Things have been a little quiet on my end in recent weeks as I've been working intensively on a trip report. This time, I traveled a little further east to Slovenia and Croatia, which I had never visited before. The trip was rounded off with Italy, where I visited the Trieste region, which was new to me, and the familiar Lombardy region.

Specifically, the following accommodations awaited me:

7 nights at the Intercontinental Ljubljana

5 nights at the Tivoli Sistiana Portopiccolo

4 nights at the Grand Park Rovinj

2 nights at L'Albereta Erbusco

Before we could really get going, we had to pay the toll. I have a Telepass for Italy, but it's not valid in Croatia. That's how you pay there. But that's not all. First, you have to buy a day pass for Austria (�9.30), plus the toll for the A10 Tauern motorway (�14.50) and the Karawanken tunnel (�8.50). With the monthly vignette for Slovenia (�32.00) and the annual vignette for Switzerland (40 francs), it all adds up.

Let's get started right away. I have rarely written a report about a rest stop before. I don't intend to do so this time either, but they were very proud of their panoramic terrace here. To be fair, the surroundings are really beautiful and it's fun to drive here.

Ljubljana isn't exactly blessed with top hotels, so I chose the Intercontinental. Apart from the Intercontinental, there is only one other 5-star hotel in the city, the Grand Plaza opposite. The hotel is located in a high-rise building that it has all to itself, so a touch of the big wide world.






The lobby is quite modern, although not really appealing to me.

Since groups often stay at the hotel, the lobby can sometimes resemble a zoo. It's definitely not an Aman, but then again, it doesn't have Aman prices either.


But there are cocktail classes.

Incidentally, birthday parties in the presidential suite were advertised with the following photo:

Probably only profoundly evil people like me wonder whether the lady is included. For me, this is an example of when marketing goes really wrong.

I'm looking forward to learning what sightseeing you did with the IC as a base and how helpful the concierge team was in organizing it.

I will report about sightseeing, but I didn't use the concierge team. I normally do everything on my own.

Mrs jmj9905 and I were in Ljubljana in 2022. While we didn't stay in the IC we had an incredible VRBO right in the heart of the city. It is very walk able and very beautiful. The restaurants are also very incredible. I would recommend this city to anybody who wants to get off the beaten path.

It is without question. While I also used Ljubljana to explore the suroundings. But we saw some nice things in the city.

I stayed in the Grand Plaza opposite the other year. I'll yet see about the rooms, but if nothing else, the lobby was actually spacious. That reception shot is giving me claustrophobia, even without the crowd.

I had a lot of views into the Grand Plaza rooms The public spaces at IC are really nothing special.

I had a lot of views into the Grand Plaza rooms The public spaces at IC are really nothing special.

I actually spent some time considering whether to book the One Bedroom Suite or the Presidential Suite. In the end, I opted for the One Bedroom Suite, as one night in the Presidential Suite wasn't unaffordable, but seven nights in the One Bedroom Suite cost about the same as one night in the Presidential Suite. That's a bit much. It must also be said that the Presidential Suite isn't all that spectacular, so there's no need to break the bank. Hier the floor plans:


And who knows, as a Platinum Ambassador, you actually have the chance of an upgrade. In the end, of course, there was no upgrade, but 10,000 points. That's just how it is.
Our suite was number 508, so it was on the 5th floor. The 5th floor of 20 isn't exactly thrilling, but the type of suite we had was only available on the lower floors, so the 5th was the highest.
Inside, you first entered a small hallway with a closet, which had plenty of storage space. To the right was the bathroom. The floor-to-ceiling windows in the bathroom were essentially unusable because anyone could see inside, but it was still a good bathroom. Sure, there was only one sink, but otherwise it was large and neatly equipped.






On the opposite side, we went into the bedroom. That was generally fine too, but the bed was more like a wooden board than a mattress. I have rarely experienced such a hard bed.




Not only did the cabinet have a crack in the door at the bottom, but the door had also popped out of its hinges. I managed to fix it after fiddling around with it for a while, but that's not something you need to deal with on vacation.

One of the photos already shows the problem with the living room. It opens onto the bedroom and is more like a small extension of the room with a sofa. For me, this is a junior suite, but certainly not a one-bedroom suite.


The biggest problem, however, was the lighting concept. It wasn't possible to control the living room separately. Either the lights in the bedroom and living room were on, or they were off in both areas (including most of the power outlets). Really annoying when one person wants to relax in bed and the other wants to hang out in the living room. Really annoying.
The view was nothing special, but you could (as well as from the restaurant and the Club lounge) look into rooms at the Grand Plaza were the curtains weren�t closed. You could also look in the suites in the floors under us, including naked people walking around.

Somewhat similar decor. What's with the dark, brown themes in these two hotels? Seems very of it's time to me.

Although on balance, I would say the IC room looks ever so slightly better.

I think they think it's elegant. I would prefer a brighter design.

The Interconti also has a wellness area. First, you walk through a corridor, then suddenly there is water. Your bathing shoes (hopefully your own plastic ones and not the fabric slipper from the hotel) are already wet.

The pool was usually full, and I never managed to get a sun lounger during my visits. But there is a window sill. Somehow, I never really warmed to the pool. The crowd was also a bit strange. Let's just say there were lots of thongs, Mr. Clean types, and tanned women. One woman, for example, sat in the whirlpool the whole time playing with her cell phone, but in a rather strange way.