Sol Garden Istra Hotel & Village

Have been there every year since 2021, the best hotel ever, especially for children

Exceptional, better than expected

This was the 16th consecutive year we stayed at Sol Garden, considering that my children are 19 and 16, you can say that they consider this property a second home. As written in all the previous reviews it is also for us so, it is THE holiday we look forward to every year, even knowing that now there is very little to discover both as regards the hotel and the country of Umag in general. For the first time I find myself forced not to put the usual 5 stars, indeed if I had to reason with my head and not with my heart this year there would be so much to complain about. As highlighted in the last review a couple of years ago, the continuous improvements that had characterized this hotel for years had stopped and as feared, now you are taking a dangerous downward curve in quality. The structure, as imposing as it would need a makeover, for example the last time the air conditioners in the rooms were leaking water, this year from the first day the phone in the room did not work and the shower in the bathroom dangled without staying in its own home and leaked water, reported all kindly to reception, never anyone came to fix things. The indoor swimming pool so beautiful and functioning can be used for a couple of years only when it rains and you do not understand the reason, also because, in rainy situations it obviously becomes overcrowded. The mini clubs that years ago were full of children/teenagers are now empty and semi-abandoned. If all this can be passed over, given the beauty of the pools, the slides, and especially the beautiful and unique sandy beach located just in front of the hotel (in Umag there is nothing that can even come close to the coupled beach pools of Sol Garden Istra), what just does not work is dinner (unlike the breakfast which is magnificent), always the same dishes proposed, completely oriented towards the German and Austrian population, for Italians it is difficult to find something really appreciable and the dishes themselves are presented as if we were in a canteen, not in a 4-star hotel; the incredible thing is that we then had dinner at another structure in Umag (I will explain shortly why), among other things always from the same Plava Laguna family and the food was nice and varied, it met everyone's tastes, but I repeat, above all it was cared for. In this new structure we had to "move" after 5 days, so mid-holiday, because, due to a strong thunderstorm, for almost a whole day the power went out, so no light, no air conditioning, breakfast by candlelight and only with cold dishes..... it can happen, if the control unit goes out, less understandable that there is no backup generator and even less that none of the staff knew what to do......... we asked for light on the evolution of the situation, everyone looked around and did not propose alternative solutions. In the end, when we politely asked what could be done, they diverted us to this other facility a very short distance away and I must say that they did things right (this should be acknowledged and applauded). This review seems to be decidedly negative, in fact it is a stimulus for the structure to return to what it was until a few years ago, with a continuous desire to improve and not as it seemed this year, resigned, almost submissive. Also because, just to make it clear how fond we are of the Sol Garden, despite having spent the second half of the holiday in a much newer hotel and more attentive to all those little things that make customers happy, in case we return next year, we would still book at the good old Sol Garden Istra. In summary, we have the most impressive structure in Umag, great location, immense pools and suitable for all ages, phenomenal sandy beach and sea, spacious rooms, very close there are football, tennis, basketball courts. To be reviewed instead, the care for the structure of the hotel itself, the food, a greater kindness of many operators present at the reception (some of whom do not even speak Italian) and definitely greater attention to detail, which often make the difference.