Escape to Paradise: Your Private Infinity Pool Awaits in Kakma, Croatia
Escape to Paradise: Kakma, Croatia - Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Infinity Pool (and the Occasional Hair in My Coffee)
Okay, picture this: Croatia. Sun-drenched. Turquoise water. The promise of an infinity pool that’ll make you feel like you're swimming off the edge of the world. That's the bait "Escape to Paradise" in Kakma throws out, and, honestly? They mostly deliver. Mostly. Buckle up, buttercups, because this isn’t your sanitized, perfectly Instagrammed travel blog. This is my chaotic, slightly cynical, ultimately charmed account of my stay.
Accessibility: The Good, The Bad, and The Maybe-Could-Be-Better
Let’s start with the practicalities because, let’s face it, nobody wants to be stranded in paradise because they can’t get to paradise. While the website promises it's "mostly accessible," I didn’t have a physical disability to put that to the test. However, I did notice elevators were present. That's a good start for anyone who needs it. Beyond that, I'd strongly recommend contacting them directly to nail down specifics. They do offer a concierge service, which is a huge plus. They can help with things like transportation, should you need specialized arrangements. But for a definitive answer on accessibility, I recommend reaching out beforehand.
Internet: Wi-Fi Warrior or Wi-Fi Worrier?
Ah, the modern traveler's constant companion: internet. They scream "Free Wi-Fi in all rooms!" from the rooftops, and thank goodness. Because, let me tell you, trying to navigate Croatia without a Google Maps lifeline? Nightmare fuel. And you know what? It mostly worked. Connection in my room was decent, but I had a few drop-outs in the public areas, which made trying to upload those breathtaking sunset photos a bit frustrating. They also offer LAN internet. Honestly, who uses that anymore outside of work?
Cleanliness and Safety: Bubble-Wrapped Bliss or Just Surface-Level?
This section, I'll admit, was a huge priority for me post-pandemic. I'm talking full-on germaphobe mode. And on the surface, "Escape to Paradise" seemed to take things seriously. They boast about Anti-viral cleaning products, Daily disinfection in common areas, and staff "trained in safety protocol." They even mention Individually-wrapped food options at the breakfast buffet. Now, I appreciate the effort, don't get me wrong. The room did feel clean, and there was plenty of hand sanitizer strategically placed. But… I also spotted a stray hair in my morning coffee. And let’s just say, that took the shine off the "professional-grade sanitizing services" for a minute. It made the 'safe dining setup' seem just slightly less safe.
Dining, Drinking, and Snacking: A Culinary Rollercoaster
Alright, foodies, this is where it gets interesting. "Escape to Paradise" has… options. Restaurants, Poolside bars, room service [24-hour]… the works. The buffet in the restaurant was… well, it was a buffet. Nothing to write home about, but generally decent. The Western breakfast was pretty standard, and they had your usual selection of coffee, juices, cereals, and pastries. However, I opted for the Asian cuisine in the restaurant. That was a mistake. Let's just say, it was a bold, flavourless, overly-expensive mistake. My advice? Stick to the simple stuff. The poolside bar was a definite highlight. Sipping a cocktail, watching the sun dip below the horizon? Pure bliss. The snack bar was alright, though. Decent sandwiches.
Things to Do & Ways to Relax: The Infinity Pool and Beyond
This is where "Escape to Paradise" really shines. The swimming pool [outdoor] is, of course, the star. And yes, the pool with a view is as breathtaking as the photos suggest. Seriously, the infinity edge genuinely makes you feel like you’re floating. Days were spent basking in the sun, occasionally diving in, and generally feeling like a ridiculously lucky human being. They had a fitness center that provided some means of exercise and a gym/fitness area to assist with the process. There was no pressure to get in shape, just freedom.
Spa Time?
Now, let's talk about the spa. They offer the holy grail: massage and sauna. I booked a massage, hoping to soothe the travel knots in my shoulders. The massage itself was… fine. Not the best I've ever had, not the worst. The sauna was lovely though - a welcome sanctuary from the day's adventures. The Steamroom was a bit less impressive, perhaps in need of an upgrade.
Services and Conveniences: The Little Things That Make a Difference
This is where "Escape to Paradise" tries to win you over with its efficiency. They offered Daily housekeeping, concierge services, and a luggage storage area. There’s also a currency exchange and cash withdrawal available. I utilized the daily housekeeping, which was prompt and thorough, and a huge help. The concierge was invaluable in arranging transport. They helped me to navigate some tricky situations.
