Apartments Vila Riva

We had such a lovely, relaxing fortnight at Vila Riva. Slano was a great place to stay - perfect balance of peace and liveliness for us. We thoroughly enjoyed watching the comings and goings in the harbour, but also the tranquility of the beach. We would usually have spent more time by the pool, but it is only small (great to cool off and definitely no problem finding a space there) and the sea is so calm and easy to swim properly in. We walked round, past the marina, to the beach most mornings and were able to find little, secluded coves every time we wanted them. The apartment itself was spotlessly clean and well-equipped. The bathroom was great - two showers and a bath, and we used the washing machine. We cooked or prepared lunch in there most days and took our meals out onto the shared balcony. We didn't actually have to share it very often! There is one on both sides of the building, with great views. We watched a traditional folk evening from the balcony one night. Sitting at the other end, you can gaze over the garden to the mountains. Absolutely stunning. It's an easy flip-flop wander to the restaurants in the village, all of which were reasonably priced. One day, we walked a bit further around the bay (about 15 minutes) and there are two more restaurants there. We hired a car and drove to the big Plodine supermarket about 15 minutes away at Ston. Ston and Mali Ston are well worth a visit and we are oysters at Antonio's just outside Mali Ston, overlooking the beds where they were grown. We went on two trips with Slano Boat Excursions and thoroughly enjoyed them and they are based about 30 feet from the apartments. We had been worried that there wouldn't be enough life in Slano, but it was just the perfect amount for us. The only thing we would say is that it is right in the centre of a busy village and these guys get up early! We were woken by the sounds of people working on the boats etc, and by insistent church bells, by 7 every day. It didn't bother us that much, though - we had a quiet siesta on lots of the days. Any night time entertainment in the square is over by 11PM. Thank you to the lovely staff who run this place. We had our privacy but also felt looked after. We came back thoroughly relaxed.

Wonderful apartments. Very peaceful location with stunning scenery. Very spacious for a family of 4 in the two bed apartment. Very efficient AC and spotlessly clean. Great to have a washing machine, full size hob and oven, and a mini dishwasher. Pool was fab, we often we had it to ourselves. EasyJet transfer was fab. Even though we’d booked a shred transfer it was just us! I gave it 4 star as the two bed apartment we were given was not ideal. It was on the top floor so lots of sloping ceilings- we kept bumping our heads! We also had to go down a flight of stairs to access the shared balconies. This wasn’t ideal as it was a hassle trying to dry our towels swimwear etc as we had to cart the airer and pegs down the stairs too. It also meant we couldn’t really dine outside as we’d have had to carry plates, food, drink up and down with the children. The lack of balcony access also meant we couldn’t sit out with a glass of wine once the kids were in bed. We did have amazing views from the windows of the apartment though. Slano is a beautiful bay. Turquoise, crystal clear waters. The best beach to visit is about 10-15min walk all the way past the marina (no sunbeds though we bought beach mattresses from the shop nearby). The beach closest outside the Admiral Grand hotel is a public beach so you can put a beach may or towel down there but if you try to use their sun loungers they charge you €20 per lounger! The supermarkets in Slano are small , you can get most basics but they are expensive. It was easier to eat out and we ate at a different place most nights. Our favourite was a 20 min walk around the bay - Peronospora restaurant. Maestral was also a lovely setting and the best value. The pizza at Lavanda was the best Pizza we had. Avoid Fast food Riva, the burgers were undercooked and the service unfriendly. The bakery round the corner was lovely but it only opens at 10am and you have to queue by lunchtime most things are sold out. You can get the bus into Dubrovnik from opposite the admiral grand hotel but make sure to ask the driver to tell you when you are at the old town stop, it’s not well signposted and if you walk from Dubrovnik bus station it’s 40 min walk to the old town. We would definitely recommend the Slano boat excursions which departs just left from the apartments. We did the island cruise it was fantastic and good value too. You can book online. They don’t go everyday and get booked up fast. Overall, we had a fantastic holiday at Vila Riva. We would return if we could guarantee a ground floor apartment with outside space or direct access to the balcony.