In the evening, we went to Agli Amici, the hotel’s two-star restaurant. It’s located outside on the promenade in a pavilion.

After the usual welcome, we were shown into an anteroom and handed the Appereriv menu.



Unsurprisingly, it was the Morning Elixir with the little snacks.

We then went to the main restaurant.

The menu.



Yes, sorry. They’re geared towards German guests here, so there’s a German menu as well. But I’d taken a photo of it outside the restaurant.


The seafood menu was served with non-alcoholic wine pairings.



Under the sea - scallops, sea water, coral and yoghurt






Bread and butter


Istrian Langoustine - squash, orange and Jerusaleme artichoke



Risotto - saffron, musels and basil


This was a Cannelloni as surprise




Golden cuttlefish - with citrus and pepper, tartare with cocoa beans, garum and aloe vera.



Red Scorpion Fish - whole and crispy, with tamarind, swiss chard and carpets


Additional cheese course






Lemon and Coastal Herbs - with star anise granita and almonds



Creme Brulee




Petit Fours





The bill

I really enjoyed the food; it was really good. It was nothing like the night before.

In the morning, we left Rovinj and drove to the Limski Canal once again. This time, however, we went right down to the water’s edge.









What happened next was absolutely brilliant. Croatia had decided to close the motorway – no idea why. No diversion, no signs, and neither the sat-nav nor Google Maps knew anything about it. So I looked for a way round and followed other foreign cars, only to turn back because other major roads had been closed too. I couldn’t find anything online about the reason either. That must have cost us at least two hours and was, in a way, the icing on the cake.

Aw bad luck about the road closures! How frustrating!

Indeed

I’d been keen to visit L’Albereta for quite some time – the hotel is quite well-known and, ever since it was home to Marchesi’s three-star restaurant, has had a reputation as a gourmet destination. The restaurant held a Michelin star for a long time, but hasn’t had one for quite a while now.
It just so happened that a voucher for the hotel was practically given away on Harper; it was really cheap. The standard rate for two nights in the junior suite on offer was around €1,000 per night in October, which isn’t exactly a bargain.
I was even more delighted when I asked about the option of paying extra for a suite and was promised a free upgrade to a suite subject to availability, which was confirmed in the booking confirmation. Great – I was then really and honestly looking forward to the stay.
When we arrived, it was raining and the weather was really cold. Well, it was further north, so what can you do? From the outside, it’s a house covered in ivy.


The welcome at reception was rather lukewarm. It wasn’t particularly friendly or warm, so I didn’t really feel at ease.

It was 6.40 pm and I was then told that my table, which I’d booked for 8 pm at the pizzeria, was actually scheduled for 7 pm and that there were only two sittings at 7 pm and 9 pm. It was all delivered rather brusquely – how could I have been so stupid as to think you could eat whenever you wanted here? That would be too good to be true – where would that lead? Perhaps we could move our table to 9 pm if, by some surprise, there was still a table free. So I decided against it; my travel clothes would do for the pizzeria, even if I’d swapped the polo shirt for a long-sleeved one because of the temperature.
We were then told we’d be given a junior suite, which was surprising because, according to the website, all the suites were available. However – and this did bug me later on – I didn’t feel like arguing and just put up with it.

Then we headed to our room. Our room wasn’t in the main building, but in an annexe. I often consider ‘annexes’ to be the hotel’s top choice – usually for myself, at least. This one didn’t fall into that category, though; if anything, it was the opposite. The Junior Suite was next to the hotel office and the entrance to the Kids Club. The whole place looked really shabby and felt rather dingy; somehow, the corridor smelled musty too.






But the best part was the room. First of all, there was a lovely step that I once nearly tripped over.

The room itself was, to put it mildly, rather small, and the furnishings were rather modest.






State-of-the-art. Everything was so new that I couldn’t charge my laptop.


One of the most beautiful beds I've ever had in a hotel.

Windows that are almost as good as new.

And then the bathroom. A real dream.



You had to stand in a certain way in the toilet, otherwise your legs would bump against the bidet. They’d even brought in a bathroom designer from Schilda especially for that.
And the condition! It almost looked as if we were the first guests. Absolutely splendid, it really makes showering a pleasure.







It's just as clean!
The dressing room was brilliant too.

If you leave the garment bag folded up, even long dresses will fit.

Well, if you use the suitcase rack, the drawers won’t open. But who needs them anyway, with all that space?

We even had two terraces and a fantastic view.





To be honest, if it hadn’t been so late and I hadn’t had 1,000 kilometres to go home, I would have left. What a dump. Sure, I paid next to nothing, but my time is too valuable to spend in a place like this.
By the way, I must give Harper a lot of credit – they refunded my stay, even though that wasn’t my concern and I’d just wanted to make a complaint.

The hotel's public areas are beautifully designed.









To get from our luxury room to the main building without getting your feet wet, you had to walk through the ‘wellness restaurant’.

Let's take a walk through the garden; the hotel also has its own vineyard.














The entrance to the underground car park, which can only be reached by walking through the rain.

The car says a lot. It’s not really a classic, and even back then it wasn’t exactly the first choice. These days, it’s hardly the sort of car you’d use to impress anyone.

The outdoor pool was deserted because of the cold, wind and rain; it was really cold, too.


Inside, it was nice and warm and well-made.

There’s always some idiot around.

YES, it was veeeery sunny inside and he was veeeery loud.
Fitness

Entrance to the SPA

On the first evening, we went to Pizzeria La Filiale. It is a second restaurant run by Franco Pepe. The pizzeria is housed in an adjoining building.


The menu


Pizza A Liberetto - Classic Pizza Alla Marinara folded on itself

That was really very good.
Sensazione Di Costiera - Fried Pizza with sundried garlic, parsley, chilli pepper, tomato, cetera anchovies and lemon cest


That was very good too.
Margherita

A classic, but a very good one at that. I just love it – you don’t need loads of fancy ingredients.
Scarpetta - Fresh buffalo mozzarella DOP "Il Casolare", 12 months aged Grana Padano DOP Cream, Tomato Compote, Basil Powder, 24 months aged Grana Padano DOP flakes, extra vergine olive oil from Caiazzo

Quite different, but nevertheless good.
Tiramisu

Solid, nothing special.
Pastiera Fritta - Citrus flavored custard, roasted crushed hazelnuts, fresh fiordilatte mozzarella "Il Calolare", Mixed candied fruits, orange zest, sugar and cinnamon



Wow - great
The bill

A really enjoyable pizza night – it was a bit pricey (for pizza), but well worth the money.

When you stay at a hotel with a focus on dining, you naturally look forward to breakfast. This was served in the bar, which is attached to the casual restaurant.

The card featuring ‘extras’, which are actually mostly nothing special and should be standard.


The buffet was neat and the food on it was good.

















If you asked a dog how to have a stylish breakfast as a dog, that would probably be the most popular choice. It’s not mine.

Although the forecast was for bad weather, we drove to Lago di Isola. Our first stop was Sale Marasino.

The local church is quite large; the oratory next to it was closed.





The interior of the church is quite elaborately painted.

I guess you are referring to “Lago d’Iseo”, in Sale Marasino there is also the pier of the public transport boat to the lake island Montisola