The Old Town of Dubrovnik, a UNESCO World Heritage Site famed for its oceanfront city walls and 13th Century charm.gettyTourism to Croatia is at record levels, in large part because many more Americans are making the trip, with a marked 16% jump from the first half of 2024 to2025. According to the European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS), 2025 was a new record year for Croatian tourism, with no signs of the trend slowing. The most popular region, by far, is along the coast, where the UNESCO World Heritage city of Dubrovnik has become wildly popular. But Dubrovnik is not a place where you want to choose just any hotel, as in this case, location and facilities are extremely important to the quality of your experience. That’s why after talking to several expert luxury travel advisors I picked the Hotel Excelsior for my visit last fall, and why this Dubrovnik luxury hotel is the perfect choice.Why Dubrovnik?If you are into travel, you have almost certainly seen pictures of Dubrovnik, as the medieval walled city on a peninsula jutting into the Adriatic is an iconic and often reproduced shot, and a great example of the old adage, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” A lot of people have decided to visit just because they saw that photo, and I cannot blame them. In addition, several locations in and around Dubrovnik were used to film the hit series Game of Thrones, which draws a large number of fans specifically for this reason. Every bar and restraurant in the Excelsior—and most guest rooms—have drop dead views of the Adriatic and Old City of Dubrovnik, day, night and at sunset.Adriatic Luxury HotelsNicknamed “The Pearl of the Adriatic,” Dubrovnik has been a UNESCO World Heritage site for almost half a century and an important port since the 13th century. Despite war and an earthquake, the city’s medieval beauty remains remarkably well-preserved, especially its massive and imposing city walls, a major attraction. You can walk the entire perimeter of Old Dubrovnik on top of these, overlooking the city and the sea, for a full mile and a half journey, and you absolutely should. It will be the kind of memory that make travel great.Inside the walls is a busy maze of narrow streets lined with history, shops, exquisite architecture, restaurants, more restaurants, bars, more bars, a few boutique hotels, and many short-term vacation rentals. It’s reminiscent of Venice without the canals, but with far fewer hotels, and it can get extremely crowded. On the surface, you might think you want to stay in the Old Town, but you don’t. Establishments stay open late, and then because it is car free, all those restaurants and bars and hotels have to be picked up from and restocked in the wee hours, before the busy time starts again in the morning, a loud process that involves a lot of clanging glass, a lot of noisy carts wheeled over cobblestones, and a lot of complaints about not being able to sleep. Also, while the wall is charming, it physically cuts off everything inside the Old City from Croatia’s biggest attraction, its waterfront coastline. MORE FOR YOUChoosing Where To StayThe hotel has excellent access to the gorgeous waters of the Adriatic, sand free, plus indoor and outdoor pools.Adriatic Luxury HotelsThere are not many great lodging options within the Old Town in any case, but once you opt to stay outside there are other considerations. Mountains rise steeply and immediately from the coast, and choices east of the Old City are inconvenient due to being higher up with narrow winding roads. Most of the hotels are to the north, either in suburban Lapad or near the massively busy cruise port just north of it. Lapad has a nice, pedestrianized waterfront with shops and eateries, and is pleasant enough, but just far away enough to make getting to Old Town an effort, and Old Town is the main event in Dubrovnik and arguably the number one tourism attraction in all of Croatia. The Excelsior is just south of Old Town, with a one-of-a kind sweet spot location between these two extremes. It is just a short walk outside the main gates to the Old City, close enough where we did not hesitate to go back and forth on foot several times each day. It is also right on the water with its own private swimming access and extensive outdoor dining. In fact, other than an overwater bungalow, it is one of the easiest hotel I have ever stayed at to get from your room into the ocean, especially notable for a “city hotel.” You can easily enjoy all of the charms of Old Town without the hassles, and when it comes time to go to the airport, also South of the city’s bad traffic area, or down the coast to the charming and less visited town of Cavat, a more atmospheric alternative