Hotel Joso

Sea-view balconies, a restaurant downstairs and the beach directly beside the hotel: Hotel Joso is built around the simple pleasures that matter when your holiday is meant to include plenty of time in the water. It is a small, family-run hotel in Sukošan, with 15 rooms and a distinctly practical layout rather than resort theatrics.

You get air conditioning, free Wi-Fi throughout the hotel, private parking and a fitness centre. English, Croatian, German and Italian are available on the hotel's website. The overall feel is suited to couples, small groups and divers who would rather spend their energy outside than in a vast property finding the lift.

Hotel Joso sits in Sukošan on Croatia's Adriatic coast, beside the Dalmacija marina and the coastal road. Zlatna Luka Beach is around 50 metres away, with direct beach access from the hotel. Marina Dalmacija Beach is roughly 0.4 miles away, while several other beaches sit within the wider Sukošan area.

The setting gives you a useful mix of coast and access to the region. A grocery shop is about 0.2 miles away, and Zadar is close enough for an outing rather than a logistical expedition. Kornati National Park is also within reach, making the address relevant for boat trips, island scenery and excursions as well as for sitting by the sea with a drink.

The room to choose as a couple is the sea-view double with a furnished balcony and a king-size bed. It gives you somewhere to sit outside without turning the room into a storage cupboard, while the balcony and the view keep the coast present even when you are not on it. For three people, the superior triple offers more room to manoeuvre than the standard triple, which matters when three sets of clothes, bags and post-dive clutter arrive at once.

All rooms have air conditioning, a private bathroom, a wardrobe or cupboard, a desk, a refrigerator and a flat-screen satellite TV. The fridge is handy for cold water after a warm day by the Adriatic; the air conditioning does the less glamorous but more important job of making the night comfortable. Soft-coloured decoration keeps the rooms easy on the eye, and the furnished balconies add a proper pause between the restaurant and bedtime.

There are two buildings. The newer annex has a lift, while the older main building does not, so the building matters if stairs are something you prefer to avoid. Rooms are non-smoking, Wi-Fi is free, and the private bathrooms include towels, toiletries and a hairdryer.

Restaurant Joso is the hotel's main social space, with indoor seating and a terrace. It serves breakfast, lunch and dinner from 07:00 to 23:00, so the day can begin with food before heading out and end without a hunt for somewhere else to eat. Breakfast is a continental, Italian and buffet-style spread, included in the stay.

The kitchen works with local produce and fresh fish of the day, which gives dinner a clear Dalmatian identity rather than a generic hotel menu. This is the sort of arrangement that suits a diver: sit down, order something recognisably local, and let the evening take its own pace.

There is also a hotel bar for a drink between the beach, the terrace and the room. The restaurant has more than 25 years of family tradition behind it, which is a rather more useful detail than a list of fashionable food adjectives.

The beach is the obvious place to slow down when the day's main activity is finished. Direct access means you can move from the hotel to the Adriatic without organising a separate outing, while the terrace gives you another place to sit when a full day in the sun has done enough already.

For something more active on land, the hotel has a fitness centre. It also offers boat excursions and cultural outings, with Kornati, Plitvice, Krka and Zadar among the destinations, plus rafting on the Zrmanja and Krupa rivers. That gives a non-diving companion several ways to fill a day while you are underwater, and gives you a change of scenery when the sea has had its turn.

The practical shape of the place is its strength here. You can use the beach, eat on site, take an excursion or do a short workout without turning the holiday into a timetable with a lanyard.

Check-in runs from 14:00 to midnight, and check-out from 07:00 to 11:00. The 24-hour reception is useful for arrivals outside the neat middle of the day, while a wake-up service and currency exchange are available on site.

Free private parking is available without reservation, which makes the hotel workable for a self-drive stay. Payment is accepted in cash, Visa and Mastercard. The hotel also offers accessible access, free Wi-Fi throughout the property and non-smoking rooms.

Children of any age are welcome. Cots and extra beds are available on request, subject to the selected room's arrangements and availability. Pets are not allowed. For room location, remember the two-building layout: the annex has a lift, while the older main building is stair access.