Hedera Estate Hedera A35

Hotel Description

Look, I’ve stayed in plenty of places around Dubrovnik, and Hedera Estate honestly surprised me in the best way. When you first pull up to Janjinska 23 in Lapad, it doesn’t scream “luxury hotel” from the street – it’s more like discovering a well-kept secret tucked into this residential neighborhood that most tourists never really explore. The whole area feels authentically Croatian, you know? You’ll hear neighbors chatting on their balconies in the evenings, catch whiffs of someone’s dinner cooking, that sort of thing that makes you feel like you’re actually experiencing the place rather than just visiting it.

What really got me was how the staff seemed to genuinely care about getting the details right. Check-in was smooth – no standing around waiting while they figured out their system – and they actually knew the neighborhood well enough to give me directions to this little konoba (that’s a traditional tavern, basically) that I never would’ve found otherwise. The rooms themselves are surprisingly spacious for Croatia, where hotel rooms can be, well, pretty compact. I mean, you’re not getting a sprawling suite, but there’s actual room to unpack your suitcase without playing Tetris with your belongings. The bathroom had this rainfall showerhead that actually worked properly – I know that sounds like a small thing, but you’d be amazed how often that’s not the case in European hotels.

Here’s the thing about Lapad that makes this location work so well: you’re close enough to walk to Lapad Bay (maybe 10 minutes at a leisurely pace), where there’s a decent beach and some solid restaurants, but you’re far enough from the Old Town crowds that you can actually sleep at night. During peak season – July and August especially – staying right in Dubrovnik’s center can be overwhelming with all the cruise ship passengers and late-night revelry. From Hedera Estate, it’s about a 15-minute bus ride to get to the main action, or you can walk down to the main road and catch bus number 6 pretty easily. The parking situation is actually manageable too, which honestly can’t be said for most places in this city. I stayed there in September when things were starting to calm down but the weather was still perfect, and I’d wake up to the sound of birds rather than tour groups – that alone made it worth it. The whole experience felt more like staying at a well-run boutique place than a standard hotel, if that makes sense.

Facilities