Still one of the Best Experiences despite a hiccup
The Bane known as DCC
Stayed October 2016
Written June 2017
Ouzo!
After leaving Dubrovik and the delightful Hilton, my next destination would be Bucharest in Romania via Athens. I had a night to spend in Athens and I was thinking of the Sofitel at the airport, the nearby Holiday Inn or back to my favourite Hotel Grand Bretagne in central Athens.
After much deliberation, I decided to go to back to the GB (my previous sterile review is here) as I did not want to waste time around the airport. Similar to my previous stay, I received an email prior to my stay and gave some feedback on my last visit.
The hotel is the usual place for interviews of celebrities and politicians in Athens as the Parliament House is in one view and the Acropolis in the opposite view.
From the Sheraton, I moved to the Hilton which is in Dubrovnik and is located right outside the City Walls.
The proximity allowed me to visit the Old Town easily both in the day and at night.
View from the Gate
Entrance
The hotel is quite small and intimate and the Front Desk is tucked by the side of the entrance.
Hotel Lounge
Corridors
As an elite member, I was thankfully upgraded to a Executive Room with a view of the City Walls from the balcony.
Orange seems to be the dominant colour which is rather unusual but decidedly unique.
The toilet was unfortunately really tiny and cramped. It would perhaps be better without the bathtub.
Hilton Diamond status granted me access to the lounge as well as complimentary breakfast at the restaurant downstairs.
The lounge offers afternoon tea and evening canapes. Some lounges offer quite an insane amount of food during cocktail hours sufficient for dinner, but this wasn't one of them.
Breakfast was not too bad and many of the tour groups leave pretty early and the place clears out for a peaceful meal.
During my stay at the Hilton, I went on day trips to Mostar and Kotor as well, and had fun taking a great number of photos. Being one of the most well-known hotels in the city, tour pickups were not an issue at all.
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A short walk from the hotel would bring me to the cable-car station for an elevated view of the Old Walled City of Dubrovnik, with the opportunity for pizza at a famous shop along the way.
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One of the surprises was receiving a printed copy of LianHe ZaoBao, the Chinese version of the Singapore newspaper. I much prefer to read the Straits Times in English although I have no problem reading Mandarin, being effectively bilingual.
Turn-down service was fine too, with some additional snacks on the table and a piece of chocolate.
The gym was not very big, but there were hardly any users anyway, so there's lots of space!
Spa and Gym Reception
I didn't have time to explore the spa and indoor pool, but the pictures from the hotel's website look pretty nice!
Credit: Hilton Imperial Dubrovnik
Last but not least, remember to go to the top floor to get some pictures of the Old Town!
A short flight from Copenhagen via Athens on Aegean Airlines brought me to Dubrovnik. A ancient walled city now made more famous as King's Landing in the series Game Of Thrones.
For this part of my trip, I stayed the first night at Sheraton Dubrovnik and then Hilton Imperial for the rest.
Despite its name, the Sheraton is not in Dubrovnik but at Mlini, which still a short car ride from the city. And yes, I did know that before booking.
I was never fond of English Literature and had absolutely no interest in Shakespeare's work, and yet, this trip brought me to the setting of one of his most popular work!
Kronberg Castle is the royal castle in the famous play of Hamlet and is known as Elsinore in the story.
While researching the places to visit in Denmark, the castle appeared as one of the interesting sights and after searching, there were no chain hotels in the town around the castle. Not good for me, I love my upgrades and points!
