Hotel Ambasador

“Absolutely Joyous. The Perfect Croatian Luxury Hotel...”

Absolutely Joyous. The Perfect Croatian Luxury Hotel... I'm writing this review on our very last morning of what has been a surprisingly wonderful hotel stay over the past four days, while lying in bed, enjoying the full-on , 'cinerama'- like vista of the early morning boating activity on the Adri… more

Absolutely Joyous. The Perfect Croatian Luxury Hotel... I'm writing this review on our very last morning of what has been a surprisingly wonderful hotel stay over the past four days, while lying in bed, enjoying the full-on , 'cinerama'- like vista of the early morning boating activity on the Adriatic's/Split marina.  it is yet another beautiful day, the boating activity starts early morning and is a joy to awake to and reminds me very much of the view of non-stop boat traffic we equally enjoy when we stay at the Cipriani in Venice... accept here is perhaps even more, providing non-stop interest on the glistening early morning sea, sparkling in the sunlight which makes for the perfect backdrop to enjoy morning tea in bed.  Looking out from our second-floor terraced bedroom, we are so close to the water it feels as if we are actually on a five-star luxury cruise ship as regards the view. The location of this beautiful, almost new,  wonderful hotel is inspired and could not be bettered.  We arrived at the hotel from London late morning and it was no problem at all for us to wait a couple of hours for our room. In fact, it was a pleasure as we went straight outside to the comfortable, shaded, full-service terrace area and enjoyed drinks and stunning views. The hotel was almost 100%. Being greeted on arrival by Ina at reception was simply terrific. All of the receptionists (apart from one slightly grumpy older guy who is a night receptionist) are lovely, warm, welcoming and can't do enough for you, not only at check-in but throughout your stay. Whatever you need just dial 911 and Reception quickly answer and are effortlessly effective...unless it is late at night when you get Mr Grumpy answering... quite a character.  Bedrooms are well thought out, excellent TV with a vast choice of English language channels. Bathrooms have great overhead and handheld shower which will please the most discerning Americans. Comfortable beds, bathroom amenities by Bulgari. Separate kettle which is handy for making tea as well as the coffee maker.  We usually pick up a small jug of fresh milk before retiring and store it in the fridge. Breakfasts, excellent. Luvre (pictured with tray) seems to be in charge, he is everywhere and fully on it. Extreme together, integrated service with a smile. I am now continuing writing this review from breakfast. I started with fresh fruit, local sparkling wine with a dash of their Cherry liqueur, two glasses of carrot juice then avocado toast with a poached egg on top while usually watching people dining on the yachts, just metres away,  who are usually watching us at the hotel. Reminds me of the song 'music to watch the world go round' "The boys watch the girls while the girls watch the boys  Who watch the girls go by..." sung by Andy Williams. This hotel provides THE vantage spot. Just one difference, the yacht breakfasters pay well in excess of €100,000+ a week for their yacht charter plus extras however I would bet on the hotel's cuisine being superior. See photos. At breakfast they can't do enough for you. The avocado toast topped with a poached egg was particularly delicious, it is all simply 10 out of 10 on top of which the view from every single table outside on the terrace is to die for. Morning relaxed background music is the icing on the cake. It is now 11.30am and we are lingering on, enjoying pastries, tea and coffee. The Concierge: Trying to make advanced concierge arrangements in many hotels is like trying to raise the dead. Not here, as Concierge Mr. Petar  Krešimir was most responsive when we contacted him the week before and also superb during our stay as was his lady colleague on the Concierge desk. For a new hotel without Clef D'Or  accredited Concierges, they really are as good as it gets.  Whenever we stay at a New five-star luxury hotel anywhere, we always dine at the hotel's top Restaurant on our first night, with varying results.  