I chose Kranjska Gora as our home base in the Julian Alps due to its proximity to the region’s highest peaks, including Triglav, the highest. It’s a pleasant ski resort that retains some semblance of a normal mountain town, especially at the early end of the hiking season.
Hotel Lipa
We stayed at the hotel Lipa for 6 nights. Our plan was to do some hiking in the mountains and maybe do the Triglov hike, an overnight trek to the highest peak in Slovenia. Unfortunately the higher altitude trails were still covered in snow in mid-June of 2016, making summiting impossible for us.
The hotel is conveniently located on the edge of town, 5-7 minutes walking distance to the center and other restaurants. Sleeping in room 2 with a balcony facing the mountains, I could keep an eye on the changing weather patterns.
The room was spacious but not huge and included a safe, minibar and water boiler. The Wifi was connection was reasonably good and the bed comfortable.
The hotel service is friendly – they did a load of wash for us and got Don ice for his bad knee – but not overly so. If you need someone to actually take an interest in what you are doing you might not find them attentive enough.
Breakfast included a wide variety of cold items, with eggs made to order. Wonderful hot flakey croissants, good bread and a wide variety of cereal and cold cuts. Not much fresh fruit though.
Their restaurant/pizzeria is one of the nicer ones in town. They also have a better wine list than most. We liked it enough that we ate here 3 out of the 6 nights. There really isn’t that much to choose from.
Dining at Hotel Lipa
For lunch we tried the Sardinia pizza and mozzarella salad. Both were well executed. They make a nice thin chewy wood fire crust.
On the first evening there were a half a dozen or so occupied tables when we arrived. The server that was on duty at lunch was still there, still very attentive and efficient. We had an easy dinner starting with the salad bar – a small but nice selection of fresh vegies and prepared salads – and for mains the beef with tomato pasta and the chicken with vegie risotto. Both dishes were nicely prepared and served fresh hot. The house carafe white wine was also quite good.
For our second dinner at the hotel we did the salad bar again and tried one of their fancy dishes, the beef baked in salt.
Presented table side, they break the salt crust and take the meat out of the protective layer of greens. We had ordered the meat medium rare. It came out a bit rare, but we prefer under done to overdone and were not disappointed.
Beautiful piece of meat and a fun splurge. Dish is served with roasted potatoes and vegies – also nicely done but Don’s are better. Ordered a bottle of Edi Simcic Duet Goriska Brda Red Blend, surprisingly, a good Slovenian red wine that was bold enough to stand up to the meat.
Dinner at Gostilna Pri Martinu
The dining room has a cozy alp-style German/Austrian vibe and is known for their well-prepared generous portions at reasonable prices. Just don’t order the house red wine. It’s not very good. The white might be better as Slovenia makes more white wine than red. We started with the grilled vegetables, as advertised a generous portion and nicely grilled.
For mains we tried the grilled trout served with cooked greens and potatoes and the venison served in a rich gravy with bread dumplings and garnished with red currents. Both dishes were well prepared. Service is friendly and efficient. This is a solid establishment and well worth a visit.
Lunch at Restaurant Shanghai
A cute typical looking Chinese place in a strip mall at the edge of town. On a Friday at midday we were the only customers. The young couple that runs the place is very nice, but the food is only OK. Good sized portions though.
We ordered the spicy chicken and the pork Sichuan style. Although both dishes included a mix of vegies in with the meat, we really should have ordered one meat dish and one vegetable dish. The chicken was breaded, fried and served piping hot. Both sauces tasted pretty much the same and lacked depth of flavor, just somewhat hot and the pork too salty. Come here only if you are looking for a change from local fare.
June 13-19, 2016
For links to all the posts in this series see the Croatia/Slovenia page.