The World’s Best Airbnb host.
I’ll usually do a post on a city and at the bottom mention where we stayed. This time I’ll do it the other way around. Because how we felt about Rovinj was totally eclipsed by the incredible, fantastic, amazing and extraordinary Croatian family that hosted us. I’ve never done a post uniquely addressing a place of accommodation so this is a first.
We stayed a total of 5 weeks in Marina’s apartment. On the first day we were treated to a full meal (made by Marina) served to us on our balcony. She’s a professional chef by the way. As we would find out, nothing you eat in Rovinj will compare to her cooking. Throughout our stay there were surprises: strawberries or salad left at our door, home-made crepes with (of course) home-made jam, home-made cakes, a large fish platter, seafood soup, a spinach dish, risotto…I could go on and on with all the food she plied us with over 5 weeks.
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Like many Croatian families our hosts had several jobs. Marina runs the apartment and works 4 days a week as a chef. Her husband Patryk has a full-time job in a factory and also runs his own vegetable farm. He also produces and sells his own wine which, as we would find out, is twice as good and half the price of anything sold in stores (we would leave Rovinj with 3 cases of his wine). Patryk’s mom, who lives downstairs, works with him on the farm and sells the produce in Rovinj’s vegetable market.
Below: some of the treats that Marina surprised us with over the course of 5 weeks…
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But it was about more than giving us food. Patryk picked us up in Trieste (90 min away) to bring us to Rovinj. He offered to take us on a boat ride around the harbor during a day off. On another day we rode bicycles down to the center and he gave us a tour of the town, visiting the Batana museum and going for ice cream. Marina’s 17 year old son Kristian would regularly come by to check that we were happy but that was usually a pretense for long talks about cars, school, travelling, and girls. On our last day he invited us out for coffee in a neighboring café. A couple of times a week we would go to the vegetable market in Rovinj’s old town and visit “Mama”, buying our salad, potatoes and strawberries. She would always throw in a few freebies.
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Summing it up, they were the most genuinely generous people we have ever met and this was much more than an Airbnb experience* – we actually felt that for 5 weeks we were taken in as part of the family. When we left there were tears all around. We’ve promised to be back.
* We booked Marina’s apartment through Airbnb but she also does bookings directly which saves you money (that’s what we’ll do next time). You can write her at: [email protected] See more of the apartment on her Airbnb page.
In 2 years of full-time travel we have never had a host that can compare to Marina. Even comparing to other Airbnb stays is not fair because it sets an impossible standard. What other hosts are chefs? Or make their own wine? Or can supply guests with vegetables from their own garden? It’s an experience that we know will never be replicated.
Other great things about her place: Marina provides a service superior to a 5 star hotel. It is immaculately clean, with all kinds of linens, blankets and towels. She will always give you refresher towels, bed sheets and even carpets. Everything smells great. The bed is incredibly comfortable, the balcony is a nice place to sit with an afternoon drink. Everything you could ever need for the kitchen. She also provides guests with bicycles and I loved riding around town and to the neighboring park and beaches. Just a fantastic stay.
A final word on Croatian hospitality. Is it a coincidence that our best 2 Airbnb experiences over the past 2 years have been in Croatia? I don’t think so. Croatians are incredibly hospitable and generous people. We always try to give back as much as we receive but with Croatians it is sometimes hard to keep up .
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A few photos of Rovinj
The above is just a teaser, have a look at this post on beautiful Rovinj.
Related: Exploring the highlights of Croatian Istria
Related: Bad Airbnb experiences
Related: Is Croatia (still) worth visiting?
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Frank (bbqboy)
Thank you for the comment Valerie. It’s been a few years for us as well and we also look back at it with fond memories 🙂
Frank (bbqboy)
You’re totally right.
We work our regular hours remotely so where we stay is important and really affects how we feel about a place. It’s always about the balance: the apartment itself, the location, the people.
Frank (bbqboy)
Please do. Just know that Marina will have to kick you out if we plan on going at the same time 🙂
It’s a great place, you can’t go wrong.
Frank (bbqboy)
Good for you!! They’ll unfortunately be a lot of people in Croatia at that time. What’s your itinerary?
Frank (bbqboy)
You’d love it Patricia. Lots of good, inexpensive wine 🙂
Frank (bbqboy)
Ha! That’s a great comment. I usually hate those posts too and this is my first such post. I promise NEVER to do it again 🙂 (unless it is a truly exceptional experience). Thank you Katrina.
Frank (bbqboy)
Found them on Airbnb and the difference were the glowing reviews. That’s why we went with her. But we were lucky to spend 5 weeks – not the usual couple of days most people experience – so we got treated extra, extra special I think 🙂
Frank (bbqboy)
Thanks so much Paula. People always have the right to make income, but when it also comes with love it just makes for a great experience. Some people have a lot of love to give and are just meant to be in the hospitality business. Others not so much…
Frank (bbqboy)
That sounds fantastic Jan. Zucchini fritters yum!
About the wine – we had a 7 hour drive down to Split and since we had the car why not? Now we have at least a month’s supply of wine 🙂
Frank (bbqboy)
And the beaches are close by Tom 🙂
Frank (bbqboy)
Good to hear Lynn! I think there is lots of competition – lots of apartments which sit empty most of the year and which depend on tourist season. Our last week there (we left may 30) tourists suddenly started showing up and it went from quiet little town to full blown tourism. I hear July and August really busy. Anyway, my point is that there is competition and repeat business is based on the quality of hosts and apartments.
But in this case it went far beyond that. We would never go back to anywhere but Marina’s 🙂
Frank (bbqboy)
Thanks Heather! Appreciate that. It was incredibly special which is why I decided to write about it – I just thought that a) Marina is just an incredible host and she deserves recognition, b) it is a great base, especially for someone wanting to stay a week or two in Rovinj to immerse themselves a bit. We found it incredibly relaxing and we have’t slept as well in years.
Frank (bbqboy)
Thanks Sarah, I know you guys big fans of Rovinj!