Dreadful experience
We booked and paid the deposit on an Istarski Dvori villa in Istria, Croatia on 9 October 2017 for 1-15 July 2018. On 17 November we became aware the villa was being offered on the Vintage Travel website for our dates. Istarski Dvori when contacted assured us it was “an admin thing” and our booking was “definitely in our diary”. Three days before departure we were contacted by Istarski Dvori to say there was a problem with our villa and it was not habitable saying, “The house it self is in a really bad shape“. In a follow up call and e-mail, they said it was infested with “worms”. They offered us an alternative villa. Given the short notice and other expenses (flights etc.), we reluctantly accepted, although we would not have chosen it as the pool and patio were at the front of the villa. On arrival we were greeted with 8 young Austrians (plus up to 20 additional friends at times) next door with booming music and a pool party which continued for the next three days, despite assurances they were asked to turn it down – not a great start.
The next day, we found there were guests in our original villa and it turned out Istarski Dvori had accepted a booking from Vintage Travel in January for our dates (four months after we had booked). It quickly became obvious, the “worms” were a lie, and our booking had been replaced. Had they told us earlier we could have made alternative arrangements. By giving us such short notice, we believe they knew we had no alternative but to accept the replacement villa. Despite e-mails backwards and forwards (the director will not take phone calls), Istarski Dvori, whilst claiming they wished to resolve the matter have failed to do so and are now ignoring us.
Istarski Dvori own a large number of villas in Istria (Croatia) and based on our experience, we would strongly advise you to stay clear.