After seeing the Plitvice Lakes on an episode of Coach Trip, my husband and I weren't going to miss this bit of heaven on our trip to Croatia.
We decided to stay in one of the hotels in the park itself. You couldn't have asked for better than the Plitvice Hotel. We stayed here from 20-23 September 2011. The rooms are very clean and our room had a wonderful powerful shower (although we found the shower cubicle a bit small considering the size of the bathroom). We had a lovely big room. As mentioned by some of the other reviewers, the hotel does seem to have a very 60's feel to it :) The reception area is lovely with a very nice bar area and outside verandah. There is an internet terminal, however every time we used it the connection was PATHETIC :) ... that said, this wasn't much of a loss, since the area is so beautiful who wants to spend time on the internet! :)
The corridors to the rooms were very 'clinical' and could do with some artwork to brighten them.
A positive for staying at Plitvice Hotel is that you are walking distance to the entrance to the lakes. You will need to pay for your first day entrance (125.00 kn) but keep your ticket, as the hotel will endorse it and this will give you unlimited entrance to the lakes for the duration of your stay.
The food was perfectly adequate so we decided just to have our evening meals at the hotel.
Sonja (the blond receptionist) needs a special mention. We both found her to be very friendly and helpful.

Plitvice is surely worth the trip! The scenery and natural beauty should not be missed!

Unfortunately, I am not sure what the options are for better accommodations in the area other than the Plitvice Hotel. If this is the best there is to offer.....they have a long way to go.

As mentioned before, the location IN the park can't be beat! We arrived mid-day and we were able to cover the whole of the park by the next mid-day (but we are experienced hikers and can travel at a pretty good pace) so 1 night was sufficient. The grounds and entrance to the hotel is appropriate for the surroundings.

But......everything else associated with the hotel wreaks leftover communist style "luxury'! Including the lack of helpfulness of the staff.

We checked into our Superior room which was in the "new" wing. Up the stairs (no elevator or offer for help with the luggage) and down the wide hall. Not a hint of decoration, warmth or even padding under the carpet. Our room was quite large and clean but decorated with 50's style furnishings (not retro...original I think), no pictures on the walls and again, no padding under the carpet. Old tv, no safe and only a wired internet modem. Not an ounce of anything that would make you want to hang out or relax in the room. We were told there was free wireless in the lobby but "it hardly ever works." I went over to the computer to find the single, non commercial, outdated wireless modem they were using not plugged in correctly but I did not attempt to fix it. When I brought it up to the front desk...she just shrugged.

The room was quite hot so we turned on the air conditioner.......or so we thought........When we called to say we could not cool the room down, we were curtly told the there was only heat, no air. We opened the windows (which we usually prefer) but there are no screens. And....you are in a forest. What do forests have??? Mosquitoes, flies and bees. All that loved the decor of our room more than we did. It made sleeping near impossible.The bed was hard and uncomforatble as were the sheets, towels and extreme pressure in the shower (So hard it hurt).

The food was just as horrendous. Consistently poor quality and service for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Truly tasteless and overcooked.

I should ad that they lost our companions reservation but had a room to offer them anyway. It just added to the angst of our stay.

I would not have missed Plitvice for the world but I cannot offer any decent alternative if a major re-haul of this property is not performed.

This is a nice hotel, very basic amentities, set in the enterance 2 of the plitvice park. NO elevator, nothing to do at night.
The only reason to stay here is the proximity to the park (which is a MUST!)...
The stuff very helpful and welcoming.

The hotel really is ideally located for a hike in the magnificent Plitvice Lakes NP. I was told that they had wifi but during my stay it was not working very well.... I told the reception lady I was not happy about this but she said it happens all the time.....
Apart from that, stay was ok and the restaurant serves both good dinner and breakfast.