When we arrived there was 60 young kids shouting and running around(i think it was basketballplayers or something). Oh my good! I thought that this was a relaxing place but it wasn´t at all. There is a buggy who can help you with the luggage if you ask in the reception(the cleaner told us). The churchbell is ringing every hour (for two minutes)...turn it off(at least in the early morning, 6:30). We stayed at virgo two doublebedroom comfort apartment.

First off, this resort is in the process of re-branding itself as the "Adriatiq Resort", more on this later. I'll start this long-winded review with the positives (much the same as other reviews; skip to paragraph 5 for the negatives specific to our experience). This was the "relaxation stop" in the middle of an extended European trip. The warm sun and cool water of the Adriatic as well as the slower pace of this uncrowded resort island seemed like a good way to break up the grind of sightseeing and crowds in the larger cities. After spending the day in Split, we took the afternoon Jadrolinija catamaran ferry directly to Jelsa. The ferry was relatively quick and stops right in the middle of town (not that there is much to the town) and was very convenient. There are several restaurants and cafes in the center of town as well as others along the seaside and scattered around the town, all of which are a pleasant walk (25 mins max to anywhere in town) from the Fontana/Adriatiq. We never actually ate dinner at the hotel, though I understand they do offer a dinner buffet for 11 euro per person. There were just too many great restaurants around town!

The hotel itself is a very pleasant 10-15 minute walk from the harbor/center of town. Just follow the harbor around to the right, past the tourist office and several restaurants and keep walking up the road, past the abandoned building with the broken windows and graffiti, until you find a large cluster of buildings and some stairs across from a large swimming platform (there is no sign here for the hotel). As has been mentioned before, this part of the world is fairly rugged and the hotel itself is built into a steep wooded hillside leading down to the ocean. From the seaside road it is a long hike up a lot of stairs to finally reach reception. Reception is NOT in the large building and pool area you first come to down near the seaside road which seems obvious, that building is for breakfast and activities. Reception is the much smaller, very inconspicuous building at the top of a LOT of stairs near the inland road. One note here: the signs to the reception building are few and far between and not exactly clear. It took us several attempts at navigating the maze of paths and stairs and buildings before finally finding the correct building. You'll feel like you're in a game of "Chutes and Ladders", which sounds fun, but it's not when you're at the end of a long day with a pack strapped to your back. Basically just keep going up and up the various stairs between the buildings, roughly following the signs to "Recepija" until you reach another blacktop road further up the hill and it should be relatively easy to find reception from there.

Check-in for our three-night stay was quick and painless (though they do ask to keep your passports for at least an hour, I believe it has to do with the requirement in Croatia that foreigners register with the police. I was unable to get a clear explanation but we were able to get our passports back after dinner. It was still uncomfortable letting our passport out of our sight for that long in a foreign country). The staff were warm and inviting as we checked in and helpful getting us pointed towards our building. I must stress that everyone we encountered here during our stay went out of their way to be helpful and generally spoke decent English (and us enough broken Croatian vocabulary). Check-out was equally smooth and painless and they even allowed us to check out the night before our early morning departure back to Split. This easily saved us 15-20 minutes of walking to and from reception and then all the way back to the harbor which is a very precious 15-20 minutes that early in the morning when there is only one ferry going your way that day.

We booked a "Superior Double Room" and breakfast was included in the rate. We arrived on a Saturday night and breakfast Sunday morning was relaxed and uncrowded, and typically central European (cold cuts, cheese, breads, yogurt, coffee, juice) with a hot section that changed daily (eggs, sausages, etc). Monday morning however was a different story. This resort clearly caters more to the package vacation crowd and they all must arrive on Sunday night because breakfast Monday morning was PACKED! Even with the crowd the staff handled it well and the buffet was kept well stocked and empty tables were quickly cleared. Our only complaint was the line at the single coffee machine and juice machine. For a breakfast area this large they definitely need more than one beverage station.

Now the negatives... Based on the layout of paths and the location of our building (nearly halfway back to the town! Literally a 4 or 5 minute walk from reception), it appears the Fontana/Adriatiq bought out the neighboring hotel and was or is in the process of incorporating that property into their own. OK, nothing wrong with that but it appears that the neighboring property was of much lower quality and must have been in a desperate state of repair when they bought it. Remember the abandoned building with the broken windows and graffiti you walked past? That appears to be the reception and main building of the old hotel with the Fontana/Adriatiq now occupying the two buildings behind that which they call the "Lavandre" buildings. We did end up seeing several signs for the "Lavandre Hotel" around town but it appears that the Lavandre is no more. Again, a bit of an annoyance since that's not what I thought I had booked but for a short stay it was no big deal.

