Tennis Hotels in Croatia: The Best Luxury Hotels with Tennis Courts (2026)

Croatia takes its tennis seriously. Red clay is the default surface, Istria has hosted an ATP tournament in Umag every summer since 1990, apart from the cancelled 2020 edition, and several resorts along the coast run tennis centres that would be the pride of a mid-sized town. This guide covers the upscale hotels with courts on site or run by the hotel group nearby, and where to play if yours has none.

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Planning a longer trip around the game? Our hub on the best luxury hotels with tennis courts in Italy covers the other side of the Adriatic, and our overview of tennis in Croatia explains the country’s clay court culture.

The best luxury hotels in Croatia with tennis courts

Every hotel below either has courts on its own grounds or uses a tennis centre run by the same hotel group close by. Where surface, lighting or fees could not be confirmed, ask the hotel before you book.

Adriatic Istria Resort, formerly Kempinski Hotel Adriatic (Savudrija)

On the northwestern tip of Istria, close to the Slovenian border and an easy drive from Trieste, this 186-room resort is in transition. Minor Hotels took over management in February 2026, the resort reopened for the season in late March under the name Adriatic Istria Resort, and it is due to relaunch as Anantara Adriatic Istria Resort in early 2027 after a full refurbishment.

For players, the resort lists tennis and padel courts. Older hotel descriptions placed lessons on the nearby Skiper courts, a few metres from the hotel, which the Istrian tourist board lists as four Greenset hard courts open all year. The resort does not publish its current court details or floodlighting, so check with the hotel. The real draw is the combination: the 18-hole, par 72 Golf Adriatic course runs along the coastline next door, the spa covers around 3,000 square metres with saunas, a hammam and indoor and outdoor pools, plus a private beach and a kids club. Ask the hotel which restaurants and facilities are open during the refurbishment.

Best for: couples who split their days between tennis and golf, and travellers combining Istria with Trieste or Venice.

Check rates at Adriatic Istria Resort

Hotel Pelegrin Plava Laguna, formerly Hotel Coral (Umag, Katoro)

If you want to walk out of the lobby and onto clay, this is the hotel. The four-star, adults-only Pelegrin, renamed from Hotel Coral for the 2025 season after a full renovation, sits in the Katoro area north of Umag town, next to the Umag Tennis Academy, which offers coaching programmes tailored to age and level. The academy is a real tennis centre, though our research turned up contradictory information on its size: the hotel’s own page lists 26 courts (25 clay and 1 hard, with 4 covered clay courts), while Plava Laguna’s tennis page gives 20 courts. It was not clear to us which figure is current, so confirm with the hotel if court availability matters. Courts and coaching carry an extra fee.

Off court there is an outdoor seawater pool, a heated indoor seawater pool and the Coral Spa Concept with Finnish and Turkish saunas, which guests can use free of charge after booking a slot. Check opening dates for spring or autumn stays.

Best for: serious players and couples without children who want maximum court choice and coaching.

Check rates at Hotel Pelegrin Plava Laguna

Istrian Villas Plava Laguna (Umag, Stella Maris)

For a more private Umag base, the Istrian Villas sit in a pine forest at Stella Maris, about two kilometres from the town centre and next to a blue flag beach. This is the resort that hosts the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag, which Plava Laguna describes as Croatia’s longest-running ATP tournament, and guests can use the Stella Maris tennis centre, which the hotel describes as having 14 courts and tennis classes. Plava Laguna describes its courts as a mix of clay and concrete, but the surface of each court at Stella Maris is not specified, so ask when booking.

The four-star villas have a freshwater pool and whirlpool at the Aqua Chill-Out complex, some villas have a whirlpool tub in the garden, and evening entertainment runs from early June to mid-September.

Best for: families and groups who want space, a beach and the tournament venue on their doorstep.

Check rates at Istrian Villas Plava Laguna

Lone Hotel by Maistra Collection (Rovinj)

Lone is the five-star design hotel in the wooded Lone Bay just south of Rovinj’s old town. It has no court on its own grounds, but Maistra, the group that owns it, runs a tennis centre around 800 metres away with eight completely refurbished outdoor courts and four indoor courts. The Istria tourist board lists this as the Eden Tennis Centre with eight clay courts and four indoor artificial grass courts. There is a tennis school and private sessions for beginners and experienced players, and the concierge books courts for you. Floodlighting is not stated, so ask.

Beyond tennis: a wellness and spa centre, yoga and Pilates, guided cycling and kayaking, and trails through the Golden Cape Forest Park. The full activity programme runs from mid-June to mid-September, with a reduced offer outside those dates. Families may prefer sister hotel Grand Park Hotel Rovinj, which uses the same centre and has a kids club for ages 4 to 12.

Best for: design lovers who want a daily hit on clay without giving up a stylish town base. Our guide on where to stay in Istria compares Rovinj with the rest of the peninsula.

