Grand Hotel Brioni review: The historic hotel crowned best in Croatia
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‘Cheap as chips’, ‘a budget alternative to the south of France’, ‘Europe’s most affordable beach holiday’ — just some of the ways the Balkans are often described. Growing up in Bulgaria, I take it personally. This is a region full of culture, spectacular landscapes and architectural wonders that deserves more than to be seen as an inferior alternative to mainstream European destinations.
![[The Grand Hotel Brioni from an aerial view in Pula]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/SEI_219278710-2359.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
Proof of Balkan exceptionalism is the Grand Hotel Brioni, a five-star Radisson property in Pula, on the tip of Croatia’s Istrian Peninsula. The hotel was voted the best in Croatia in 2023, following an extensive £30 million renovation. But it also played a pivotal role in the country’s history.
![[A map showing Pula in Croatia, and the entire Balkan peninsula]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_236684957-5038.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
It’s not just luxury that attracts me to Brioni. The hotel is synonymous with Croatia’s political past, particularly during the era of Josip Broz Tito, the president of former Yugoslavia from 1945 until his death in 1980. The de facto dictator – who ruled the territory of six republics with an iron fist – was often seen there, sipping whiskey with his entourage.
![[A bedroom at the Grand Hotel Brioni, with a seaview]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/SEI_219268438-4091-e1737391024715.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
Throughout the 1970s, the hotel also played host to Hollywood and music royalty including Sophia Loren, Boney M and Abba, as well as dozens of politicians — even Libyan dictator Colonel Gaddafi. Today, the Sophia Restaurant is named after Ms Loren. Getting to Pula has never been easier. Low-cost airline Jet2 has just announced a new route from London Stansted, with flights launching in May.
![[Grand Hotel Brioni in Pula]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/SEI_219277541-ccdc.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