Now, as someone who's job has them spending 3-4 nights a week in many different hotels of varying quality, you tend to develop a sense for when things are not quite right just below the surface. The first things I noticed were peeling paint around the door to the balcony and a lot of extra holes in the bathroom tile work as well as some cracked tiles on the floor and a piece broken off the headboard of the bed. It quickly became apparent that this room had received a quick coat of paint and some updated bathroom fixtures in an effort to quickly and cheaply make it part of the "Fontana/Adriatiq". Next, my girlfriend noticed several small brownish stains on the ill-fitting sheets (4 twin sheets used to cover a queen bed!?) so my first thought is "bed bugs". I start pulling the sheets back and checking the mattress and sure enough, there are bed bug husks around the seams of the mattress. I must stress here that all we found was EVIDENCE of bed bugs (which is enough for me). We never did receive any bites or observe actual, living bed bugs directly which says to me that they or the previous management did a shoddy job dealing with a prior infestation. Not wanting to even deal with the possibility of bed bugs and at the risk of sounding like the spoiled, needy American tourists, I quickly called the front desk. I told them we were unhappy with the room and why and requested they move us to another room or building. After trying to explain the issue several times and being handed off to several people (How do you say "bed bug" in Croatian!?) we are told that they will call us back. The front desk does call back 5 or 6 minutes later and tells us someone is on the way with a key to the room next door. Knowing how bed bug infestations work and whats involved in controlling one, I tell them that next door is still unacceptable. After being told there are no other options, they finally send a second person with a key to a room on the floor below, further down the hall. When the first lady arrives (a housekeeper), I show her the dead bed bugs and stains and she says "Ooooh!" and says a few words in Croatian and then asks "So you are...allergic!?" Ummm...little bugs climbing on me, biting me, drinking my blood and then excreting their wastes onto my bed? Yeeeaahhh...I'd say I'm allergic to that. I felt kind of bad because she seemed genuinely embarrassed. Anyway, the second woman arrives (the same one who had checked us in) and the first lady shows her the mattress and they talk amongst themselves in Croatian before finally showing us to the new room. The second room is much the same as the first room with the same quick makeover. After checking the mattress , we were satisfied (and tired) enough to accept the room. Neither of us slept really well that first night but after waking up with no signs of bug bites, we were content with the room for the rest of our stay.

A note for those of you who, like us, pack light even for long trips. There are NO guest laundry facilities at the hotel and no laundromats or laundry services in the town of Jelsa. From conversations with the front desk personnel, it sounds like it is not uncommon (or even frowned on) for the housekeepers at the hotel to wash guest's laundry on the side with their regular hotel laundry in exchange for a "tip". The other option is a trip to Hvar Town on the other end of the island. There are several buses a day (except on Sundays, there is only one in either direction). There is a self-service laundromat right near the bus station and main square in Hvar Town as well as a couple of full-service laundries (we asked at the tourist information office and she was able to call around to several she knew for us). Seems like if you want a full-service laundry, you better get there early because by 1030-11am all the places we tried were too busy to get our stuff back same day. The self-service laundry worked out fine, with the girl at the desk offering to move our stuff from washer to drier while we explored Hvar Town and rented a boat to enjoy the beaches and explore the smaller islands.

it is really cheap when you think its location and its view ı think it is the best place to stay in Jelsa if u want to relax.

First of all, Jelsa is stunningly fab place to go! That typical ancient mediterranean town plan, natural stone, a harbor functioning as a market square, fantastic people and great locally supplied produce - it all makes Jelsa top hideaway from all that jazz of coast line cities.

Furthermore, Pinus Fontana apartments are as close to be a perfect hit as possible. Of course taking all factors into account - price, location, size, etc. One cannot compare 3-star Croatian holiday accommodation with Koh Samui Four Seasons resort - but again: take all that matters into consideration and you won't be dissapointed there.

Apartments are good size, well-equipped, clean, modern - when booking, try to go for one as close to the sea as possible. Views will be amazing! I had TORO 8 (means BULL 8) and it was only few steps away from the beach, in a nice shadow, slept 4 people.

There's also a swimming-pool by the cafe, but I didn't really use it - cm'on, we're by the sea! But I noticed they had a separate pool and facilities for kids. Didn't try any food there because there are so many gorgeous restaurants around - just get out of the hotel. Seafood is absolute must when in Jelsa!