to Lapad that is famed for its waterfront restaurants, travel is much easier. Prora is one of several welcoming waterfront eateries at the Excelsior Hotel.Adriatic Luxury HotelsSo, the Excelsior has what I think is the best location around Dubrovnik, but it is also a great hotel that underwent a massive top to bottom architecturally significant renovation less than a decade ago, including every single room, so it is even better than it was when Queen Elizabeth II and Elizabeth Taylor chose to stay here, as have many other celebrities and royalty.Dining, Rooms and FacilitiesAll three of the main restaurants offer outdoor dining overlooking the Adriatic, which is ideal much of the year, and especially in prime spring to fall tourist season. Prora has a beautiful setting right down on the water’s edge, with white linen covered tables set under castle-like stone arches, just a fantastic vibe with all-day service, also ideal for lunch, sunset and with the sunbathing crowd, steps from the beach chairs and water. It is an elevated take on the classic tropical beach restaurant with a focus on local fish and seafood as well as classic Croatian meat dishes, a perfect choice for those culinary travelers who want to dive into local flavors (like me!).Rooms and Suites are artfully decorated and spacious, most with Adriatic viewsAdriatic Luxury HotelsThe main event is fine dining restaurant Sensus, which goes for a highbrow take on broader Mediterranean cuisine, such as a unique shrimp and lime risotto or local lamb shank. Sensus has a large wine list covering all the major Croatian regions, and the wines of Croatia, especially Plava Mali for reds and Posip for whites, are not to be missed. Salin Is a large restaurant with more outdoor seating that is only open for breakfast, with a grand buffet in addition to made to order menu items that is impressive even by the standards of European luxury hotel buffets, which tend to run excessive. Again, it has a nice mix of local Croatian specialties and broader international cuisine. Most of the 158 rooms have gorgeous views of the Adriatic and the walled Old City, and include 19 luxury suites, several of them located in the oldest portion of the large integrated hotel, the original 1913 Villa from which it sprung. Rooms are modern and well appointed, not the most stunning in European luxury travel, but very artful, well decorated, and certainly not lacking, and the views are to die for. Bathrooms have soaking tubs in addition to walk-in showers, many with “from the water” water views. The Excelsior, on the right, is a combination of an old Villa and newer Tower, set directly on the ocean just outside the gates to Old Town, with private swimming access.Adriatic Luxury HotelsThe Excelsior is the flagship of Adriatic Luxury Hotels, a local company that has 10 luxury and upscale properties around Dubrovnik, and amenities at sister hotels include a PADI dive shop, padel courts, additional restaurants, and more, though the Excelsior has the best combination of location, dining and amenities. In addition to its excellent ocean access from a stone promenade (no walking through sand required) to impeccably clear, warm water, it also has a fantastic spa and wellness facility just inside glass doors from the sea, with a huge heated pool, multiple whirlpool baths, cold plunge, steam room, sauna and sensory showers, all of which are open to all guests unlike many hotels that allow access only with spa treatments. The one thing I did find lacking, especially given the Excelsior’s ample size and breadth of its aquatic facilities, was the unusually small and under-equipped fitness center, which could really only handle a couple of guests at any one time and lacked gear for any more serious workouts. Another great view of Dubrovnik and the Adriatic.gettyI previously wrote about the fast rising popularity of guided cycling trips in Croatia, and why this a great way to see the country, especially the ultra-popular Dalmatian coast and islands from Split to Dubrovnik. It was immediately after this trip that I chose to extend my visit in Dubrovnik at the Excelsior, and several of my fellow cycling guests also extended, but stayed at different hotels. Old Town is small enough that when you walk around and get drinks and check out the key sites, you might run into people you know if they are in town, and we did, and uniformly no one was as happy with their lodging choice, whether they opted for the Old Town or Lapad. I did not need much convincing, but that helped make me sure that this Dubrovnik luxury hotel was the perfect choice.For more on great European travel this summer, consider Post-Olympic Adventures in Italy’s Dolomites, which I just featured here at Forbes.