Two words sum up Croatian hotel that left my husband in tears | Europe | Travel

It began as a kind of homecoming. Thirty-six years ago, my husband Nino, who is from Bosnia, had been commander of the Yugoslav Navy diving team based in Split, Croatia. But the story started years before even that, when as a child he and his family, who are from Sarajevo, would often holiday in Dubrovnik or the islands around Split – Hvar, Korcula, Mljet, and Brac.

A lot has happened in the years in between – not least a devastating war. But thankfully, time has helped heal some of its scars, and normal life has been resumed. And so, having listened to Nino talk about these incredible islands for so many years, we decided to visit Brac… And it was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. While it felt like a homecoming for Nino, it immediately felt like home to me, too.

We stayed at the spectacular Lemongarden Hotel in the village of Sutivan. Brac is often overshadowed by its glamorous neighbour, Hvar. But this hotel nestled on Sutivan’s stunning seafront has all the glamour and pzazz Nino and I will ever need. In fact, last year the Lemon Garden won the Croatian National Award for the best hotel. And it richly deserves it.

I’d never heard of the place until last year, on holiday in Italy, when we met a couple who’d been there and raved about it. And they were right to rave. It’s beyond beautiful. Two words sum it up: Literally perfection.

The hotel itself is a village within a village spread across three 300-year-old houses. It’s situated in the middle of the village, but weirdly it feels like it IS the village – its heart. It has thick, honey-coloured stone walls that keep the rooms cool. Every room, every suite is deserving of an individual interior design award as a reward for its bold, bright, courageous designs.

Obviously, the Lemon rooms are bright yellow with a host of other colours thrown in; the Coral suites all have red accents and Marina suites feature Mediterranean patterns. All of the rooms – many of which have original works of art on the walls – are designed to inject vibrancy and a feel-good factor into your holiday – and they do.

The chandeliers in the rooms are made of Murano glass, the bathrooms are marbled perfection, and the bed linens are of THE highest quality. Every chair, every sofa I sat on was sublimely comfortable. Even the bone china crockery was divine.

The truth is, I wanted to live there. I wanted my home to be like this. In fact this place should be on the NHS as a stress buster because as soon as you step into its cool stone rooms, sit in its tranquil gardens, have cocktails in its classy beach club (which has its own private beach) there’s a calmness, a peace that seeps into your psyche and stays there until long after you leave. Step out into the gardens and the beauty continues.

A 25-metre-long pool is straddled by majestic swaying palms, columns of sky-high pink bougainvillaea. There are wild red hydrangeas and hibiscus. Oh, and don’t forget the roses – thousands of them filling the air with their heady scent. There’s even a beautiful vegetable garden with every size and colour of pepper you can imagine.

This hotel is class. But more importantly, it has something that no amount of money can buy. It has a warmth, a feeling of home. And yes, much of that is down to its beauty, but it’s also down to its incredible staff. I’ve only been to one other hotel in the world (Masseria San Domenico in Puglia) where, by the end of our holiday, the staff felt like family.

From the assistant manager, Jelena, to the bar and restaurant staff, to the gardeners, the cleaners – we were enveloped by warmth and kindness everywhere we went. And this Heaven on Earth is the brainchild of a lady called Helen Ramsbacher, who owns three other hotels around the world.

She says she wants her guests to feel the joy of life, and she understands it’s the little things that are important – like the Dyson hairdryers in every room, like all the glasses and teacups which are beyond beautiful. The bathrobes fit (how many times are they too small?) There’s an abundance of sockets, fresh flowers in the rooms every day, tea and coffee whenever you want it. If something breaks or isn’t working its immediately fixed. If anything is broken or chipped, it’s repaired immediately. Now THAT’s service.

I haven’t mentioned the food yet, which is out of this world. Courtesy of Chef Zelko Neven Bremec. The man creates masterpieces on a plate every day and every night – lobster, octopus, tuna. You name it, he’s created something wonderful with it. There’s also the hotel’s private beach club, which is a few minutes away but which you’re driven to in a buggy. If you need a car, their hotel has two mini-cabrios for hire and bikes for exploring the island.

The hotel has its own gelato café (all home-made), and Sutivan is peppered with little cafes and restaurants where you can sit looking out onto the harbour.

My favourite times at the Lemongarden were breakfast – when you sit under creamy umbrellas just inches away from the water and are served with divine home-made pastries (the hotel also has its own bakery in the village) granolas, yoghurts, fresh fruit and any cooked breakfast you want. It was Nino’s birthday while we were there (we didn’t tell them, but they had our passports), and at breakfast, they presented him with a fabulous birthday cake and prosecco.

And the evenings were fabulous – sitting under warm infra red lamps if it was cool, sipping out-of-this-world cocktails. We adored the Lemongarden and Brac. It was wonderful to see Nino revelling in and reliving his past, but also making new memories for the future. And it was fantastic for me after nearly 28 years of marriage to properly share in my husband’s history, to hear him talking in his native tongue, and to see him so easily reconnect with his culture.

We would later meet up with Boro, a friend from Nino’s diving team in Split. The two had saved each other’s lives countless times during their time in the Yugoslav Navy, and to watch two grown men cry and hold onto each other for dear life after nearly 36 years of not seeing each other was one of the highlights of the holiday.

Yes, we made lots of memories, but we won’t have to remember because we’re going back to Brac and the Lemongarden. The island, its people, and the hotel have eaten their way into our hearts. And like I said – it feels like family.

Things to do on the island 

• There’s a stunner of a beach called Zlatni Rat, a 450-metre-long fine pebble beach out from the coast in Bol. It’s a fantastic spot for water sports – try windsurfing, kite surfing, and scuba diving, or just hire a pedalo.
• Lovrecina Bay – Situated on the Northern part of the island, famous for its sandy beach and ancient ruins.
• Croatia is known for its lamb. We went to a fabulous restaurant in the hills called Konoba Kopacina in the town of Donji Humac. Best lamb we’ve ever tasted.
• There is public transport, but you’ll miss some of the island’s gems if you don’t hire a car or a bike. Everyone rides a bike and you can go on bike tours (brac-adventure.com).
• Take a ferry from Split to Sutivan (every day in the summer season) – great shopping, fantastic food and lots of history
• If you want nightclubs and – don’t go to Brac. If you want peace, to recharge, to think, to laugh, to relax, to lose yourself in beauty and nature, to reconnect with your soul – then Brac is your place.

Book it

Rooms at the Hotel Lemongarden start from €300 (approximately £260) per night based on two people sharing a room. lemongardenhotel.com/en.