Check rates at Lone Hotel

Le Méridien Lav, Split (Podstrana)

Around 11 kilometres south of Diocletian’s Palace, Le Méridien Lav is the most practical tennis base for Split. Its tennis centre has four floodlit courts, which makes evening play possible in the hottest weeks of summer. The surface is not consistently stated in the sources we checked, so ask the hotel if you have a preference, and ask about coaching too.

Beyond the courts there is a private beach, an outdoor pool and an adjacent marina, useful for day trips to Brač, Šolta and Vis. Split airport is around 25 kilometres away, and the ferry port, normally with crossings to Ancona (Jadrolinija’s international sailings are suspended until 5 January 2027), is about 10 kilometres from the hotel.

Best for: combining tennis with Split’s old town and island days by boat.

Check rates at Le Méridien Lav

Bluesun Hotel Elaphusa (Bol, Brač)

Bol on the island of Brač is a tennis town in its own right, and the four-star Elaphusa sits a short walk from Zlatni Rat beach with a large clay complex beside it. Our research turned up contradictory information on its size: one hotel listing gives 26 tennis courts, while a tennis travel operator offering packages at the hotel lists 21 clay courts. It was not clear to us which applies, so confirm with the hotel. Lessons are available, but floodlighting and coaching details are not published.

Off court there are indoor and outdoor seawater pools, a children’s pool and a thalasso wellness area with sauna and treatments. It is a resort hotel rather than a boutique hideaway, but few island hotels match it for court numbers.

Best for: tennis weeks and groups of players who want an island setting and plenty of clay.

Check rates at Bluesun Hotel Elaphusa

Rixos Premium Dubrovnik (Dubrovnik)

Dubrovnik’s cliffs leave little room for courts. Rixos Premium Dubrovnik, on the coast west of the Old Town, lists a tennis court among its facilities. Surface, lighting and booking rules are not published, so ask the hotel before you pack your racquet.

The hotel’s Libertas Beach has loungers, cabanas, paddle boarding and snorkelling, and the Anjana Spa has a heated indoor pool, a Turkish bath and a salt room. For club courts in the city, see our guide on where to play tennis in Dubrovnik and Split.

Best for: city breaks in Dubrovnik where a hotel court is a bonus, not the main event.

Check rates at Rixos Premium Dubrovnik

Comparison table: tennis hotels in Croatia at a glance

Where else to play tennis in Croatia

Many Croatian tennis centres are open to non-residents for an hourly fee. Ask your concierge to call ahead.

• Rovinj: besides the Eden centre, the Istria tourist board lists the Amarin Tennis Centre (six clay and two concrete courts) and the Villas Rubin Tennis Centre (seven clay and four concrete courts), both close to the sea south and north of town, plus a smaller centre on Crveni Otok.
• Umag: Plava Laguna’s properties around Umag share a large network of courts. Hotel Garden Istra Plava Laguna traditionally hosts players and their entourage during the Croatia Open.
• Split and Dubrovnik: both cities have established clubs that take visitors when courts are free. Our guide to tennis courts in Dubrovnik and Split lists them with practical booking advice.

Arriving from Italy? Seasonal fast ferries link Venice and Trieste with Istrian ports, and ferries normally cross from Ancona to Split (check the timetable, as Jadrolinija’s international lines are suspended until 5 January 2027), so a tennis week in Croatia combines easily with time in the Veneto or the Marche. Our guide to crossing from Italy to Croatia by boat covers the routes.

When to play tennis in Croatia

• May and June: warm, bright and easy to book. Istria can be fresh in early May.
• July and August: hot in Dalmatia and busy everywhere. Play early or late, and choose a hotel with floodlit courts such as Le Méridien Lav. In Umag, tournament week in July changes the rhythm of the whole town.
• September and early October: warm sea, cooler air and quieter courts.
• November to March: many resort hotels close or cut back their programmes, and some tennis centres reduce their hours. Indoor courts in Rovinj and Umag keep you playing.

Hotels we looked at but did not include

Hotel Excelsior Dubrovnik is a classic Dubrovnik address, but we could not confirm a tennis court on site. Hotel Bellevue on Lošinj points guests to courts nearby, but court details were not published. We also could not verify current court details for Amadria Park in Opatija or the Valamar Collection resorts around Poreč, so they are left out until we can. For a broader shortlist where setting matters more than sport, see our guide to the best luxury hotels in Croatia.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which hotel in Croatia is best for tennis?

For sheer court numbers and coaching, Hotel Pelegrin Plava Laguna (formerly Hotel Coral) in Umag, next to the Umag Tennis Academy. For an island setting, Bluesun Hotel Elaphusa in Bol. For tennis plus golf, Adriatic Istria Resort in Savudrija.

When is the Croatia Open in Umag?

The tournament is held each July at the Stella Maris resort, north of Umag town. Dates change every year, so check the official tournament website.

Are Croatian tennis courts mostly clay?

Yes. Clay dominates in resort tennis centres and clubs, with some hard, concrete and artificial grass courts, especially indoors. Ask your hotel which surface you will be playing on.

Do I need euros for court fees?

Croatia uses the euro, so court hire, coaching and racquet rental are paid in euros.