President Hotel, Valamar Collection

Sea views, direct access to the beach and the sort of facilities that make an evening after diving fairly easy to organise: this is a large beachfront hotel built around comfort rather than clever slogans. You can have breakfast, head for the water, then come back to air conditioning, a spa and a proper meal without needing to turn the whole day into a logistical exercise.

The hotel's website is available in English, so you can plan your stay in English before arrival. Couples have balconies, sea views and a choice between settling into the gardens, the wellness area or the restaurant when the day's salt and sun have done their work. Families are welcome too, with sofa-bed arrangements in some room categories and cots available for babies.

You stay in Dubrovnik, Croatia, at Iva Dulčića 142 on the Lapad peninsula. The hotel sits directly on the seafront, with loungers and parasols by the beach, while Copacabana Beach is about 0.4 miles away on foot. Lapad Bay Beach is roughly 0.8 miles away.

Dubrovnik's historic core is close enough for an evening out but not on the doorstep: Pile Gate is about 2.8 miles away, as are the city walls and the Lovrijenac area. Gradac Park is around 2.6 miles away, while Mount Srđ is about 2.7 miles from the hotel. For small local missions, three restaurants are within about 0.2 miles, and nearby options include Cave Bar More and Sunset Lounge.

Dubrovnik Main Bus Station is around 3 miles away. Dubrovnik Airport is about 13 miles from the hotel, with a road journey of roughly 24 minutes by car.

Most of the choice comes down to how much sea you want in your room and how much space you want around the third person. The standard sea-view rooms work for a couple, while selected layouts add a sofa bed for a third guest. That is useful for a small family, although the sofa bed is doing real work rather than merely decorating the floor plan.

Balconies are a recurring feature, and the sea-view categories make the most of the hotel's position. Air conditioning matters here when you return warm, salty and ready to stop moving. A minibar, tea and coffee-making facilities, free WiFi and a flat-screen TV cover the practical end of the evening, while private bathrooms come with towels, slippers, bathrobes and a hairdryer.

For a couple wanting more room to spread out, the V Level suites offer a step up in space, with a jacuzzi available in one category. Families should check the exact room arrangement before booking: cots can be requested for babies, while extra beds are not available.

The stay is built around half board, with buffet breakfast and dinner included in the hotel’s dining format. Breakfast brings the usual useful fuel before a morning in the water: fresh pastries, pancakes, cheese, fruit and juice, alongside the rest of the buffet. Breakfast can also be served in your room when getting dressed feels like an unnecessary surface interval.

La Mar handles breakfast and dinner, with fine dining and a menu drawing on Mediterranean, seafood, international and Croatian cooking. That gives you a reasonable spread after a day when the appetite has returned with some force. Momenti is another named restaurant, and the hotel has three restaurants in total.

There is a bar and a snack bar for something less formal, plus room service available around the clock. Special-diet menus can be arranged on request, and a minibar is available in the rooms.

The sensible post-dive plan can be as simple as a pool with a view, a sun lounger and a towel already sorted. The beachfront setting adds another place to sit, with gardens, a sun terrace, loungers and parasols giving you options when you have had enough of either the room or the water.

The spa and wellness centre is equipped for a proper recovery session rather than a quick decorative candle. You have a sauna, steam room, hammam, hot tub and relaxation lounge, with massage treatments including full-body, couples, neck and back massage. Beauty services are also available, and the fitness centre operates around the clock for anyone who still has energy to spend.

When the evening needs a little more structure, live music provides the entertainment, while a games room offers an indoor alternative. The concierge, tour desk and nearby Dubrovnik sights make it easy to trade one kind of exertion for another.

Check-in runs from 2pm to 8pm, and check-out from 7am to 10am. The front desk is open around the clock, with luggage storage, concierge service, a tour desk, currency exchange and an ATM on site. Free WiFi covers the hotel, which is handy for checking the next day's plans without hunting for a signal.

An airport shuttle is available on request, and the hotel also offers a shuttle service. On-site private parking is available, with a charge applying. If you are driving, that is more useful than a vague promise of parking somewhere in the vicinity. Cash is accepted as a payment method.

Children of any age are welcome. Cots are available for babies on request, subject to the selected room arrangement, while pets are not allowed. The hotel also has an infirmary on site.

The hotel combines several named environmental standards and programmes: ISO 14001, ISO 50001, Blue Flag and Travelife. It also holds Sustainable Hotel recognition from UPUHH.

On site, solar panels generate energy, all electricity comes from renewable sources and LED lighting is used throughout the hotel. Food waste is composted for use in nourishing the plants. These are practical measures rather than a request for you to admire a leaf and call it a policy.