Isabella Island Hotel & Villas Valamar Collection

Amazing location. A great free ferry service running every 15-30 minutes from dawn till late evening. Plenty of great restaurants along the harbour in Porec. However not quite the 4-5 stars hotel that we anticipated. Air con wasn't working for the whole visit (late May and temperatures rising) - apparently the whole hotel was still in "heating mode". Reception desk not overly helpful on a number of issues. We booked all inclusive and bar staff didn't seem to know what drinks/cocktails that actually included.

We stayed here last year and had an absolutely amazing time. We don’t often return to the same resort as a family but after much deliberation decided we loved it that much we wanted to return to explore more of the mainland and decided to pay the increased prices. Last year, it was half board and the food was amazing, with the option to dine in the evening in Oliva and a sunset BBQ. This year with the resort going all inclusive, oliva closes on an evening and there is no sunset BBQ. The buffet is extremely repetitive and the food not to the standard we had last year. The UK drinks package, only available at one bar, and the staff lacking any service or knowledge of what is included. Even have to pay for additional coffee capsules to use in the hotel room. We’ve found ourselves eating on the mainland or having a paid for meal in Oliva during the day because a 10 day holiday with the only options of pizza, pasta or a variation of grilled fish for both lunch and dinner was not the experience we were expecting. Tried to upgrade to V-level for some variation but the hotel is full, so mainland dining for the remainder of the holiday it is. Seems the focus has shifted to the new hotel being built. Such a shame as we thought last year we found a real gem, Porec is so beautiful but we won’t return to this hotel again.

Two years ago I gave this hotel 5 out of 5 stars on Google, but now I have to update my review. Today it deserves only 2, or at best 3 stars. We have stayed at Hotel Isabella several times, but unfortunately, in recent years the quality has gone down while the prices have gone up significantly. Compared to the earlier half-board, all-inclusive has been added, but the offer is very limited and mostly the same every day. Guests naturally expect a higher level of service with all-inclusive, but this is simply not the case here. The food is repetitive and lacks variety or creativity. In the end, we often ate just pizza and pasta. There are hardly any proper meals for children, soups were sometimes too salty, and seafood was almost completely missing, even though this is exactly what many guests look forward to at the seaside. Fish was usually available, but always in the same form, with no real innovation. When we spoke with other parents, they more or less confirmed the same experience. In June the food selection was actually wider than in August, even though the August stay was more expensive, which makes little sense. Another unpleasant surprise was parking. The hotel automatically charged us for parking even though we didn’t use their parking lot at all. We only stayed one night but were charged for the entire stay. If the guest doesn’t notice, they end up paying unnecessarily. There was absolutely no apology from the hotel for the incorrect parking charge. This approach does not feel professional. We were also disappointed by repeated small issues that never got fixed, for example, the absence of children’s spoons at the tables. I mentioned this several times over the years, but nothing changed. This shows that the hotel does not really listen to its clients. The previous manager always tried to communicate with guests and keep the hotel at a good standard, but since then the quality has clearly gone down. June was already worse than the previous year, and August was even worse. I believe that if the previous manager were still in charge, the level of service would be much higher. One more thing that feels questionable is the hotel’s Google rating. For Isabella it shows 4.8 (96%), while on Booking.com it is 8.5 (85%). The reviews on Booking sound realistic, but the overly positive Google reviews simply don’t reflect the actual experience. The hotel impressed us on our first stays, but nothing has improved since then. After our June holiday we already considered choosing another place, and we only returned in August because we booked last minute. Unless the services improve, we will most likely stay elsewhere next time.