Bluesun Hotel Elaphusa
Bol's large spa hotel, with a heated indoor seawater pool and a kids' club, ten minutes from Zlatni Rat
About this hotel
Elaphusa is the biggest Bluesun hotel on the promenade west of Bol: 307 air-conditioned rooms, 50 m from the sea, about ten minutes on foot from Zlatni Rat and 800 m from the centre and harbour. Its draw is the Thalasso Wellness & Spa, which the hotel calls one of the largest in Dalmatia: an indoor seawater pool heated to 28°C, a whirlpool, saunas, massages and Thalgo treatments. Spa entry is not included in the room rate unless a package says so. Outside, the seawater pool is unheated and its loungers are free; on the beach, loungers belong to private concessions. Children get a mini club and mini disco in English, German and Croatian, and the tennis centre next door has 20 clay courts. Sea-view rooms are sold as their own category, unlike the sea-side rooms, which pines can partly hide. Two rooms are adapted for guests with disabilities. The season runs past summer: Bluesun was still selling stays here in late October 2026. The hotel also houses the largest event centre on the Adriatic islands, for up to 1,000 people. On Booking, 1,441 reviews give it 8.9 out of 10, the most reviewed of the twelve Bol hotels on this site.
- Thalasso Wellness & Spa with an indoor seawater pool heated to 28°C
- 50 m from the sea, about ten minutes on foot from Zlatni Rat, 800 m from Bol centre
- Mini club and mini disco in English, German and Croatian
- Tennis centre with 20 clay courts and a bowling alley
- Sea-view rooms sold as their own category; two rooms adapted for guests with disabilities
- One dog up to 15 kg accepted per room, with a surcharge
Our take
Elaphusa keeps an indoor seawater pool heated to 28°C inside its spa, and that pool is what sets it apart on a coast of pebble beaches and unheated hotel pools. It counts in May, June and late September, and on maestral afternoons. Zlatni Rat is about ten minutes away on foot, the riva about 800 m. I would book it for a spa week in the shoulder season, or for a family that wants a mini club and tennis in one place. I would not book it for a small, personal stay: with 307 rooms and an event centre for up to 1,000 people, it runs at resort scale, and the spa is charged on top of the room.
- ✓Look at what your rate includes before you arrive: entry to the Thalasso Wellness & Spa, and so to the heated indoor pool, is charged separately unless your package includes it.
- ✓Ask for a sea-view room if the view matters: Elaphusa sells them as a separate category, while its sea-side rooms can be partly hidden by pines and nearby buildings.
- ✓Pool loungers are free for guests, but beach loungers belong to private concessions: go to Zlatni Rat in the morning and keep the free pool loungers for the windy afternoon.
- ✓If you drive, the guest car park is about 200 m from the hotel, not at the door, and charged by the day; two EV chargers stand on the hotel grounds.
- ✓Ask for gluten-free, vegan or diabetic meals when you book, not on arrival: the hotel needs them in advance for its half-board buffet.
Why we love it
- A 28°C indoor seawater pool for maestral afternoons and cool shoulder-season days
- Zlatni Rat on foot along the pine promenade
- Tennis, bowling and a mini club without leaving the hotel grounds
Why guests love itElaphusa runs a mini club and mini disco in English, German and Croatian, puts ball games and bocce in its animation programme, and keeps an indoor pool heated to 28°C for windy afternoons on a coast of pebble beaches. That pool, though, sits inside the spa, where entry is charged. The outdoor seawater pool is not heated, and the official page lists no separate children's pool. Zlatni Rat is ten minutes on foot along the pines, which spares a car ride with small children. The trade-off is size: 307 rooms and a conference centre mean busy buffets and little personal attention, and parents with toddlers should weigh the walk from the car park, about 200 m away.