From the beginning this was not a success. Desk staff on arrival were offhand to the point of discourtesy and remained so throughout our stay. Our room was the size of large shoe-box, albeit a well appointed one, with a view encompassing three car parks and a scrubby pine. The food was terrible: you have to fill in your choices for lunch and dinner the day before and what arrives is plated, covered, usually tepid, 90% of the time straight from the deepfreeze and more reminiscent of a Butlins or Pontins of the 1950's than of a reputedly starred hotel of the 2000's. The wine that is included is pure plonk and there appears to be no other choice. The Internet facility is horribly overpriced and the facilities at its sister hotel, the Padova, are both overpriced and awful. There is no pool at the Imperial. The indoor poor at the Padova is more a minor declivity in the ground than a pool, only just waist deep, with showers that are uncared for and dark and dingy. The outdoor pool is just for leisure, has a bar and is open to the public.

On the plus side the beds are comfortable, the location is excellent, all staff apart from the desk staff are cheerful, helpful and efficient, the beer is superb and and the terraces on which to drink it are excellent.

We arrived to Rab with no accommodation booked. We went around to a few hotels to see what we would like. Hotel Imperial ticked all the boxes. Staff were friendly, bedroom was clean, and lovely atmosphere existed throughout the hotel.

The feeling is that the customers are "classified" basing on their "first-look apperance" at the check-in time,
and the room's quality and position is accordingly allocated, regardless what the booking says.

We booked a twin with "seaside" (for which we paid an extra) room, and were at first allocated with a double room (1 bed) at the
second floor, with no view at all on the see.
When I went back to highlight the above, the "acid"receptionist acted very impolitely and like
she did not care at all of what our booking would clearly say. She puts on excuses and tried to get
rid of us asap.

When she realised a I would not give up, and threaned not to pay the extra for the "sea option"
our twin room on the 4th floor came out magically...

Please be warned that what they call "seaside" room (more expensive) include all the rooms facing the
sea, which is only possible to be seen from 3rd and 4th floors.
it's quite tricky...

The room was standard, not up to a classified 4 star for sure.

I spent one night at the Hotel Imperial in early June, and was very glad that I had proof that I had reserved a room with a view — a room for which I had already paid (and had paid extra specifically for the view). I was initially given a room that did not have a view, and the copy of my reservation was necessary to secure a room with a view. The woman at the reception desk was pleasant during this interchange, but I wondered what they would have done if no such room was available upon my arrival.

The room I was eventually given had a stunning view over a park and Rab Town and off to the Adriatic, with all four of Rab’s lovely campaniles clearly visible – wonderful! The room was nicely appointed and quite comfortable.

The hotel’s breakfast buffet was generously stocked with a wide array of options. I had one minor complaint about the breakfast: Tables had been assigned in advance, and while I was looking for my table, a waiter directed me to one of the tables that had been reserved for a tour group organized by a company with which I do not wish to be associated. I tried to make it clear that I was not associated with that group, but the waiter insisted; ultimately, I decided that it wasn’t worth arguing. It was a noisy area of the large dining room and far away from any of the windows with their park views, but at least I had the table to myself.