The attractive yet unassuming entrance to Hotel Vestibul Palace, where I had a lovely stay. Photo by: Evan Berman

During my time in Split, I stayed in a palace! Hotel Vestibul Palace to be exact. This hotel was very nice in every way and one that I would recommend when you are in Split, Croatia. As a member of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH), the partnership with Hyatt ensure that I would earn an elite night, Hyatt Points, and receive benefits that come from booking through Hyatt such as a room upgrade and free breakfast. In all, I had a wonderful stay!

The review of this hotel is part of the Eastern European Experience. For more information on the trip, follow these links:

Intro

Flight: United Economy Class B737-800 CHS-ORD-SEA

6 Hours in Seattle

Centurion Lounge, The Club SEA, and United Club: SEA Lounges

Flight: Turkish Airlines Business Class B787-9 SEA-IST

Istanbul Airport’s Famous Turkish Airlines Business Class Lounge and IGA Pop Up Lounge

Flight: Turkish Airlines Business Class B737 MAX 8 IST-BUD

2 Days in Budapest

Hotel: Ramada by Wyndham Budapest City Center

SkyCourt Lounge, Plaza Premium SkyCourt, and Platinum Lounge (Schengen): BUD Lounges

Flight: Lufthansa Economy Class A321-200 BUD-MUC and MUC-ZAG

24 Hours in Munich

Starkbierfest Munich

Hotel: H+ Munchen (Wyndham)

Lufthansa Business Class Lounge MUC

1.5 Days in Split, Croatia, the Beauty of the Adriatic

Hotel Vestibul Split, Small Luxury Hotels of the World (Hyatt Partner) (This Article)

Flight: Croatian Airlines Economy Class Dash 8 and ATR 72-600 (Twin-Prop Plane) ZAG-SPU-ZAG-SJJ-ZAG-BEG

Primeclass Lounge ZAG

6 Hours in Zagreb

Wine Tasting and Learning about Croatian Outlook

2 Days in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Restaurants in Sarajevo

Hotel Aziza Sarajevo (AABooking)

Business Lounge SJJ

Air Serbia Premium Lounge and Business Club: BEG Lounges

Flight: Swiss Airlines Economy Class Embraer E190-E2 and A220-300 BEG-ZRH-LJU

2 Amazing Days in Ljubljana, Slovenia

Food Scene in Ljubljana

Day Trip around Slovenia: Postojna Cave, Predjama Castle, Bled Castle, and Lake Bled

Hotel Emonec Ljubljana, Slovenia (Rocketmiles)

Flight: Air Serbia Economy Class ATR 72-600 and A319-100 LJU-BEG-SKP

1.5 Days in Belgrade, Serbia

Restaurants in Belgrade

Hotel: Hyatt Regency Belgrade (Hyatt)

3 Hours in Skopje, North Macedonia

Primeclass Lounge SKP

Flight: Wizz Air Economy Class A321-200 SKP-MXP

14 Hours in Milan and Monza, Italy

Hotel de la Ville Monza, Italy, Small Luxury Hotels of the World (Hyatt Partner)

Sala Montale and Emirates Lounge MXP

Flight: Emirates First Class A380-800 MXP-JFK

Conclusion

Intro:

Split, Croatia is a lovely city on the Adriatic Sea. As mentioned in the recap of my time in Split, the highlight is the historic city center which is built on top of the palace of Roman Emperor Diocletian in the 4^th century. I wanted to be close to that area and found Hotel Vestibul Split, part of Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH), my favorite hotel brand. SLH properties are affiliated with Hyatt, though there are rumors that this partnership will be coming to an end in 2024. For the moment; however, there are many great perks of booking SLH hotels through Hyatt. The Hotel Vestibul Split is built on top of the Vestibule in the aforementioned palace of Diocletian. The price for one night in March was $127.98, which I found reasonable.

Booking:

I booked this hotel through Hyatt to earn valuable Hyatt points as well as to use the benefits from booking in this manner. As with any other Hyatt, I started by searching the Hyatt for hotels in Split. While there are no Hyatt properties in Split, SLH properties also appear and Hotel Vestibul Palace Split was the result of the search. I booked through Hyatt in the same way as any Hyatt property– you can use Hyatt points or book using cash.

When booking an SLH property through Hyatt, you receive the following benefits (no matter whether you are just a member with no status or have top-tier Globalist Status):

• 1-category Room Upgrade at check-in, subject to availability
• Complimentary continental breakfast daily
• 2pm late checkout, subject to availability
• 12pm early check-in, subject to availability
• Complimentary wi-fi

As you can see in the above screenshot, I booked a room at the Villa Dobric, the adjacent property, and was upgraded to a room in the main hotel.

Value:

I paid cash for this stay as 1) the cash price was quite reasonable and 2) this hotel is a category 6 property, meaning that for a standard night (such as this one was), the points required would be a huge 25,000! That being said, in peak summer season, the hotel prices would be high enough that this might provide great value!

Price: $127.98

Points Earned: 768 Hyatt Points and 384 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points (3x on Travel with the Chase Sapphire Reserve Card)

9/10, Great

View:

The view from my room was nothing special. My room was on the 2^nd floor (of 3) and I was facing the back of the hotel. As such, I was looking out at the other side of the hotel and the other nearby buildings. While it was not the best view ever, the old architecture is so beautiful that it still was solid!

7/10, Above Average

Location:

I normally state that location is subjective and what I like might not be your favorite and vice versa. That said, I defy anyone to take issue with the location of this hotel! While you are in the Historic City Center, the hotel is located away from the main walking area– in fact, it took me a little bit to find the hotel! The hotel is a 2-minute walk from Diocletian’s Palace and a 5-minute walk from the edge of the Adriatic Sea. If you prefer secluded resorts, this will not be for you. For anyone else, this property is in the perfect location!

10/10, Excellent

Furniture:

Another area where this hotel excelled was furniture. The bed was extremely comfortable and quite stylish. Additionally, there was a small but useful desk. While I was out and about during my stay and did not need to use it, I appreciated having the option to use an attractive walnut desk and chair.

9/10, Great

Electronics:

The TV was not the largest that I have ever seen, but the Wi-Fi was quite quick as well as password protected! I will that as usual, I was too busy exploring all Split had to offer to watch TV, so I had no issues with this setup. That said, if you need to watch TV in your hotel, it might be small for you.

8/10, Very Good (averaged the 9/10 for Wi-FI and 7/10 for the TV)

Food and Drink:

While breakfast was included as I booked through Hyatt, I opted not to eat at the hotel and instead headed out to explore. I overheard other guests commenting on the quality of the food, but I will have to take their word for it! In my experience, SLH breakfasts are always high quality and highlight local delicacies (fresh fruit in Cambodia and charcuterie in Italy).

N/A

Overall:

9/10, Great.

Recap:

For my night in Split Croatia, I stayed at the Hotel Vestibul Palace, a Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH) property for $127.98. By booking through Hyatt, I received an upgrade, late checkout, and free breakfast at this wonderful property. Every stay I’ve had at an SLH property has been fantastic and this was no exception. After all, how can you beat sleeping on top of the former vestibule of a Roman Emperor’s palace?

Next up: I flew Croatia Airlines’ twin-propeller planes on 5 occasions during this trip. Stay tuned for a brief recap of those short flights. Then, it’s off to Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina– a beautiful city with a dark yet storied history!