Split hotels

I imagine if the Emperor Diocletian was around today, this would be the hotel he’d check into. Of course, it helps that the Vestibul is set within the walls of his former palace. The hotel itself is an atmospheric mixture of Roman, Gothic and Renaissance architecture. In your bedroom, you can reach out and touch bare walls that are over 1,700 years old.

There are just seven bedrooms in the main building, all with wooden floors and decorated with interesting architectural drawings of the palace. There are also four bedrooms in a separate 19th-century villa, though I’d recommend the original building.

The restaurant opens onto a peaceful square, with a menu comprising ingredients from the open-air market – try the cuttlefish risotto with chickpeas, and the local pasta with truffles. It’s one of the best hotels in Split for a sense of history.

This hotel is set in a former waterside factory but has dispensed with industrial chic in favour of a colourful, maximalist approach. Think metallic finishes, purple satins, geometric-print carpets and white modern chaise longues. I recommend bringing your binoculars: from your room here – most of the 30 rooms are sea-facing – you can keep an eye on the port, watching boats sail in and out again to the Croatian islands.

It feels quite different from many of the other places here – I think it’s one of the best hotels in Split for younger travellers. There’s a small wellness centre and a rooftop bar, but this is more of a place to use as a base. Spend your time exploring the city, walking the promenade and swimming off Split’s only sandy beach at Bacvice, just a 10-minute walk away.

Occupying a white-stone building built in 1921, this is something of a local landmark and one of the best hotels in Split for an insider view of the city. It was originally called Hotel Imperial and its palm-fringed terrace was a popular hangout for local writers, as well as being where Italy signed its capitulation in 1943.

You get a sense of this history from the vintage photographs on the wall and the Art Deco styling, although the hotel has been sympathetically updated since, with marble and wood details and green and blue shades.

I’d recommend one of the first-floor superior rooms with sea-facing balconies; Bacvice Bay is just below. I like the restaurant here, which feels like a time capsule from the 1920s; you can head out with the chef to market and pick up ingredients that he’ll cook for you later.

Here’s a hotel that feels like a snapshot of Split’s history. Set on a corner of the People’s Square, very close to Diocletian’s Palace, it’s a jigsaw puzzle of Gothic, Romanesque and Renaissance architecture, with exposed stone walls and parquet floors.

Originally a private palace, the building was a bread factory and book publisher before it was sensitively restored. I think it’s one of the best hotels in Split for atmosphere. The bar occupies what was once a courtyard well, and one staircase leads up to the original building; the other a more recently built villa.

The 19 guestrooms are in step with the building’s character, with wooden headboards, antique furniture and big beams. I’d recommend the top-floor deluxe suite, which has its own library and roof terrace for views over to the islands of Hvar and Vis.