Five of us shared a week at Demartini Palace in Pula. We each enjoyed our own bedrooms, 4 of which were ensuite. The 5th bedroom had access to a bathroom just outside the door into the vestibule.
The apartment was just as the photos had led us to expect—large rooms with high ceilings and the opulence of baroque style furnishings and architectural features. The kitchen was highend and well-equipped, with both washer and dryer but, alas, no coffee pot or coffee press to make a pot of coffee in the morning. (There is a pod style machine, but we could not find the appropriate pods in the local shop.)
We had one nagging issue with the tap in bathroom five. The handle had come apart and somehow the plumber did not ever appear to fix it. Was this a communication issue? We’re not sure. We did let our contact know right away to arrange repair, but somehow it did not happen. (To be fair we may have misunderstood how he was to arrange access, but did leave the key in the lockbox as instructed …)
Our biggest surprise came when we were letting our contact know we were about half an hour away fro the property so we could be met to facilitate checkin, as we had been requested to do. It was not until this point that we understood that the apartment is located within a pedestrian precinct—so when our driver was trying to locate the address we had to circle the area a couple of times before we finally spied our contact directing us to turn into the Cathedral parking area. From there we walked to the apartment building,. This wasn’t too big a big deal for most of us, but two of our party had 2 wheelie bags each to manoeuvre over the large irregular paving stones of the avenue leading to our door. So, be prepared…the area is nice and quiet at night, there are lots of shops and restaurants on the way to the nearby forum, but it can be a little difficult for some to access. Be prepared for stairs, as well —and reno’s going on in the building itself. (We did find that the apartment access points can be a little dusty and noisy during the day. )
All in all we had a really pleasant stay at Demartini Palace and enjoyed discovering and seeing the sites of historic Pula and surrounding areas. Can’t say enough about the Roman Arena—just stunning and well worth a lengthy visit.
