PLACES Hvar Villas by Valamar

English-speaking guests can plan their stay through the hotel's English-language information. The setting keeps things uncomplicated: swim, eat, sit outside, or walk into town when you have had enough of looking at your dive computer. There is also live music, evening entertainment and a nightclub for nights when quiet conversation is not the plan.

Stari Grad itself is about 1.2 km away, around a 14-minute walk, putting cafés, bars and the historic centre within reach without making the hotel feel urban. Eremitaz is about 500 metres away, and Grano Duro Pizza & Pasta is roughly 1 km away. Split Airport is 43 miles away by road, so the final leg involves more than simply stepping off a plane and into reception.

Every villa has air conditioning, heating, a wardrobe, towels, toiletries and free WiFi. Flat-screen television and satellite channels cover the less ambitious evening plans. Children of any age are welcome, although cots and extra beds are not available, so the existing sleeping arrangement matters when you choose the villa. Pets are allowed.

There is a bar, a snack bar and a pool bar, so a drink or something small to eat does not require leaving the water's orbit. Wine and champagne are available, while special-diet menus can be arranged. The evening offer includes live music and other entertainment; the nightclub and DJ are there for anyone who still has energy after dinner, which is a rarer species than the brochure admits.

Evenings can stay low-key in the shared lounge or outside, or move towards live music, evening entertainment and the nightclub. The combination works particularly well if one of you wants a quiet hour and the other has not yet accepted that the day is over.

The address is on Stari Grad's Helios estate rather than in the old town itself. The town centre is walkable, but the airport transfer remains the sensible option with dive luggage. Parties and events are not allowed, and groups booking more than five rooms may be subject to different booking conditions.

For you, that means the environmental policy is tied to tangible parts of the operation rather than being left at the level of a slogan: renewable electricity, LED lighting and solar production are all part of the resort's stated approach.