Avala Resort & Villas

This hotel really is a great place. I've read some of the negative reviews and I can't understand them. We took a taxi from Tivat airport which took around an hour and a half (there are lots of roadworks taking place on the main road between the airport and the hotel) but, we also sat in a large queue of traffic not far from the hotel entrance as the single road also leads to another car park which was operated by a barrier and only allowed 1 car in when there was a space (hence the traffic queue which was for the car park and not for the hotel(but once you're in the queue, there is no way out of it. If we had known we were so close, we would have got out and walked down) eventually the taxi dropped us at the front door of the hotel. We arrived around 8pm and were greeted by a very friendly lady on reception who checked us in swiftly. We had two rooms (109 and 110) both on the 1st floor. The lifts both seemed busy so we decided as it was only 1 floor up to carry our cases up the stairs which was no issue as it wasn't very far. The rooms were both basic but clean. The bathroom had an over the bath shower and the aircon in the room worked well (which was lucky as it was 38 degrees C outside!). Both rooms had a side balcony that looked out on to the restaurants and precinct outside and a partial sea view. The hotel is literally a 1 min walk out to the walls of the old town. The spa and the indoor/outdoor pool areas are all well maintained and you get great views from the outside pool. Sun loungers never seemed to be an issue so long as you were there by 10/10:30 although they have a policy in place to stop people reserving beds which works well. So we always went for breakfast first and then came to the pool. The guys working on the pool bar were also really friendly and always on hand to take your order and bring it to your bed if required. The steam room is good and there is a separate sauna for Male/Female We also booked in for a massage at the spa which is one of the best we've ever had - definitely worth booking. Breakfast - it is a buffet style breakfast but there is plenty to choose from and aside from this, we had pizza and sandwiches for lunch which were both nice. Food and drinks were very reasonably priced at the hotel. The concierge was also very helpful and friendly and he organised taxis for us without any issues. One thing I would recommend though is to leave plenty of time if you're planning on going to Kotor or the airport. We had a boat trip booked in Kotor that left at 12pm. We had a taxi pick us up at 10:20 thinking this would give us plenty of time but due to the road works I mentioned earlier, we didn't arrive in Kotor until 12:25 (which is crazy as its not that far but the roads were grid locked). Having said that, when we left, we booked another taxi to take us to Tivat airport and left ourselves over 2 hours to get there and he informed us he could take us a quick route for an extra €20 - this involved going up some mountain tracks but in total, he got us from the hotel to the airport in 30 mins. So I think it depends on your taxi driver - This isn't the fault of the hotel but just make sure you leave plenty of time. All in all, this hotel is great and I'd definitely stay here again.