Home » Posts tagged 'Mediterranean Sea'
Tag Archives: Mediterranean Sea
**** Hotel Dubrovnik Palace, Dubrovnik, Dalmatia, Croatia
The hotel is a nice place to relax when in Dubrovnik. That said, you do need a cab to go to the center. If you are in the area, Hotel Dubrovnik Palace is nice, especially if you like a more quiet place. It offer all facilities you need and had a nice seafront pool and pool bar.
When there, we were surprised by a tour with an old looking ship (see pictures) for an evening cruse into the city. This is a nice experience but I think this is only available for larger groups (ask the reception, they can tell you).
Would I stay there again? The hotel itself maybe. The city is nice but it is limited (42.000 people) when it comes to what there is to see although on the world UNESCO Heritage Sites.
Dubrovnik would not make it to my top 10 European city trips. It is hard to fly into, the city itself is limited when it comes to places to see and go to and the prices are outrageous. It belongs to one of the more expensive cities in Europe. I would go for Prague, Barcelona, Rome and many other cities first.
*** (*****) Hotel Restaurant Claudio, Bergeggi, Italian Riviera, Italy
Built overlooking the sea on the western Riviera in a natural, green setting, Hotel Restaurant Claudio is an great place to stay for a few days when visiting the Italian Riviera. The scenic park setting of the complex, which was designed to blend into the landscape, make this an enchanting, charming spot.
The view of the Mediterranean is superb and often, you can enjoy the pool all by yourself or with limited company. Claudio has as I said a great view and the room are (almost all) private. Most divided with curtains, but all with that great view of the blue Med.
If you want to walk down the beach, be aware. It is steep and down if fine but up isn’t any easy one. That said, the location does provide a unique view and that is worth a lot. So if you decide to stay at the Claudio, take your car when you go to the sea.
Claudio also offers a Michelin star restaurant. A gastronomical experience of Mr. Claudio Pasquarelli, the owner and chef, make the cuisine the final touch of excellence: mainly specialized in sea-food dishes, carefully prepared with fresh fish, which have let the restaurant being cited in the most important good food guides. In Summer the restaurant has a splendid, panoramic terrace.
At least this is what Claudio’s web says. If you are not not fish (like I am), consider twice. I do recommend the staff to secure not spilling red wine on the table cloth and to clean out the ash tray multiple times during the evening. In the end yes it was nice but the main course (meat), spilling of the wine on the table and not cleaning out the ash tray was below Michelin level. That said, the price of the average wine on the list was (from a price point) below Michelin star. A great choice of excellent wines with most bottles between 30 and 50 euro’s.
That said, I like to go back but for the hotel, not for the restaurant. If you are a fish eater, try it out! Claudio’s hotel staff is very nice and helpful.
Now as for the stars, I gave it a 3-star for the restaurant given the experience and 5-star for the hotel.
We stayed there for a few days and felt a true guest. Thanks!
**** Alcaidesa Links, La Linea-Cádiz, Spain
Yes, what you see in the back is the rock of Gibraltar. An amazing view towards the Mediterranean sea. The Alcaidesa Links Golf Resort is located in an incomparable setting, surrounded by the outstanding golf courses of Sotogrande and Valderrama, and close to emblematic boroughs like San Roque, La Linea and Gibraltar.
It has two magnificent golf courses: Alcaidesa Links and Alcaidesa Heathland, with a total of 36 professional holes and spectacular views to the sea, Gibraltar and Africa. The mark of distinction is Alcaidesa Links, which is characterised by being the only Links-type golf course in southern Europe. They also have a magnificent Driving Range with 72 bays, a spacious practice area with putting green, bunkers and a short game area.
I never played the Alcadeisa Heathland and to be honest, if you have to make a choice, play the links course. The first few holes are ok but nothing special. You start to feel like ok but no excitement (recognize such a feeling?). But suddenly as you go up and up, there is the 5th! You see the rock of Gibraltar, or only the tip of it as we did one time, and you think: YES! That is truly amazing. What a view, what a hole. An amazing par al the way down and an amazing view. It was very strange one time. Within minutes after we had a clear view of the Med(iterranean), the fog cam land inwards and we could only see the tip of the rock.
There are many other holes extremely exciting like the 9th and 12th par 3’s. To me, Alcadeisa is a must play whenever you are in the southern Marbella area. Don’t think, just go for it.
Places to Stay, Eat, Drink & Play 