Hilton Imperial Dubrovnik Review
The Hilton Imperial Dubrovnik is located just outside the gates of the Old Town of Dubrovnik. It's prime real estate - you are just steps away from the 'Black Water Bay' filming location of 'Game of Thrones'. The building itself is surprisingly large given the real estate prices in and around the World Heritage site of Dubrovnik.
Check-in was friendly and super fast - we got our room key within two minutes. As a Hilton Diamond, lounge access and free breakfast was provided, though no suites would be available. The hotel indeed showed 'sold-out' on hilton.com for most nights.
I loved the room itself - it provided a cool oasis in Above 100+ degrees Dubrovnik. It was large - had a comfortable bed with lovely soft linens and had minimal clutter. There was a decent size sofa and a work desk. The bathroom was large (almost too large) and had the typical European shower (they are often clumsy and have low water pressure).
The AC was inaudible and strong without too much of a draft. The Internet was stable at 20 Mbit almost the entire time. There is considerable road noise in front of the hotel (especially from 5 PM - 10 PM). Our room faced the lobby area and some sound was noticeable - it wasn't too bad but other rooms looking towards the sea may get much more noise.
I found the staff knowledgable and friendly - without exception during our stay. Think of a Hyatt Regency or Grand Hyatt level - they were able to anticipate simple service requests and had the language skills to respond properly.
The lounge would serve warm appetizers from 6.30 PM to 8.30 PM in the newly renovated setup. The spread varied every day - some days it was excellent and the next day it was just ok. I found most items to be of average - some of the really good quality. The champagne was great and so was the liquor selection. I also liked the understated service without constant interruption or noise (as many other lounges do that).
The true highlight was breakfast every morning. The spread was consistent with many high-end items that were fresh and taste just as they should. There were plenty of espresso drinks and a la carte menu with waffles, french toast, and eggs.
The staff running the breakfast service were exceptional - some even found the time to crack jokes. Indeed we spent 2-3 hours at breakfast on the lovely outdoor patio (shaded thankfully).
In sum, I found the Hilton Imperial Dubrovnik an excellent hotel in a wonderful setting. I did not want to leave. The only thing that could be improved are the complicated showers that barely worked and private beach access would be lovely as well. All other boxes of a perfect hotel stay were ticked. What a treat!