Rooms: Paradise Found (and Slightly Imperfect)
My room was pretty fantastic. It was non-smoking, (thank goodness) and had air conditioning, which was essential during the Croatian heat. The blackout curtains were a godsend, perfect for a good night's sleep. The private bathroom with a separate shower and bathtub was great. The view that opened was amazing. It really did feel like a little slice of heaven. But… I have a confession. The mattress was a little too firm for my liking. It wasn’t a deal-breaker, but it’s worth a mention.
For the Kids: Family-Friendly Focus
While I wasn't traveling with children, I noticed the hotel seemed geared towards families. They had a babysitting service and Kids facilities, which I'm sure made it a lot easier for parents. I heard a few reports of the kids meal being less than impressive.
Getting Around: Convenient Access
They offer Airport transfer and taxi service, which certainly made the arrival and departure a breeze. Car park [free of charge], car park [on-site] and bicycle parking options.
My Overall Verdict?
"Escape to Paradise" isn't perfect. It's got a few chinks in its armor: inconsistent internet, the occasional hair in the coffee, and some slightly underwhelming food options. But… the infinity pool. The views. The general feeling of relaxation? All of that more than compensates. It's a place where you can genuinely unwind, disconnect, and forget about the stresses of daily life. It's a place where, even with its minor imperfections, you can truly feel like you've escaped. Just remember to bring your own coffee. And maybe your own earplugs, just in case.
Escape to Bavarian Bliss: Farm Stay Near Arber Ski Area!
Kakma Crazy: My Croatian Holiday Diary – Because Perfection is Overrated (and Exhausting)
Theme Song: “Walking on Sunshine” – because that’s how I felt before I realised how much laundry there'd be.
Prologue: The Dream (and the Dread of Flights)
Okay, so, Croatia. Picture this: turquoise water, sun-drenched stone, the promise of all the seafood. That's the postcard version, right? The reality? Well, it started with the flights. Ugh. I swear, the journey to the airport felt longer than the actual holiday. And the plane! So, cramped. I'm pretty sure the guy in front of me was playing some sort of competitive elbow-jousting game with my bladder. But, whatever. Destination Kakma. The house. The pool. The…freedom.
Day 1: Arrival and Existential Pool Gazing
14:00 – Arrival at Kakma Holiday Home: Whoa. Just… whoa. The pictures didn’t do it justice. Seriously, the infinity pool is actually magical. It's like the water just disappears into the Adriatic Sea. My first thought? "Okay, I need to spend at least 75% of this trip in that pool." My second thought? "I probably should have packed more sunscreen."
14:30 - The "Find the Wi-Fi" Scavenger Hunt: Every holiday home has this, right? The desperate search for the router, like you're Indiana Jones after the Ark of the Covenant, except the reward is the ability to post a picture of your cocktail on Instagram. Victory was achieved! But at what cost? (The cost was a fly bite. Minor detail.)
15:00 - Pool Time! (and the First Cock-Up): Jumped in! Glorious! Until I realised I’d left my phone on the side. Cue panicked dive, scrambling for technology, and the distinct, sinking feeling of a ruined iPhone. Guess I’ll have to actually relax, then. Silver lining: I actually looked at the view instead of through a screen. And it was breathtaking.
17:00 - Dealing with Luggage and unpacking is still a chore, isn't it? : So, the luggage. The sheer volume of stuff I brought. Why do I always overpack? "Just in case," I tell myself. "Just in case I need a sequined gown to attend a rave by the docks." Okay, maybe not the rave. But still… The sheer volume of skincare products is a genuine problem. And the number of shoes. I should have packed less, but, who is going to stop me?
19:00 – Sunset, Wine, and the Gnawing Doubt: The sunset was unreal. Crimson, gold, purples… absolutely stunning. Pulled out a bottle of local Croatian wine (which I’d picked based purely on the cute label, naturally). Sipped, watched the sky bleed into the sea, and then… the thoughts started. "Am I wasting my time? Should I be doing more? Am I even enjoying this enough?" Ugh. Holiday anxiety is the worst. Tried to combat it with more wine. Worked… sort of.
Day 2: Sea Bass, Stone Streets, and the Case of the Missing Flip-Flops
9:00 - Breakfast of champions: leftover bread and a side of "did I really drink that much wine last night?" Okay, so I forgot to buy cereal/breakfast items from the local supermarket. The bread was dry, and the coffee instant. But I survived.
11:00 - Exploring the local village (the one from the brochure): Cobblestone streets, flower-filled window boxes, the smell of baking bread… It was all very charming and picturesque. Which, naturally, made me suspicious. Did they stage this for tourists? I mean, it felt staged. But beautiful. So I kept walking.
