Looking for accommodation in Dubrovnik, we wanted a place outside the Old Town (we had a car), very comfortable (stayed between two busy driving days) and quiet (love boutique hotels). Kazbek seemed to fit perfectly.

BOOKING

But for our last-minute trip we succeeded to book the only remaining room (Deluxe) for no more than 1 night; the hotel was fully booked. Many other places we researched didn’t allow short-time (i.e. 1-2 nights) stay at all.

Booked directly through the hotel’s web-site and were pleasantly surprised by the special offer of 40% discount; good deal.

LOCATION

If you look for the closest possible stay to the sights and/or the beaches of Dubrovnik, Kazbek is not your top choice. The Old Town is in about 10-15 min drive away (depending on traffic). And the waterfront of the hotel is a no-swimmable small harbour with moored yachts and boats.

Kazbek is situated on the narrow one-way street. We overshot it upon arrival and, being followed by a public bus, couldn’t back up. Walked back to ask where their parking was, and a hotel’s staff member kindly offered his services to drive our car back to the hotel around the quarter of one-way streets. It was much appreciated after the long day of driving.

PARKING

For such a small hotel, there were amazingly many parking options in Kazbek, from an open air large lot in front of the hotel across the street to a private garage by its right wing. Our car was given a space in the outdoor covered garage. It was wonderful to have it not heated by the sun before the long driving next day. Parking is free of charge.

Willing to explore Dubrovnik with no need to rush back, we checked out early. Wanted to go by taxi, and were once again pleased to learn that Kazbek allows their guests’ cars to stay at their parking up to three days after check out, at no fee; must be excellent for the islands trips.

ROOM PLUS BATHROOM OF MY DREAM

Can’t tell what exactly made the room look cosy and welcoming – at first sight, it seemed to be a typically decent hotel room. But it was the room we were hesitant to leave. It appeared larger than expected based on reviews and pictures, and consisted of the room, small wardrobe room and huge bathroom. Can’t think about a single amenity I normally use that was missing there.

Also, Kazbek was one of the two out of six hotels we stayed in Croatia that offered Wi-Fi in the rooms, and it was free, and with decent speed.

The bathroom was truly the one of my dream! Very spacious (rather long than wide), it was divided into the bath and the shower areas, with ample space around the sink and a mirror wall. Impeccably clean.

Large king-size bed of a proper hardness promised perfect sleep. Sadly it wasn’t; for two reasons.

There were several windows at two opposite walls of the room, one facing the hotel courtyard and entrance and the harbour behind it, and another turned to the pool area and the city. We arrived on a very windy day, and the shutters and window frames were clattering loud all night.

ROOM SERVICE: BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU ORDER!

Another reason was the food poisoning my travel partner got that evening. We suspect the anchovy’s salad that we ordered for dinner through the room service. We spent all day on the road and ate nothing else that could cause any stomach troubles. My partner being a doctor, we didn’t call for emergency, but the night turned into a nightmare.

Not a seafood lover, I was luckier – everything I had for dinner was good.

Room service wasn’t too fast, and the staff accepting the order didn’t speak confident English.

SWIMMING POOL

There are no open hours for the swimming pool, and I was glad I could go there later at night upon arrival for a swim before dinner.

The swimming pool is rather small (you can’t expect anything large in a boutique hotel, anyway). And it was not heated. On the windy October night the water was very chilly. No wonder there was nobody by (let alone in) the pool, and I enjoyed a refreshing swim in privacy.

BREAKFAST

My partner was still suffering from poisoning, so I went for breakfast alone and was the only guest in the restaurant that early in the morning. It was still very windy, but not cold, and the breakfast was served outdoors, in the hotel courtyard.

I cannot say I found the way the breakfast was arranged very comfortable. I join those who prefer to see what they can have rather than being asked what they would want. If I fancied borshch or pyrogy, any chances I would get them?

But everything eventually served was fresh and delicious. Espresso deserves a special mention as really good and strong. Service was fast, but non-intrusive.

STAFF AND SERVICE

The only minor issue that we noticed was lack of porters. Once I had to carry the bag taken later out of the car myself as there was no one around, the other time the most enthusiastic lady – front desk manager – gave us a hand.

Otherwise service in Kazbek was the best out of all hotels we dealt with in Croatia, and very personalised. And I can’t praise enough both front desk managers that were on duty during our stay.

RECOMMENDED?