This stay was no different however the Experience most certainly was as it greatly exceeded all hoped for reasonable expectations on every level. I really must congratulate Dario - restaurant manager and Luka - who was our main waiter at our first dinner with our family. See photos. Everybody in the kitchen brigade from executive chef downwards are delivering 100% perfect cuisine in what can be an extremely busy restaurant. The hotel's Restaurant Mediterranean is up there in the top three restaurants of Split. It will also be one of the loveliest restaurants in the whole of Croatia not only for cuisine and service but for atmosphere, terrific live music, location and stunning views. A real treat for sunset dinners ...while breakfasts and lunches are equally memorable just for the pure enjoyment. We used the third-floor outdoor pool area and bar which was most enjoyable. The main cocktail bar in made two, more complex cocktails for us that they had not made before...both surprisingly good for a first-time attempt... we asked for a traditional British champagne cocktail which came with a brown sugar cube, Angustura bitters, brandy and Croatian sparkling wine, perfect. Trickier was a penicillin (whiskey) cocktail which needs honey syrup, ginger syrup or crushed fresh ginger, fresh lemon juice, scotch whiskey and then after shaking and straining into it tumbler, requires the careful addition of the float of contrasting peaty/smoky whiskey.  This is a very difficult cocktail to get the balance right and their first ever attempt was particularly promising. Dinner at the their their exceptional, Michelin standard yet relaxed signature restaurant: I don't often review restaurants unless they are exceptionally impressive. This is a Great Restaurant and is heading for a Michelin star. There were five of us for dinner late July, day we arrived. As soon as I tasted the amuse-bouche, served for us on the roof, I could tell that we were in for something special as these were exquisite and up there with many I have experienced at the 3 Michelin star Waterside Inn which is in Bray, UK where my wife and | have been dining for our special occasions for the past 30 years. This dinner was on my birthday. All of us were impressed with every single course. Each dishes was wonderful and absolutely delicious. The setting has to be the best in Split if not Croatia all by with Dubrovnik.  Designers and architects were clearly inspired by the vision of the owners who have created a 5 star luxury full service hotel from scratch. Considerable amount of extremely hard work with staff training is clearly evident for a hotel which only opened 3 + years ago to reach such exceptional standards. Very best hotels in the world have to start with location, location and location and this restaurant and hotel has it in spades...this is as good as it gets... and the views from this Restaurant are terrific in every direction. This is a destination hotel with a relaxed yet great restaurant. The wine list is terrific and we received helpful advice on  our selection of various bottles of wine and champagne.  We trusted the restaurant manager's advice on a particularly interesting and well-curated wine list and everything we enjoyed was new to us including choice of champagne, white wine and the orange wine. Almost all hotel staff are wonderfully welcoming and accommodating. These are standards we enjoy at Rosewood, Belmond, Peninsular and Dorchester group hotels but did not expect in Split. As for the restaurant, the talent in this kitchen is remarkable. Wonderful service, excellent waiters, very good restaurant manager... total perfection. See my Photos of views from Restaurant, taken also in the morning. Just imagine the views at night with the yachts lit up and a lovely atmosphere in a laid-back restaurant with great live music. I'm not surprised that the luxury yachts compete to berth for the evening right by The Restaurant. For hotel entrepreneurs who are first-timers in the luxury hotel business, they have totally cracked it. With a general manager and a F and B Director who have never before run a five-star luxury hotel, I don't understand how they have done it! This has been such a massive surprise and way beyond all reasonable expectations. We are only in Split for three nights and we have arranged dinner in three of the very tap restaurants. This was the first, the second which I will review sadly failed and the third (last night) was equal to the hotel.  I cannot recommend both Restaurants enough but will review last night's separately. They are both 'Must Visits.' This is the first ever hotel that German owner, quite famous as head of Birkenstock, has ever built and owned...and for a first time effort...he has ticked every single box to an astonishing degree. In particular the design both inside and out is perfect for the location and most importantly, both the General Manager and food and beverage Director have totally cracked it.   These days I probably only review around one in six hotels we visit l, along with 1% of restaurants. Today I have done both.  I can't recommend this hotel enough, it is absolutely joyous with a young and vibrant, almost totally Croatian, smartly attired, relaxed, professional, confident, happy staff. SUPERB. Book early! We will be returning...

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