Hotel Jelovica is located near the lake and town of Bled, also close to the beautiful Church, and local cafes and restaurants. The room was small but very clean, well maintained and had a pleasant outlook over fruit trees and gardens of the cottages next door. The lobby and dining room are airy, 1960's style and the reception staff could not be more helpful. Breakfast is also very good. I wish we could have stayed longer here!

On arrival everything we had read about staff and service at the hotel seemed to be true - we were on a delayed flight (french traffic contoller's action) and they certainly were not happy about holding food back after the 9pm cut off - in fact even the soup was taken away while we were helping ourselves to salad. No main course was offered and clearly was not likely to be. BUT - the rules are simple - sit where you are told to, stay there for the duration, and arrive within the meal slots, and this hotel is fine. The head waiter had a demenour that reminded us how close to Romania and its heritage we were (but he turned out to be absolutely charming in a reserved sort of way).

The hotel is ideally located above a park which leads straight down to the Lake to a point where boats are waiting to take tourists to the Island church (you can hire a boat and row yourself for the same price as one gondala ticket, so if there are two or more of you, this is a more economical option, and also gives you freedom to spend a bit more time there. Best hired from the other end of the lake as the journey is shorter). Bled main, where the other hotels are, is a 5 minute lakeside walk away, but to my mind less attractive as it is a hub of roads and minor concrete complexes.

We had a "mountain facing room" - and yes you do also see rooftops, but they are attractive low level buildings and the mountains are just behind them. The room was perfectly comfortable, as were the beds. There was a small balcony from which we could spy on the horse drawn carriages (very expensive) coming down for the day, and fellow residents coming down from Bled Castle and Vintgar Gorge.

The food may not be what you expect (foal roll appeareared on the menu one night. I assumed it was a poor translation of something perhaps more innoccuous, but no - retranslated for my benefit "roulade of young horse".) However, the evening main courses(ordered the night before), always had a fish, meat and vegetarian option and one other. There is an ample salad choice including cold meats and cheeses, two choices of soup and desserts or fruit or ice cream afterwards. We didn't order drinks in the hotel, so I can't comment on the wine list, but table water was expensive.(£1.50 - small bottle) Breakfast was a hot/cold buffet - bacon, scrambled or boiled eggs, those not-quite-sausages they do abroad ,soya cakes (unappealing looking, but surprisingly tasty) and cheese, cold meats, good bread, butter, jams, honey and yoghurts and choice of juices, pastries, tea (choices), coffeee and hot chocolate. If people are not satisfied with that, God knows what they have at home - personally I am happy with toast and marmite!

And the other marvellous memebr of staff (I don't know whether he was another head waiter or the Matre d'hote) is an absolute sweetheart . He addressed us every morning in a deep European acccent "Hello my la-a-a-a-dies", and we loved it. We met by chance round the Lake on his day off, which he was spending outside his house on his rowing boat with his neice. He called us, and we hardly recognised him in shorts and a T-Shirt - a genuinely nice man.

Top tips - walk to Vintgar Gorge - from the hotel you walk through arable land and a few small sub-Alpine villages.

Coffee and wonderful pastry shop - just up the street from the hotel, Famous and well used by locals. Pub across the road - great food. Small bar on the way to the park with fairy tale brightly painted shed - really friendly and casual.

Don't try to walk to the castle by road - it is too busy. Go from one of the side paths from the Lake.

Go to the other Lake,Bohinji - the rowing boats are loads cheaper - you can take one out for the afternoon for little over the price of an hours rent on Lake Bled. Lots of little beaches you can just park up there. But beware! A nudist centre. Unfortunately, the hotel Agatha Christie wrote Murder on the Orient Express in is now closed. But have trout there - it's fab and you can see them swimming with you in the lake!

The Bled days were great. If you are going as a family you might want to get a week ticket for the Castle Beach which has slides., kiddies pools, table tennis, a bar and overly expensive and not very good food facilities. Otherwise - the camp site beach is safe for kids and there is another on the way which is Ok if people are strong swimmers.

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I travelled with my boyfriend and it was our first time to Lake Bled. We found the hotel to be fairly average, as other reviews have said the decor isn't the best but its clean and tidy and the rooms are cleaned every day. Rooms are quite small bt kept well and have there own balcony, we didnt have a lake view room bt from what we could tell they arent really worth the extra money. we found the staff to be helpful (when they understood us) the food was intresting!! you get given a menu the day before and you choose your main meal for the next day.Keep an open mind and ull be fine. (Although my boyfriend did get food poisoning whilst we were there, we don't no where it was from, so we won't blame the hotel...) It is well located just a few minutes from the lake and has a few nice pubs and bars near it, and you really shud try the schnaps! although not a place to go if you want a clubby holiday. There is not much to do at the lake itself but there is plenty to do in the sorrounding area and it is all easily accessible by foot or by bus and the bus station is right next to the hotel. We walked alot of places and the scenery was amazing. All in all i would say this was neither the best or worse hotel we have stayed in and certainly worth a look if your looking for somewhere to stay on a budget.

The hotel itself is in a great location, right on top of Lake Bled. Didn't have a lake view room so can't comment on that!! As everybody else has said though, the hotel is in desperate need of some decorating as the whole place just looks tired. The swimming pool was freezing and very small, the sauna and steam rooms weren't very big either!! The staff were helpful and friendly enough, overall worth looking into if you are staying in Bled!!