We had already been to Slovenia in 2008 and hadn't actually planned to go back so soon, but the deal available for this hotel was so good that we couldn't turn it down. I knew we were taking a bit of a gamble as the hotel had only just re-opened after a long refurbishment but our gamble certainly paid off as we had a brilliant time there. Since the base price was so cheap, we decided to treat ourselves to a suite, which was a very good decision as we ended up with a 2 room, 2 balcony suite on the top floor with lovely views of the castle and church. They had obviously spent a lot of time and money refurbishing the rooms and we only had some minor issues with the air-con and the lack of shower screen in the bathroom (leading to a very wet floor). For us, the location of the hotel was ideal as it is near the lake, just opposite the main bus station which made day trips nice and easy. The hotel is on a fairly busy road though so I'd suggest requesting a high floor or rear facing room if you think the noise might be an issue.

In terms of the food, we had booked half board but the Inghams deal also included a daily packed lunch. Again, considering the price we paid and the 3 star rating of the hotel, we thought the food was excellent. At breakfast, it was really nice to be able to get fresh omelettes and pancakes from the chef station, along with the various other hot and cold options. At dinner, there was always a good variety of dishes to choose from, and we never went hungry, it would have been nice to have had some local dishes every night, but that's only a minor criticism. The drinks service could also be a little slow, but the prices were pretty cheap, especially for the carafes of water. The packed lunches were also very good - we found it useful to open these up at breakfast so we could make up our sandwiches and then put any food we weren't going to eat back on the breakfast buffet. Inghams guests were also able to order free tea and coffee between 4 and 6 in the afternoon, plus one night we were able to have dinner at the castle as a group, which was lovely, the food, service and views were excellent. The return taxi for this was only 5 Euros each, which was worth paying in that heat!

We found the staff to be generally very helpful and friendly, particularly Luka on the front desk who seems to speak every European language. The free Wi-Fi was definitely a bonus and there is also a free computer in the lobby area behind reception. While we were there, we were lucky enough to be visited by the Slovenian President, who was there for the official opening of the hotel. Definitely a first for us! Overall, we loved this hotel and would be more than happy to go back there again.