Hilltop Residence Hvar

Rooms

The ground floor of the main building has an open-plan kitchen, dining area and lounge, all focusing on a big picture window with a magnificent view down onto the sea. The floor is stone throughout and the ceiling has exposed wooden beams. In the lounge, there’s an open fireplace with a sofa and 2 enormous square poufs, plus a plasma TV and a DVD and CD player. Stone steps lead up to the dining area, which has a big wooden table seating 8, and a terracotta-top breakfast bar.

There are 4 bedrooms, all with tile floors, high-pitched beamed ceilings, and thick stone walls (which means that air-conditioning isn't necessary). Two of the rooms are upstairs in the main building and are approached via external stone steps, while the other 2 are in separate outbuildings, making them very private. Three rooms, painted in pale lime green, have double beds with wrought-iron bedsteads, while the other has 2 single beds plus a sofabed (sleeping 2), making it more suited to children - this room is in an outbuilding. The main-house rooms have walk-in rain showers decorated with tiny mosaic tiles, while the kids’ room has a big rain shower in a stone space lined with amphora. The other outbuilding room (our favourite), is open-plan with a free-standing bathtub on a raised level. All bathrooms are supplied with herbal-scented Aromatica toiletries.

We slept soundly in the lilac-painted kids’ room, with the double doors onto the garden left wide open, a gentle breeze wafting the chiffon curtains, and an amazingly bright full moon reflecting on the sea below.

Features include:

• Bathrobes
• Fan
• Hairdryer
• Washing machine
• WiFi

Eating

The fully equipped kitchen has terracotta-tile worktops, an old stone sink (which was found here during renovation), an old-fashioned gas oven with 4 hotplates, 2 fridges with freezer spaces (run on gas), a toaster and a dishwasher. A full set of cream porcelain plates, glasses, cutlery, and pots and pans are provided, along with useful equipment like a blender.

Opposite the kitchen, there’s a covered stone terrace with a big built-in barbecue, an old stone bread oven, and a big wooden table. The sea view is perfect from here, and there’s a good sound system with speakers for outdoor music. Guests are welcome to pick vegetables from the organic garden for their own use - deliciously flavoursome rocket, plus courgettes, tomatoes, aubergines and onions, depending on the season.

When you book, you're sent a shopping list, and you can tick off items to be delivered before your arrival (free of charge; you just pay for the groceries). A few basic provisions are supplied (coffee, tea, milk), but you'll need to buy most things. We'd recommend visiting the large Konzum supermarket at the ferry port in Stari Grad when you arrive to stock up. In Jesla (9km), there are several small supermarkets including Konzum, Kerum and Mercator. You’ll also find bakeries for fresh bread, greengrocers, butchers and a modest fish market. You can buy local wine and olive oil direct from producers here.

For eating out, the nearest place is Konoba Humac (10km), a rustic eatery serving octopus slow-cooked in a peka (casserole pot set on glowing embers) at outdoor tables - there’s no electricity, so if you go after sunset it's lit by candles and gas lamps. Bear in mind you'll need to book a table and order food days in advance in high season, and service is painfully slow. Further afield, the friendly Konoba Vrisnik in Vrisnik is notable for its genuine home cooking, great house wine and reasonable prices, while Skalinada in Zavala does excellent fresh fish on a stone terrace overlooking the sea - the speciality is oven-baked sea bass.

Features include:

• Barbecue
• Dishwasher
• Food blender
• Fridge
• Hob or stove
• Kids' meals
• Oven
• Shopping service
• Toaster

Activities

• Chill out by the infinity pool, with its fantastic views down onto the sea. Also in the grounds is a tennis court and volleyball pitch (there's equipment to borrow), plus a sauna for use in the winter months
  
  
• Bathe at local beaches - the nearest is in Zavala and can be reached on foot following a stone track (a 7km hike) or by car (a 10-15-min drive). To escape the crowds, hire a boat cheaply in Jesla and find your own secret pebbled cove
  
  
• Alternatively rent a boat in Hvar Town (45 mins) and explore the nearby Pakleni islets - for a chi-chi atmosphere try Carpe Diem Beach on Stipanska, or for back-to-basics try nudist-friendly Jerolim
  
  
• Cycle (mountain bikes are available on request) to the nearest settlement, Humac (3km), a cluster of semi-abandoned stone cottages and home to Konoba Humac (see Eating)
  
  
• Nearby, Grapceva Spilja is a vast underground cave filled with stalactites and stalagmites - to join a guided tour contact Jelsa tourist office
  
  
• Visit the pretty islet of Scedro - there’s no electricity or running water, but you’ll find a couple of waterside eateries, pebbled coves for bathing, dense pinewoods and the ruins of a Dominican monastery. Boats leave every morning from Zavala, at 9am and/or 10am, depending on demand
  
  
• Explore the underwater depths with a scuba-diving trip - Viking Diving Center in Hvar Town offers lessons and the dive sites take in a stunning variety of reefs, ancient shipwrecks and amphorae
  
  
• Take a boat from Jelsa to Bol on Braè, to try windsurfing in the sea channel between the islands. Big Blue organises tuition and equipment rental, close to the stunning fine-pebble beach of Zlatni Rat in Bol
  
  
• Explore Hvar Town (34km west), rich in Venetian-era monuments including the 16th-century cathedral overlooking a magnificent stone piazza, an arsenal, a 17th-century municipal theatre (the oldest public theatre in Europe), 2 monasteries and a hilltop castle

Activities on site or nearby include:

• Boat trips
• Hiking
• Historical sites
• Mountain biking
• Museums / galleries
• Nightlife
• Sailing
• Scuba diving
• Scuba diving courses
• Swimming
• Tennis
• Volleyball
• Well being
• Windsurfing
• Wine tasting

Kids

This is an ideal retreat for 1 or 2 families with babies or older children. Surrounded by a large garden and with no neighbours to disturb, you can be as noisy as you like. The pool and sports pitches make it great for an active family. Notice that the layout is slightly odd - the children's room, sleeping 4, is out in the garden in a separate building, and that's why we recommend it for older children. You can however, add a child's bed to any bedroom.

Best for:

Babies (0-1 years), Children (4-12 years), Teens (over 12)

Family friendly accommodation:

The house has 2 double bedrooms in the main building with 2 outbuildings, 1 with a double bed and 1 with 2 single beds and a double sofa bed. This children's room has a walk-in shower and sleeps up to 4. You can also add a child's bed or cot to any other bedroom. The other outbuilding has a freestanding bath; all bedrooms are ensuite.

Cots Available, Extra Beds Available

Distances:

• Airport: 3 hours by boat and car (Split)
• Doctor: 30 minutes
• Hospital: 3 hours (Split)

For more family-friendly places, see our Kids Collection

Location

The residence is set on a hilltop on the island of Hvar, overlooking the south coast. It's approximately 10km (15 mins' drive) from the town of Jelsa, and 35km (45 mins) from Hvar Town.

By Air:
Split has the best ferry connections, or you can try Dubrovnik.

By Ferry from Split or Dubrovnik
From Split airport, take a taxi to the port, then a ferry (1.5-2 hrs) or catamaran (50 mins) to Stari Grad on Hvar.
From Dubrovnik there is a passenger catamaran to Hvar port (4 hrs) via Mljet and Korcula - see Krilo.

On the Island
You'll need a car - see our recommendations - which can be picked up in Stari Grad or (less easily) in Hvar Town. When you first arrive, the owners will meet you in either Stari Grad or Jelsa and lead you to the property so that you don’t have problems finding it first time. There is ample parking space at the house.

Detailed directions will be sent when you book through i-escape.