Hotel Livadić

Got someone’s chowing gum sticked on my plate under the cake. Last time I was here, waiter had extremely dirty nails. Nit to mention we had to wait half hour to even see a waiter. Dirty, bad service. Absolutely avoid! Location is nice, but that is the only good thing about this place.

The receptionist was very friendly. However, she gave me a room already occupied. It was lucky the guest was fully dressed when I walked in. She was very apologetic, but no offer of discount. The hotel is dated and in need of refurbishment but this is reflected in the price. But the shower was dirty. I informed the receptionist, who just said she’d write it down. She said there were new cleaning staff from the Philippines. It’s a poor excuse. Where is the training and supervision of new staff. I don’t mind old hotels, I can understand human error. But no excuse for dirty rooms. Breakfast was reasonable limited choice but plenty of it, The machine coffee was better than average.

The Hotel is eccentric and charming The staff is helpful and could not be nicer. The location on the main plaza is great. Parking is free for guests. The parking gates and access cards are inconvenient to use, especially when raining (which it was). We were told that the parking lot is in the "Front" of the hotel, while the "Back" faces the plaza. Surprising, because there is no clear path from the parking lot to the rather obscure entrance to the hotel. Guests are required to find openings between low shrubs, and step over cement slabs. Everything seems to be either up or down various flights of stairs! The four stairs leading from the parking lot to the hotel lobby are covered in worn carpet, not terribly safe. There is no lift to the rooms. This idiosyncratic hotel is not for anyone with limited mobility. Staff will help carry luggage, thank goodness. Again, stairs are carpeted, and the carpeting is a bit worn and saggy. That plus the lopsided steps means one must proceed with some caution. Navigating the rather labyrynthine stairs and hallways of the old hotel one finds a characteristic "gemütlich" indoor cafè with an astonishing variety of cakes. There is no concept of "aperitif" but we recommend trying the aromatic, sweet and slightly bitter Samobor bermet wine. The cafè offers ample seating outdoors as well, right on the square. Our room on the 1st floor was clean and "old world-romantic" with the addition of a modern flat screen tv. There is no minibar. Beds were comfortable, with soft duvets. There was a nice shower in an otherwise uncomfortable bathroom... terribly small, with the toilet placed behind the door and so close to the radiator that, if the radiator were hot (it was not), one could get seriously burned. The toilet paper was placed precariously on the radiator, which meant it kept falling to the floor. Not ideal for hygiene. The wooden floor of the room, possibly due to the age of the structure, was uneven and tended to slant here and there, with several carpets adding to the confusion. The breakfast room is surprisingly small...we were grateful it was not full, as it might have been suffocating. Coffee (not bad), hot water and hot milk are all provided in large thermoses. A small cabinet offers cheese, ham and little individual containers of pašteta (pâté), and fresh eggs are brought out from the adjacent kitchen a few at a time, which means they are always hot and tasty. Rolls and butter are plentiful, and some instant porridges as well. Staying at the Hotel Livadic, notwithstanding (or maybe because of) the quirks, was a pleasant experience. We may return there when we visit Samobor again.