Apartments Apolon Izola

Apartments Apolon is in Kajuhova ulica, on the side that rises behind the harbour of Isola d'Istria, at 32 metres of altitude. It is the position that explains all the rest: from up here the terrace looks over the red roofs of the old town, the small harbour and the arc of the gulf as far as the cliff of Strunjano, and on clear days the coast beyond the water can be made out. The Svetilnik beach, the one by the lighthouse, is 1.7 kilometres away, the harbour and the old railway station are closer, and the Parenzana cycle path, laid on the bed of the Austro-Hungarian railway, passes through the town.

The accommodation consists of independent apartments with a three-star classification, all air-conditioned and with free wifi. Each unit has a sitting area with a flat-screen TV, a kitchen with a fridge and a microwave oven and a private bathroom with a bidet; some apartments have a patio, others a terrace. The interiors are linear, with light wooden floors, yellow and sand-coloured fitted cupboards, glass tables and white chairs in the dining area. Outside there are a garden and an outdoor fireplace, and private parking is available on site. The host gives notice with a sign, and it is worth repeating it because it saves a disappointment: there is no coffee machine in the apartments, and for a good coffee you go out and walk for a minute.

This is the only property in this group that publishes a minimum age in figures, and it is the piece of information that matters most. The booking portal states that children of at least fifteen years are welcome: this means that under fifteen no one may stay, and that from that age a young person is accepted. The property has a web address of its own, apolon.si, but at the time of checking the site is being rebuilt and shows only the notice of a new page to come, so there is no statement from the hotelier confirming or correcting that threshold: the source of this page remains the portal, and it says so. The eighteen years given are instead the minimum age for check-in, that is, for putting the booking in one's own name, and are a different matter.

The house is non-smoking and payment is handled by the portal on behalf of the property, so it is worth keeping some cash for extras. On the policy regarding pets there are no statements: the silence is not an answer, and anyone travelling with a dog has to ask.

Isola is the least touristy of the three Slovene coastal towns and for many it is the most liveable: a real fishing harbour, a square with tables outside, fish restaurants at less inflated prices than in Portorose, and the countryside with the olive groves that begins just above the houses. Pirano is about ten kilometres away, Capodistria eight, Trieste a little more than thirty.

It suits those who want a self-contained base on the Istrian sea, with a view and a kitchen, and who travel with a child who is already grown up: here, unlike almost all the other properties without children on the coast, from fifteen you can come in. It suits less those who need to be on the beach on foot, or who do not want to face the climb on the way back.