Don't get me wrong, "Villa Astra" is a beautiful historic building located in a very romantic park overlooking the sea. It has all the charm you request when select this place, it's maybe one of the nicest places to "calm down" - if you need that.

The service is superb, fast, attentive, friendly, speaks many languages.

About the food I do have mixed feelings: First of all it's served on two small terraces – but while lunch wasn’t so good (overcooked spaghetti) breakfast was fantastic, not only the typical 5* items but special things such as one of the best Caprese Salad I ever had, Bio-butter, Zucchini and more.

The rooms are okay, not my style – but fine. The bathroom I would rate 3*, with simple grey tiles etc. Also the TV set needs an upgrade. It’s a boxy thing which is so small that I couldn’t see laying in bed.

Why I rate the place with 3 points only? Well, the hotel and the service would have gotten 4 to 5 – but the location, for my wife and me, is just horrible. The area not chic, not alive... Many of the villas aren’t renovated yet, the beach-side bars are too simple, the promenade facing the sea completely run-down and ugly. If you want to have nice food you’ve to drive to Volosko where’re no parking places available. After searching 30 minutes we gave up and drove back to the hotel – without having dinner. So if you intend to visit the restaurants in Volosko – take a taxi! (that’s what the hotel should have recommended us when we asked how to drive/where to park there).

So, if you’re looking for a completely quite place, if you want to lay at the pool, reading a book, having a bottle of wine, want to go to bed early... that’s your place. But just not mine.

We were in Croatia for a wedding and the reception was hosted at the Villa Astra. We lived there for 4 nights through the wedding and had a great time. The villa is beautiful and very well converted into a nice hotel. Close to Opatija yet secluded with waterfront. The food was great and the chef catered to all of our details. Amazing service.

The wedding recepting hosted in their yard was a delightful experience.

We are a family of 5 and stayed in two rooms at Villa Astra. Although we didn't have as much info on Lovran and the Villa as we would have liked before booking, any worries disappeared when we entered the Villa. The setting is gorgeous, the staff is warm and welcoming. The rooms are huge! We had Josip and Nicolo. There were gorgeous ocean views and pool view and each had nice patios. The rooms were very clean and so were the pretty grounds. We gave up on going out and exploring and just soaked up the sun by the pool, had wonderful snacks and swam in the Adriatic in front of the Villa. We did walk into Lovran in the evening, having dinner or going for ice cream. The lugomare walk is very pretty along the coastline. Make sure you go both ways as the scenery changes. I would highly recommend this to travellers that like to feel pampered in a peaceful intimate setting. There were no other Americans or Brits in the area while we were there, yet everyone spoke wonderful english. It feels off the beaten track yet 10 miles away are more populated resorts. We all really enjoyed Villa Astra and only regret not having stayed longer!

Just a great spot, nice large rooms, friendly, helpful staff and delicious food.