Hotel Moeesy, Blue & Green Oasis

From 1933, four years after it was built, the villa on Hvar Town's seaside promenade was a summer residence for senior state officials and their distinguished guests: the state got there first. The reconstruction finished in 2022 kept the stone staircase inside and the palms outside, and changed the name. The stone is pale, the roofs are red tile, and from a wrought-iron balcony the view is of a bay full of anchored yachts. Below, about 5,000 square metres of garden drop in terraces through palm and pine to two outdoor pools, with a third indoors by the spa. All three are heated to between 28°C and 31°C, which takes the courage out of a swim in May. The beach is a minute's walk on, for anyone who wants it back.

Recommended for couples who want Hvar Town within walking distance but not under the window, and for parents of teenagers, since the hotel takes guests from fourteen. The old town is ten minutes on foot, the Fortica fortress above it about half an hour, the last of it uphill. From the harbour the hotel arranges private boats to the Pakleni Islands, or as far as the Blue Cave and Vis. Back at the hotel, the Finnish sauna has two cold shock showers and a milder one, so each guest decides how brave to be. Dinner is à la carte, some of it cooked at the table, with a list of Dalmatian wines. The hotel opens from early May to early October, so the state's summer residence is still, strictly, a summer one.