Split hotels

I imagine if the Emperor Diocletian were around today, this would be the hotel he’d check into. Of course, it helps that the Vestibul is set within the walls of his former palace. The hotel itself is an atmospheric mix of Roman, Gothic and Renaissance architecture. In your bedroom, you can reach out and touch bare stone walls that are over 1,700 years old.

There are just seven bedrooms in the main building, all with wooden floors and decorated with interesting architectural drawings of the palace. There are also four bedrooms in a separate 19th-century villa, though I’d recommend staying in the original building.

The restaurant opens up onto a peaceful square, with a menu comprising ingredients from the open-air market—try the cuttlefish risotto with chickpeas, and the local pasta with truffles. It’s one of the best hotels in Split for a sense of history.

This hotel is set in a former waterside factory but has dispensed with industrial chic in favour of a colourful, maximalist approach. Think metallic finishes, purple satins, geometric-print carpets and modern chaise longues. I recommend bringing your binoculars: from your room here—most of the 30 rooms are sea-facing—you can keep an eye on the port, watching boats sail in and out again to the Croatian islands.

It feels quite different from many other places here—I think it’s one of the best hotels in Split for younger travellers. There’s a small wellness centre and a rooftop bar, but this is more of a place to use as a base. Spend time exploring the city, walking the promenade and swimming off Split’s only sandy beach at Bacvice, just a 10-minute walk away.

Occupying a white stone building constructed in 1921, this is something of a local landmark—and one of the best hotels in Split for an insider view of the city. It was originally called Hotel Imperial and its palm-fringed terrace was a popular hangout for local writers, as well as being where Italy signed its capitulation in 1943.

You get a sense of this history from the vintage photographs on the walls and the Art Deco styling, although the hotel has been lovingly updated since, with marble and wood details and shades of green and blue.

I’d recommend one of the superior rooms on the first floor with sea-facing balconies; Bacvice Bay is just below. I like the restaurant here, which feels like a time capsule from the 1920's; you can head out with the chef to market and pick up ingredients that he’ll cook for you later.

Here’s another hotel that feels like a snapshot of Split’s history. Set on a corner of the People’s Square, very close to Diocletian’s Palace, it’s a jigsaw puzzle of Gothic, Romanesque and Renaissance architecture, with exposed stone walls and parquet floors.

Originally a private palace, the building was a bread factory and book publisher before it was sensitively restored. I think it’s one of the best hotels in Split for atmosphere. The bar occupies what was once a courtyard well, and one staircase leads up to the original building, the other a more recently built villa.

The 19 guestrooms are in step with the building’s character, with wooden headboards, antique furniture and big beams. I’d recommend the top-floor deluxe suite, which has its own library and roof terrace, for views over to the islands of Hvar and Vis.

One for those looking for a place to stretch out in, this modern resort lies a couple of kilometres outside Split on the coast. The whole place has been designed to maximize the views and the wonderful light, with glass facades everywhere. Guestrooms, themed either olive or lavender, face out to sea or back towards Split.

I like the free-and-easy beach club vibe, with plenty of places outside to pull up a sun lounger and enjoy a glass of local rosé—head to the Mistral Bar for cocktails and DJ sessions.

But with all the activities and pools to hand, this is one of the best hotels in Split for families—parents can try their hand at stand-up paddleboarding while the little ones head to the kids’ club. It’s also one of the best hotels in Split for its spa, one of the largest in the area.

Some of Croatia’s heritage hotels can feel a little fusty, but the Heritage Hotel 19 is very smartly done. I think it’s one of the best hotels in Split for a boutique stay. The hotel is set in a 19th-century townhouse—once the home of Croatian artist Veyko Bodilic—on a cobbled street on the edge of the Old Town.

Diocletian’s Palace is a 20-minute walk away, as is the pine-covered Marjan Hill. Guestrooms are very characterful, combining bare stone walls with carved wooden wardrobes, mid-century-modern lighting and tufted headboards. The best rooms are the two just off the courtyard, where Bodilic once painted.

Shaded by an ancient olive tree, the courtyard is a lovely place to return to, scented by lemon trees and with a stone fountain tinkling away. A peaceful and romantic retreat.

This hotel is quite a design statement, which makes it very easy to find. Located in the largely residential Bacvice district, overlooking the sandy beach here, it’s a bold white modernist building that resembles architectural origami.

A black steel staircase unfurls upwards in the lobby, all polished concrete floor and low-slung chairs, while walls act as gallery spaces for the collection of 1950's and 60's Croatian art (look out for the painting of the bird walking on human legs).

Bedrooms are minimal, wood-lined spaces with floor-to-ceiling windows for sea views. There’s a small but perfectly formed pool on the rooftop and a restaurant with a light Mediterranean menu. With furniture by Carl Hansen, Wegner and PP Mobler, this is certainly one of the best hotels in Split to get your fix of contemporary design.

Everyone knows that spending time by the sea is good for you. Just two blocks from the seafront, the Marvie has gone a step further and is Split’s only wellness hotel.

As well as a traditional spa, which has a long list of treatments, a sauna and an indoor pool, there’s a clinic that focusses on physiotherapy, nutrition and hydrotherapy, and a specialist centre for anti-aging treatments. It’s undoubtedly one of the best hotels in Split for wellness.

But you don’t necessarily need to sign up for any treatments: with a rooftop pool and modernist, clean-lined bedrooms, it’s also suitable for a simple, relaxing holiday. The restaurant is the perfect place to try local specialities such as seafood, cheese and prosciutto, as well as several gluten-free options.

Locals have been coming here since the 18th century. Not that the hotel has been around that long, but Santa Lucia’s restaurant was once a Venetian-era café where people came to gossip about new trading routes and the threat of the Ottoman Empire. The conversation has changed, but its position on the People’s Square means it’s one of the best hotels in Split for people-watching.

I love the pretty tiles and chandeliers in the brasserie-style dining room, which spreads out in summer to the canopy-shaded terrace—there are few better places in town for grazing on tuna carpaccio and roast octopus with a glass of Croatian wine. Breakfast, meanwhile, is taken on the little rooftop terrace.

Guestrooms, all with shuttered windows, are elegantly furnished with nautical blue tones and proper parquet floors (I prefer a deluxe suite for its lounge space). A classic.

This is a smart option for those who want to be near the old town and Diocletian’s Palace but away from the summer crowds. The hotel spans three different buildings, including the city’s former telephone exchange and an adjoining Italianate villa with pastel pink walls, which gives the hotel much of its character.

One of the best hotels in Split for families, the Cornaro is one of the city’s larger hotels, with a slightly impersonal lobby, but rooms are bright spaces decorated in earthy tones with large black-and-white photographs of the city above the bed.

You can start the day with an Imperial Breakfast, inspired by Diocletian, in the restaurant that spreads across three courtyards. But for me, the highlight is the rooftop terrace, offering a glorious viewpoint over the terracotta rooftops with a plunge pool to cool off in.