Royal Ariston

Royal Ariston is in Ston, Dubrovnik (Ulica Kardinala Stepinca 31, Dubrovnik, Croatia), close to Dubrovnik City Walls.

Recent rates started around €305 per night, but prices are set live — check the booking page for your exact dates.

Royal Ariston is a 5-star hotel in Dubrovnik.

Guests rate it 4.4 across 586 reviews. It's a luxury choice for Dubrovnik.

Four nights is the realistic minimum to see the Old Town properly, walk the 1,940 m walls, take a boat to Mljet or the Elaphiti islands, and get a day on Pelješac for Ston oysters and wine. Three nights works if you cut either the islands or the peninsula, and two nights only makes sense as a cruise-style stopover. A week lets you add Korčula Town as an overnight and a proper beach day in Cavtat or Lopud. Anything beyond ten nights is better split with a base change to Lapad, Cavtat or an island.

The Platanus airport shuttle runs from DBV to Gruž bus station via Pile Gate for €10 one way, timed to arriving flights and taking about 30 minutes. A taxi or pre-booked transfer is a flat €35–45 to any Old Town, Ploče or Lapad hotel, or roughly €25 to Cavtat which is only 7 km from the airport. Uber and Bolt both operate in Dubrovnik and usually undercut street taxis. If your hotel is inside the walls, ask the driver to drop at Pile or Ploče gate — cars can't enter.

No, not if you're staying in the Old Town, Pile, Ploče, Lapad, Babin Kuk or Gruž — everything connects by the Libertas 1A, 1B, 3, 6 and 8 buses at €1.73 per ride. A car actively hurts you inside the walled town where parking is €5–7 per hour and no vehicles enter. Hire one only for day trips to Ston, Pelješac wineries, Slano, Trsteno arboretum or across the new Pelješac Bridge. For islands like Mljet, Lopud, Šipan and Korčula you'll use Jadrolinija or Kapetan Luka ferries from Gruž port instead.

Both, but in different neighbourhoods — couples do better in the Old Town, Ploče or a boutique in Cavtat, while families should look at Lapad or Babin Kuk for the sandy beaches at Copacabana and Sunset Beach and the flat pedestrian promenade. The Old Town's stepped streets and lack of green space are hard work with a pushchair. Family-friendly resorts like the Valamar properties on Babin Kuk and the Sheraton in Srebreno have pools and kids' clubs that central hotels don't. For teenagers, Lopud with its car-free waterfront works well as a two-night add-on.

Book Old Town and Ploče hotels for July and August by January or February — the Summer Festival dates of 10 July to 25 August sell out first. Game of Thrones walking tours, the cable car up Srđ, and the kayak trips around Lokrum should be booked a few days ahead in peak season. If you want to eat at Restaurant 360 or Nautika, reserve two to three weeks out for a summer evening. Ferries to Mljet and Korčula fill on peak-season weekends, so book the Jadrolinija or Kapetan Luka sailings online rather than turning up at Gruž.