If there has ever been a hotel that I have wanted to praise all over the internet as being the best family hotel in the world, it is the Faleknsteiner Family Hotel Diadora just outside of Zadar in Croatia. We have never experienced anything like it.

From the amazing pools, water slide, fun beach area, pirate boat, playground, swimming lessons, sports grounds, petting zoo, kids’ club and indoor playland to the rooms designed perfectly for families and great food, this hotel amazed me from the moment I first came across their website until the moment we left. The kids have never been so excited to be visiting a hotel.

The best part about this hotel, however, is not just those individual facilities, the room, the ultra friendly staff, etc but how the hotel goes beyond the family friendly to the family centric. In fact, calling this hotel family friendly may in fact be an insult as it so much more than that. It’s a hotel made solely for families. I think it would be impossible to not have a super enjoyable family vacation here.

Falkensteiner Family Hotel Diadora Review

It was obvious we were at a family centric hotel from the moment we arrived at the check in desk. There was a welcome sign for kids, a stand for them so they could see what was happening when we were checking in and they were given colouring sheets and pencils which kept them happy while I checked in.

Our room

We stayed in a family suite which was fantastic. It was basically a two bedroom apartment with two separate bedrooms, a sitting area, two bathrooms and a walk through wardrobe. The space was utilised incredibly well and it was nice having a room for our luggage to keep it out of the way.

The room also had plenty of natural light, a balcony with a drying rack, a fridge, good wifi, two televisions (not that we ever had time to watch them!) and a separate bath. We could also specify things when booking such as bed rails and cots.

There was also two beach bags waiting on our couch when we arrived with gowns, beach towels and thongs (or flip flops if you are not Australian!).

My favourite part of the room, however, was shutters on the kids’ bedroom window! Our kids always wake with the sun (that was fun in a Scandinavian summer!) and it was so nice to get a little sleep in.

The room was quiet, peaceful and ultra clean. Just perfect!

Facilities

The facilities at this hotel are absolutely amazing – get ready for this list to be extensive!

Our fun times at the hotels started with the pools, specifically the awesome pirate ship pool that was near our room. The kids had a fabulous time on the little slide and the toys that were scattered around the area.

Next up was the water slide. Initially I thought it wouldn’t be suitable for Mr 3, but it was not too fast and he absolutely loved it. They could have spent all day on this slide alone.

There are a variety of other pools outside as well. One had like a whirl pool area where we would go around and around the small circular pool. This was another big hit.

Inside, we found the baby and toddler pool area which our kids also liked. There is also a bigger indoor pool where swimming lessons take place! Kids can do these daily and S enjoyed joining in. It was basic for her (as she can already swim) but she still found them fun. I just wish they went for a little bit longer than 15 minutes.

Outside, there is also a playground. It looked nice and well suited to preschoolers but with everything else to do, we never ended up with time to play there.

There are also various sporting grounds/courts and a petting zoo and vegetable garden. The kids enjoyed trying to get Tigger the goat to eat something.

Inside, there is a disco area, small cinema, a great indoor play area and Falky Land – the kids club which was their highlight. If I’m being honest, it was probably my highlight too!

Flaky Land is just brilliant. Our kids have never seemed so engaged by a kids club and it’s great to be at one where both my kids are finally old enough to attend.

It is a great space with lots to do, a good activity program, but the best part, in my opinion, is the fabulous staff. The kids loved them and they seemed so enthusiastic and fabulous with children. Falky Land is open 9am-9pm.

There is also an adults activity program. I initially thought that there was no way I was doing any exercise but I ended up doing the water aerobics which was enjoyable and worked in well as it was in a central pool and the kids could play next to me. Again the family centric-ness of the hotel made it perfect for us all to have fun.

The hotel is located beach front. It is also next to a chain of Falkensteiner hotels which cater to different markets. This is one of the big pluses of this hotel, as it is super easy to walk to a beach front restaurant or bar at a neighbouring hotel where we could still use our hotel account and enjoy the facilities, but leave all the kids behind while still being a 5 minute walk back to our kids at Falky Land when we wanted adult time.

There are lots of lovely spots along the coastline to relax, and it is quite scenic. However, this is Europe so the beaches are not superb but as nice as any we have seen in this part of the world.

The other thing I particularly enjoyed at the beach was the inflatable equipment in the water. I had fun swimming out to inflatable trampolines on the water and a big slide. I was a bit too scared to go down the slide (the water was a bit rough and cold when I did it), but I loved the feeling of satisfaction of standing on the top 🙂

If the water had been calmer, we would have loved trying out the peddle boat that had a slide on top!

There are also other facilities on top of this – you can hire peddle boats, there’s other water activities, there’s little kids quad bikes, normal bikes, a day spa with a kids’ spa menu… There are just so many things that I’m sure that we didn’t even come across everything.

Meals

Bookings at the Falkensteiner Family Hotel Diadora come with “Fullboard Plus” which means that you get breakfast, lunch, dinner and soft drinks at the buffet restaurant, Hedonia, included. There is also beer and wine included at lunch and dinner.

It’s a good and easy option with kids and they cater to them well – I have never seen so many high chairs! The food is fresh and delicious and, as a vegetarian who has been eating in less than ideal locations for the last few months, I was in heaven! I had multiple, good options.

The kids loved all the choices and it was easy to find something healthy for them too.

The other big plus is that there is a special kids’ buffet to the side of the general one which opens half an hour before meal times. The kids can eat here supervised with the Falky Land staff. Josh and I so appreciated having some meals alone!

There are also other restaurants as well that you can pay extra for. However, we were very happy at Hedonia and didn’t feel a need to eat anywhere else.

The kids?

To say the kids were ecstatic about this hotel is an understatement. They counted down the nights from the time we booked it to the time we arrived. They couldn’t wait to explore everything and they absolutely loved Falky Land.

It was so nice to be somewhere where we didn’t have to worry about the kids’ behaviour, everything was kid centric and we could all just have fun together and apart.

Our verdict

It’s been 3.5 months now since we left Penang and we have been travelling full time. It’s been hard work! We were so ready for a break and the Falkensteiner Family Hotel Diadora gave this to us. I really can’t imagine there is a better hotel with kids.

I was nothing but impressed with all my dealings with this hotel. I loved the simple things they did to get us excited before our trip, like receiving an email a couple of days beforehand reminding us of all the cool things ahead of us and giving us the opportunity to fill in the registration form online so we didn’t have to do it on arrival.

The hotel is in a handy location for getting out and about to many different spots. You can easily visit Zadar, Plitvice Lakes National Parks, Kornati Islands, Nin and Pag Island from here as well as many other places.

All the staff I talked to had perfect English (extra impressive as English was a minority language at the resort), were helpful and enthusiastic.

We had so much fun as a family – we spent the mornings trying out all the different facilities – and we also had some much needed quality time as a couple thanks to Falky Land in the afternoons. Travelling with young kids can definitely be stressful on a relationship and this was the perfect place for us to come and unwind together.

My only complaint about this hotel? That it’s in Croatia. Just so far from our home town of Melbourne! Can Falkensteiner please open one in SE Asia? 🙂

You can find more information about this fabulous hotel here or view the latest prices here.

We were guests of the Falkensteiner Family Hotel Diadora. As always, my views are my own.

Tags:  Accommodation Croatia Travel Blog