Want a bargain over some of the other European beach places and not have to fly there -- that is if you live in Europe or are already otherwise traveling there? Then go to Croatia and if you don't want to drive too far -- with the intent of staying on the beach? Sol Aurora in Umag is the place then. The hotel is by far located on the best water and in the least crowded location in UMAG area. Yes, the hotel will not drown you with normal Euro 4 or 5 star treatment ... but on the bright side, it is very clean and very secure. There is no 'beach' per se, but rather a lake-like pavilion, about 200 meters long, built into the water -- which incidently is caribbean/greece clear ... only more salty. I guess the salinity is in an Adriatic thing. My family and I had fun just hanging out on the pavilion and swimming in the clear blue water. The food was CROATIAN! They did not cater to the visitors -- which, according to the license plates in the parking lot were 1 part English, 4 parts Slovenian, 4 parts Italian and 1 part everything else. All the tenants were well behaved and apart from some band music till about midnight, there was no problems with revelry. It is a very simple place and not spoiled. Visit the pool bar and meet some very nice people who work there and are proud of their countries heritage and speak highly of the area churches and archeological sites. Give Croatia a chance -- and if you are driving in Europe -- UMAG and Sol Aurora is the place. I'm happy I went there and after living in Spain, Germany and now moving to Austria -- I will go back.

Very dissapointing stay. Although we expected a certain old Yugoslavia (70's) style hotel experience we didn't expect a drop in those standards. Food was dreary and repetitive, hotel staff were extremely unapproachable and unhelpful. Entertainment was dull and noisy. In addition to this the resort, Umag, is a pretty charmless place. Half a day is enough to see its 'highlights' and another half enough to wish you were elsewhere. On the positive side it was clean, relatively cheap to eat out, and trips to Lake Bled and Venice were highlights. It was a shame that coming back to Umag from these places felt like the end of parole. We had a number of good reports of other resorts on the Istrian peninsula but unless you're a fan of Eastern Bloc chic avoid Umag. And the Aurora.

If you enjoy large unfriendly hotels then this is the place for you! The hotel staff were unhelpful to the point of rudeness, with the exception of one bar man, I can honestly say I didn't get a smile, please or thank you out of anyone all week. The hotel reception was probably the most offensive. When we checked out, the guy who dealt with us was unbelievably unpleasant and couldn't even bring himself to smile when we said goodbye. Most hotels I have stayed in wish you a safe trip home or at least say they hope to see you again but this guy was just plain rude! The restaurant staff were no better with the exception of one chap who ,although not overly friendly, at least managed a thank you when you handed over cash. The food was repetitive and poor quality. Frozen chips, and vegetables (crinkle cut carrots - seriously why would you do that to a vegetable?), and powdered mash potato. The breakfast was ok but dinner was pretty poor. I have stayed in literally 100's of hotels and I would love to know how this hotel got a 4* status - in my opinion it is an average 3* at best. The one positive thing about the hotel was comfortable beds and nice pillows. The entertainment was not our cup of tea, in fact the hotel was nicknamed 'Butlins' by the other English people we met there. We travelled with Thompson's and I have to say the description of Umag in the brochure bears absolutely no resemblence to the actual place. It is the dullest town I have ever been to with cheap tacky tourist shops and restaurants which display photos of their food outside......there is no atmosphere and no life at all. Half an hour spent there was 10 minutes to long to see everything. Would I stay there again - not on your life !

I have just returned from a 2 week stay at the Aurora Hotel in Umag. Before booking I read previous reviews, which persuaded me to book my holiday. How disappointed I was by the present reality of the hotel. The flight to Pula was late in arriving which meant I arrived late at the hotel. I was given a room which was dirty and the air conditioning did not work . I was given another room but this room was also dirty. The third room I was given was acceptable but not four star standard. On the day we arrived , the hotel was hosting a corporate 4 day sports event which meant the hotel was busy and noisy but not unacceptably so. On the same day the next week, another group arrived - a very large group. It made the hotel very noisy and other guests took second place in the dining room, as a good part of it was cordoned off for the group's sole use. This made the rest of the dining room cramped.for space. The staff did their best to clear tables but really were understaffed for the number of guests. For the next three nights we were woken up between 2-3am by people talking/singing at the top of their voices, obviously drunk. On the 3rd night this happened, my husband opened the door to ask them to be quiet and was met with a large group of drunk people with bottles in their hands. We phoned reception to ask someone to come - the young man on reception clearly did not know what to do. The hotel clearly did not have any security and goodness knows what would have happened if the group had turned nasty.The group went into one of their rooms to continue to party . I finally managed to get to sleep and was awoken by someone banging the door shut in the room next to ours and throwing up in the bathroom ( I hope!). Another night with little sleep! We spoke to the manager next morning who apologised for the noise but said the group were hear for games and to party. He said he had had complaints from others but had clearly no intention of speaking to the group about the noise. He knew some were having all night parties in their rooms . He appeared to think this was acceptable and advised us to claim compensation. We told him if the same thing happened again we would call the police as the hotel was clearly not capable of protecing us. Fortunately, the group left that day. Clearly, this situation left us tired and disillusioned. However, we booked three tours and thoroughly enjoyed them and seeing Croatia. The guides put a lot of effort into these tours. The food at the hotel is bland but you will not starve. The staff, as usual , were helpful, friendly and polite. The hotel is not a 4 star hotel and not even a good 3 star. As we were leaving , another group arrived for 4 days of games and partying. I think this must be a new arrangment for this hotel and no other review mentioned these groups. We were all glad to be leaving and I felt sorry for some of the guests we had got to know and were leaving behind. The manager of this hotel needs to make up his mind what he wants his hotel to be - a tourist hotel or a hotel for Croatians to come and play games and party in for 4 days. I am writing this review to warn people of what might happen to them if these groups continue to come to this hotel.