For the nearly sleepless night that we had I was inclined to give no more than an average rating. But fairly, despite this and few other minor issues (fully compensated by the top notch customer service), the hotel was really good.

We stayed at the Hotel Kazbek for three nights and absolutely loved it. The hotel is small, set in an old house or castle (not sure which) and it is located right on the inner harbour. Although this might not be as popular as a hotel near the Old Town, we thought the location was perfect. It is a very pretty walk to and from the hotel, and the view of the harbour is picturesque. And there is a bus that goes right by if you decide not to walk.
The hotel has a gorgeous pool out the back if you need to relax, and we enjoyed one afternoon there. I wished I'd had more time to spend there!
The rooms are tastefully furnished and we found them very quiet. We enjoyed the extra touches the hotel provided such as the fruit, the free internet and the chocolates. The amenities in the bathroom smelled really good. And the housekeeping was very prompt in making up our room in the morning.
Meals in the hotel courtyard were lovely. The food was good and the service was very attentive.
We found that it was the staff at this hotel that really set it apart though. From the moment we arrived, we were greeted personally and made to feel really welcome. They were very helpful and friendly. A real pleasure!
I would definitely stay at this hotel again, and would definitely recommend it to others.

For the price, this was a very good deal, and a very memorable experience. My only complaints were 1) on a windy night there was a faint rattling sound from the shutters and 2) a smell of mildew in the hallways on the upper floor (but not in the room).

The room was very tastefully and elegantly adorned. The A/C and bathroom looked to be almost new. The complimentary bathrobes were a little on the thin side, but to be fair, no one is going to be overly chilly in Dubrovnik during tourist season.

Some other things are worth mentioning. While this almost-oceanside (separated only by the street) hacienda-styled hotel is gorgeous, and sits in an attractive port area (a huge cruise ship was moored across the inlet during my stay), there’s no view of the Dubrovnik city fortress. That is actually a 10 minute cab ride (10-15 USD) away. However, I’m guessing that a hotel of the same quality located just outside the fortress would cost well more than twice as much, so I think Kazbek is a reasonable trade-off. Also, even though there is only one floor above ground level, some stair navigation seems unavoidable, so that this hotel might not be the best option for those on crutches or in wheelchairs.

Also, there are some pleasant family-style beaches about a 15 minutes walk from the hotel. Now, I realize that if you are the kind of philistine who wastes precious time in Dubrovnik by sunbathing, you really shouldn’t have bothered going there in the first place. However, assuming you do drag your knuckles off to said beaches, you will be leaving more room inside the city walls and other such sites for everyone else, so such information is well worth passing on. I suppose you might also consider just locking yourself in your room and watching reruns all day, to spare yourself the skin cancer, but that’s up to you.

Back to the hotel itself: what really sets this place apart is the warm and professional staff – for example, the complimentary chocolates and check-up request on the first night, and the delicious made-to-order complimentary breakfast (which I’m guessing is probably a buffet style during peak season). Even by Croatian standards, the staff were exceptionally friendly and cooperative -- really delightful.

As long as one is aware of the distance between the hotel and the city walls, I would favorably recommend Kazbek to anyone.

This is an attractive, small boutique-style hotel, created from what was formerly an aristocratic home by the waterside in the Lapad region of Dubrovnik (about 3 km from the old town). The staff are very pleasant, helpful and of course get to know you quickly because of the small size of the hotel. The majority of the rooms are described as "superior" but this actually means "standard" and they are rather small - a couple of metres longer than the bed and about a metre of spare space on either side of it. Ditto the bathroom. The lighting and aircon controls in the room are maddening - complicated electronic switches and the instructions for the aircon in the in-room book are for a different system. We could not turn off the thing (which is very noisy) even though the control said "OFF".

The service, and a number of aspects of the hotel, are 4 star rather than 5. For example, the housemaid removed used glasses and teacups but did not replace them; the complimentary water and fruit are not replaced daily (though we were eventually given some more on request after some discussion as to whether it'd be free or not). However, the hotel delighted my wife by recognizing her birthday (we'd not mentioned it to them) and leaving a present in the room.

Breakfast is not a buffet; you must ask for what you require and it's brought to the table. The food was good, but I'd prefer to see what I'm being offered. One of the great delights of a 5 star hotel is, for me, a wide-ranging, high-quality buffet.

Overall, it's quite a nice place but much more of a 4 star hotel than a 5 star establishment. Given that, it's very highly over-priced in my view hence the low score on that count.