Hotel Bellevue

A hotel called the Bellevue makes a certain implicit promise. And the Hotel Bellevue Dubrovnik, its glassy façade perched on a cliff above picturesque Miramare Bay, with the spindly arms of the Croatian coast on either side reaching out toward the Adriatic, does not lack for scenery. One can gaze out at it from any of the ninety-one rooms and suites — from the classic sea view room, the superior sea view room, the deluxe sea view room, and in especially panoramic fashion from the suites, all with sea views. It’s less than a kilometer — and a pleasingly walkable one — from the 6th-century old city of Dubrovnik, but given the hotel’s setting and orientation, the water feels closer than the land.

Behind the glassed-in balconies and the oversized windows are accommodations with about the subtlest, most dialed-back nautical theme you’ll ever encounter. In fact, though the dark woods and canvas-white palette would not be out of place on one of the sailboats blowing about outside, the most nautical element here (vista aside) is probably the enormous bathtub you’ll find in the bedroom of some of the better suites.

The Bellevue’s size lands in a sweet spot, large enough that you’ll have more amenities than you’re likely to use, but small enough that the hotel doesn’t dominate the natural (or, on the other side, the residential-architectural) surroundings. It feels more like a base than a self-contained fortress. The two restaurants, one with an innovative Mediterranean menu, the other a seafood restaurant divided between a terrace above the beach and a cave cut into the cliff, strike just the right laid-back note. Same goes for the bar, which is also divided in two, this time by an enormous palm-tree cased in glass. Off campus, any number of activities are on offer, from cultural and historic tours to yacht excursions and even, in case you’d like a higher angle on those landscapes and seascapes, sightseeing flights on two-seater planes.

How to get there:
Hotel Bellevue is about a half a mile (800 meters) from Old Town and approximately 20-40 minutes by car from Dubrovnik Airport (depending on traffic). Taxi service is approximately 45 euros each way.