Punta Verudela Resort - Pula, Croatia 

Trip Advisor for Punta Verudela - 23 September to 07 October 2007 Arrived at Pula Airport on-time with [--] and were met right away by the car hire rep who took us to the car parked outside. Signed all the paperwork and were led to the car, a brand new Skoda Fabia. We used a car hire company on-line called “[--]” who were by a country mile the cheapest option on the net. We always rent a car when we travel abroad, and found that in particular Croatia was very expensive, apparently due to high motor insurance costs. All the mainstream car rental companies were looking for in excess of £350 for the fortnight, which is outrageous, when you consider for example, Spain or Portugal, where the same deal is under £150 for the two weeks. We ended up paying £228 on-line. Petrol in Croatia is 80 pence per litre, about 10p cheaper than Scotland at the minute. We arrived at the Punta Verudela holiday complex about 20 minutes after leaving Pula Airport and checked in at reception. Our apartment was one of over 400 in the complex and our room was about 150 metres from there - which we had to walk due to a ban on vehicles inside the complex. The apartment was right next to the swimming pool area and we were pleasantly surprised by the size of the one bedroom accommodation. Large living/dining area, easily big enough for the two of us. Very clean and well presented with a TV - although only two English language stations, CNN News, and Eurosport. Ran the shower and was disappointed with the lack of hot water - only lukewarm - and complained the next day at the reception. The guy there was less than useless and clearly did not care about the paying customer - he tried to tell us that the water was not hot because there are over 400 apartments to supply and it’s too many apartments to heat at full tilt - aye right, so that’s our fault? Got nowhere fast with him, so decided to just bite the bullet and accept only warm showers for a fortnight. To be fair, this was almost the only issue up for criticism, as everything else about the place was fine. Towels changed twice a week and bed linen once a week. Two ring “cooker” was a bit useless, and no oven, kettle, toaster or microwave, so boiling pots when required was the order of the day. Not life-threatening, but a wee bit of a pain. There are a few restaurants inside the complex which are not recommended due to the tiny portions they serve which would struggle to feed a child. So we binned eating there. During the full two weeks we were in Croatia, tiny portions were the norm, almost regardless of anywhere we went, and we travelled well over 1200 miles during our time there, and ate out extensively. So if you like a hearty meal, then you had better order two. There is a supermarket here in Punta Verudela, but it looks like something from the Communist times - hardly any provisions, and fruit with ants crawling over it. Gave that a wide berth, and just done the shopping in Lidl about 4 miles away. Within the complex, the Hotel Histria is a lot more upmarket, where we went for internet access. Bet they don’t have cold water coming out of the shower in their rooms. Very posh. But as the old saying goes, sometimes you get what you pay for, although it must be said, not always. Pula town itself is good with the fabulous Roman Amphitheatre taking centre stage down at the harbour area. £3 for entrance and well worth a look. If you rent a car then be prepared for parking problems in any of the towns or cities. Even at the end of August / beginning of October, any town or city we visited was very busy, which surprised us, as we deliberately booked later in order to avoid the crowds and the excessive heat which comes hand in glove during the height of the season. Having the car was a boon as always, but be prepared for problems when trying to park. We got caught the first day we arrived when we parked outside the Amphitheatre, and duly bought a ticket - 50 pence for the hour, and were 2 minutes over when we seen the traffic warden looking at our car. I shouted over to him that we were going now, he said it was too late as he had put the ticket through on his palm-top PC. However, if he phoned his mate at the computer centre where all tickets are processed, he “might be able to help us - for the price of a few beers!!” I said OK and duly crossed his palm with 20 Kuna (£2) which he immediately trousered. Apparently, a bung gets you everywhere in this country, which I’m OK with, if it’s saving dosh. Overall this trip and Punta Verudela is recommended, but be patient with the lack of hot water and accept the biggest drawback which is a lack of a hot shower and you will be fine. If you cannot do this, then do not book into Punta Verudela. My missus and I thought that it was a minor price to pay as everything else was OK. There is also the possibility of a trip to Venice from Porec (Pula departures were over for the season) - which we opted for. Porec is about an hour from Pula, and we booked with Atlas Travel near to the Amphitheatre and paid 1040 Kuna (£104 GBP). This entailed the coach picking us up at the complex and taking us to the boat for the crossing from Porec to Venice. Arrived in Venice around lunchtime - 3 hour sailing in choppy water - sick bags supplied. Venice is OK but heavily overcrowded, and the prices for ANYTHING are a joke. I had a 500ml of beer and was charged over a fiver for it in a tiny little café. Seen enough of Venice and it was good for what it is, but probably wouldn’t return. Good points about Punta Verudela Village: Spacious one bedroom apartment, clean and serviced adequately twice a week. Bad points: The main one for me was the poor temperature of the shower. Boiling pots of water for shaving and washing is something I have not had to do much while travelling in Europe in recent times. The distance from the car park to the flat was a pain as well, as they don’t allow cars inside the complex. As I said before, a few quid spent on a microwave, kettle and toaster (which can be bought in Tesco for £30) would have been handy. Instead it was a pair of inadequate electric rings. Good big brand new fridge-freezer though. Mosquitoes were a slight problem too with much feasting on our arms and legs taking place, despite the so-called “repellents”. Wouldn’t dream of coming here if it meant having to use public transport, which is almost non-existent, and relying on the supplied excursion programme given to us on arrival was out of the question, due to the inconvenience of these trips, and typically, exorbitant prices to go on them - with the exception of the Venice trip, which would have taken forever to drive to. My advice always, is if you can drive, pick up a car at the airport. It’s easy, gives you more independence, and is a lot cheaper than the holiday company’s arranged trips. To summarise the £650 we paid for 14 nights including our flights was OK for what we got - worked out at around £23 a day, so not too bad. Do not book Punta Verudela if you are after 5star accommodation and services. In reality compared to many other places we have been, it is no better than an average 3star.

4 night break, cheap Ryanair flight, mid October. Very easy to find resort from airport, well signposted. Arrived 9.30. Reception shut, place deserted. Picked up key from Hotel Histria. Hadn't realised this was the final week the apartments would be open before closing down for the winter. Apartment was a studio. Patio door was broken, toilet door wouldn't shut, dark wood everywhere which made it rather gloomy. Morning better idea of our surroundings. Beautiful - on a headland, views of bright blue water, islands, pine trees. Bit chilly, so the beautiful pool lay empty. Supermarket obviously running down stock for imminent closure date. Nothing in it. One pizzeria open. Had breakfast in Hotel Histria for 51 kunar pp every morning. When you consider 2 cups of tea and a croissant cost nearly 80 kunar in the hotel bar, was good value. Lovely walks around the resort. Apparently in high summer it gets up to 35 degrees and mozzies, but we were in fleeces. Pula is a nice place, we got free parking 100 yards from ampitheatre. Nice main street, loads of cafes. Eating out was dirt cheap - we actually found the portions very large and filling unlike previous review. But most times we were the only customers, which made us feel bad for the owners! Overall verdict - great to sample, lovely area, unappealing apartment, wrong time of year. Drove up to Slovenia on good, if only two-lane main road. Slovenia even cheaper and accepted Euro!