that’s exactly what you need.

Rooms

• Estimated price from: $76. One-Bedroom Apartment with 1 sofa bed and 1 large double bed for Max persons: 2
• Estimated price from: $112. Two-Bedroom Apartment with 2 × 1 single bed and 2 × 1 large double bed for Max persons: 2

SURROUNDINGS

Facilities