Hotel Palazzo del Mare - Essenza

The hotel is in a strikingly beautiful location in the Bay of Kotor and it's definitely worth going for a room with a sea view. The food at breakfast was very good and varied although the breakfast area itself is tiny for the amount of guests at the hotel. All the staff were exceptionally friendly. The beach bar opposite was lovely although hotel guests are not guaranteed a lounger. The hotel pool is tiny so as to be unusable. Bedrooms are lovely but need some tinkering to be perfect, such as positioning the bathroom mirror to a normal height and bolting the wardrobe safe to the wardrobe instead of it being free-standing and able to be carted off! There are no lounge areas for guests to relax inside. That would have been useful during the storm we had when there or when shade is needed. So that was disappointing given the price we paid. The hotel is expanding so perhaps that will be included in the new plans.

Don’t listen to the bad reviews, this place is an absolute gem. The hotel is beautiful and so clean. Our room was in the new building (room 34) and it was stunning. The staff are all so friendly, helpful and knowledgeable of the local area. The beach bar is brilliant, the food delicious and they serve the best rosé wine! We loved the location, it’s more peaceful than being in the Old Town (15 minute taxi ride) beautiful walks, a lovely selection of bars, restaurants and a supermarket on your doorstep. No need to pack beach towels as the hotel provides them. Free WiFi which actually works! We would return here in a heartbeat.

We arrived at the hotel at 11:30am, fully aware that check-in wasn’t until 2pm, which was totally fine. At first, the reception staff began checking us in, giving us breakfast times and general information. Everything seemed routine,until they suddenly told us there was no record of our booking through Love Holidays. From that point, the service took a dramatic turn for the worse. The staff quickly distanced themselves, offering no apology, no assistance, and no attempt to contact Love Holidays. Instead, we were simply told, “You’ll have to sort it yourselves.” No effort was made to help us, despite it clearly being a stressful and upsetting situation. The manager in particular was shockingly rude and dismissive. When we asked calmly for help or clarification, he showed no concern whatsoever. He barely acknowledged us, offered no solutions, and made it very clear that we were not his problem. His attitude was cold, condescending, and completely devoid of any basic customer service. Rather than diffusing the situation, his behaviour made it far worse,we felt humiliated, ignored, and completely abandoned. Love Holidays weren’t any better. It took an eternity to get through to someone, and even then, there was no urgency or real help offered. We were passed around, given vague responses, and left to figure things out on our own. It was clear that neither the hotel nor the travel company wanted to take responsibility for what went wrong. On top of all that, The toilet in the lobby was out of order, which was incredibly inconvenient given we were stuck there for hours. The electrics kept cutting out during the six hours we waited, lights and power flickered constantly, making the lobby feel more like a disaster zone than a welcoming hotel. The only positive in all of this was Joyanna at reception, who came on shift later. She was the only one who showed any empathy, professionalism, and basic human decency. She listened to us, tried to help, and treated us with kindness when no one else did. Her efforts stood out in stark contrast to the rest of the staff, especially the manager. We weren’t expecting perfection, just some support when something clearly went wrong. Instead, we were met with indifference, rudeness, and a total lack of accountability. This experience completely ruined the start of our holiday. We felt disrespected, unsupported, and utterly devalued as paying customers. We will never return to this hotel, and we absolutely will not be booking through Love Holidays again.

The hotel is at the very top end of Dobrota on the sea front. There are many budgets and some extremely expensive restaurants and bars within in walking distance of the hotel The swimming area is super and looked after by efficient staff. It is separated from the hotel by a very busy narrow holiday road. The hotel accommodation is small but has apartments next door. The adjacent accomodation has breakfast at the hotel so it gets quite busy after 09:00. The reception area converts into the breakfast hall and the staff are overrun. However they don't serve anything as everything is buffet style. Bathroom floor was wooden so it got quite wet. The cleaning was effective but we had to ask for the balcony to be cleaned. There was no change of bed linen during a nine day stay.

Stunning location! Lovely hotel in a stunning location in Kotor Bay. Rooms are comfortable, with amazing views over the water. It’s great to be able to access the Beach Club while staying at the hotel, and to enjoy a dip in the sea followed by a glass of wine. Staff at both the hotel and beach club are very friendly and professional. Looking forward to a return trip!

Beautiful! Lovely hotel in a beautiful location. The staff are excellent and went the extra mile to ensure our visit was perfect. I loved the beach club across the road, with sea access, which is free to use for the hotel guests. Only 1 drawback is the parking - or lack of it. Often people would be double parked in a very small car park, with very little parking available on the roads.