R

iva Marina Hotel, on the Croatian island of Hvar, is something of a time capsule — the sort of place that just might take you back to the days when this whole design boutique thing started. For any number of world-historical reasons that don’t really bear examination here, Croatia is, as a tourist destination, at least a decade or two behind just about anywhere else in Europe. This is no dismissal — if the boom in business there is any indication, there’s plenty of demand for a bit of not-yet-spoiled European coastline.

Here many hotels are dragged bleary-eyed out of the Seventies and into the twentieth century, and a hotel like the Riva, a hundred-year-old Italianate villa redesigned in a modern-minimalist style, stands head and shoulders above the rest. The location is prime, right on the waterfront of the Hvar harbor (itself easily accessible by ferry from Split), and the surprisingly stylish interiors are just icing on the cake.

It’s not quite velvet-glove luxury, but it’s as decadent as Hvar gets, and it’s equally well suited for sportsmen, sightseers, or clubbers — that’s the marina just outside, and the historic village streets and the up-and-coming Hvar nightlife are just steps away. In fact it’s worth renting a car, and making a day trip or two out of the harbor town: the island is one of the coast’s most scenic, and is home to a thriving wine tradition.