dubrovnik

We stayed at the Grand Villa Argentina, a 10 minute walk from the old town. It’s a large hotel facing the Adriatic and offering all the amenities, including well-sized rooms, good lighting, a spa and a swimming pool. The people at the front desk were moderately helpful. Grand Villa Argentina Frana Supila 14 020/440 555.

I also checked out the Hilton Imperial Dubrovnik, a slightly longer walk from the old town and away from the sea. They showed me an unremarkable suite and told me that the rates were flexible. The pool is indoors, very few rooms have sea views and the bathrooms were meager. Not so appealing. Hilton Imperial Dubrovnik. Marijana Blazica 2 020/320 320.

The Pucic Palace is the fanciest of the three. It’s small and in the old town. The public areas are charming and there is a spa. The rooms are purported to be on the small side. The Pucic Palace. Ulica Od Puca 1 020/324 226.

Eating:

Lunch: a pizza contest. Due to Croatia’s history of close ties with Venice, there remains a fair amount of Italian influence. The best we had was on our day-trip to the island of Korcula, at a pizzeria named Amfora. (aside: the salads we had at almost every meal were wonderful–different local lettuces, good tomatoes, shredded mild cabbage, olives and the strongest onions I’ve ever tasted. The Croatian red wines were good as well, but not inexpensive.) Another great lunch place was Konoba/Spaghetteria Toni. They offered a very large selection of pastas. Nikole Bozidarevica 14 020/323 134. Mea Culpa is reputed to have the best pizza in Dubrovnik, but we found it a tad too cheesy (a type of gouda is the pizza cheese of choice in Croatia). www.mea-culpa.hr Za Rokom 3 020/323 430.

Dinner: Most Dubrovnik restaurants specialize in fish. The first night we ate at Restaurant Atlas Club Nautika (R started with a salad; I had oysters from Ston–a nearby town famous for its oysters, and justly so; we shared a sea bass simply grilled and filleted, served with a bit of the excellent Croatian olive oil. The popular side dish we shared, that of spinach or escarole with potatoes, we found dull.) The food and service were good but overpriced compared to other restaurants, particularly Proto (see below), which they also own. www.esculap-teo.hr Brsalje 3 020/44 25 26.

The next night was Arsenal, in–guess what–the former arsenal. It’s a large restaurant with a big bar area and, on that particular night, a group of Croatian singers and musicians (all men). They made a mediocre restaurant lots of fun. www.mea-culpa.hr Pred Dvorom 1 020/321 065.

Back to Proto. We ate here twice, after having drinks at Arsenal, where the group both nights was singing Frank Sinatra/Dean Martin-type songs. (R ate veg soup and whitefish with a tomato and vegetable sauce. I ate octopus salad and grilled scampi the first night; the second I had a bowl of the super local black mussels and grilled squid). www.esculap-teo.hr 020/32 32 34.