12:00 - The "Almost Lost in Translation" Lunch: Found a tiny little Konoba (restaurant) tucked away. The waiter spoke, like, three words of English. I spoke even fewer Croatian words. Ended up ordering… something. It involved grilled sea bass and a sauce that tasted suspiciously of garlic. Delicious, however. And I succeeded at not spilling anything during all this.
14:00 - The Great Flip-Flop Heist: Returned to the holiday home to find my favourite flip-flops… gone. Vanished. Poof! The only explanation? Gremlins. Dirty, sandal-loving gremlins. Spent an embarrassing amount of time searching. I'm still convinced someone's wearing them now.
16:00 - Pool Time Redemption (and the Sunburn Situation): Back to the pool! This time, armed with gallons of sunscreen. Learned my lesson. Spent a long, blissful hour floating, staring at the sky, and successfully ignoring the gremlin-related flip-flop trauma.
19:00 - Dinner at that Konoba I found earlier: The sea bass was amazing. The garlic sauce? Still there, but even better this time. The waiter remembered me and seemed to be trying a bit harder. I even attempted a few Croatian phrases, which elicited a mix of laughter and genuine attempt to assist, so I think I did something right.
Day 3: The Boat Trip Debacle (or, How I Learned to Embrace Seasickness)
This is where things get interesting. This is where the "holiday bubble" popped.
9:00 - Attempted to find my flip-flops again, again, they are still missing. So I went to the grocery store and found some of my preferred flip-flops there. But the search took me some time, and in the end, I had to shop for the rest of the vacation wearing my heavy shoes.
10:00 - Boat Trip, Woohoo! : Booked a boat trip to explore some nearby islands. The brochure promised crystal-clear waters, hidden coves, and champagne at sunset. Sounded… perfect.
11:00 - The Seasickness Sets In: The reality, however, involved choppy waters, a boat that smelled suspiciously of diesel, and a wave of nausea that hit me like a tonne of bricks. I spent the next hour clinging to the railing, desperately trying not to… well, you get the picture. The champagne at sunset? Forgotten in a fog of green.
12:00 - Island Hopping (a.k.a. Wishing I Hadn't Eaten Breakfast): Dragged myself onto a pretty island, but the only thing I wanted to do was to lie down. Every rock, every blade of grass, felt like a personal insult. Managed a weak smile for a photo op. Internally, I was begging for the trip to end.
14:00 - The Sunburn Surprise (and the Unbearable Itch): Despite slathering on sunscreen, I still managed to get sunburnt. (Apparently, the sun in Croatia has some sort of vendetta against pale people.) The itch was maddening.
16:00 - Return to Kakma and Regret: Crawled back to the holiday home, defeated, sunburnt, and still slightly queasy. The pool suddenly didn't seem so appealing. Just wanted to hide under a duvet and binge-watch something.
17:00 - Dinner with the "Friends" (a bottle of wine and a takeaway pizza): Decided that cooking was out of the question. Ordered a takeaway pizza. Drank most of a bottle of wine. Felt slightly better, but still slightly… broken. The boat trip taught me that beauty can be a beast. Also, I learned the hard way that I do not have sea legs.
Day 4: Finding My Feet (and My Sense of Humour)
This is where the holiday started to… recover.
9:00 - Emerging from the wreckage: The sun went back up again. Today is a new day.
10:00 - The Pool is My Therapist: Spent the morning just… floating. The sun was warm, the water was cool. And slowly, the sea sickness began to subside. The pool, my friend again. It's quite amazing.
12:00 - Food Shopping, and the Unexpected Joy of Bargains: Got my act together enough to drive to the shops. Found a fantastic (and super cheap!) local market. Grabbed some fresh fruit, vegetables, and a few more bottles of wine. The small pleasures are the important
Escape to Paradise: Kakma's Infinity Pool – Your Brain's About to Explode (in a Good Way) - FAQ-ish
Okay, so... Kakma? Croatia? Tell me *everything*. Is it even real? (I'm a skeptic.)
Alright, alright, settle down, Sherlock. Yes, Kakma is real. It’s a wee little village in Croatia, just a hop, skip, and a jet ski ride away from the Dalmatian Coast. Think rugged coastline, crystal-clear turquoise water, air so clean you can actually taste it (seriously, it's a thing). Now, when I first booked this, my expectations were... tempered. I’d seen the pictures of that infinity pool, right? Perfect angles, gorgeous people sipping cocktails... made me think *Instagram lie alert*.
But then I arrived, and bam! My brain immediately hit overload. It's actually MORE stunning in person. The pool? Yeah, it's infinity-ing alright, and the view? Oh, the view! It's like someone vomited natural beauty all over the place. Mountains, the sea, little islands dotted everywhere… I'm not even exaggerating! I spent the first hour just wandering around, jaw agape, like a lost tourist with a camera I couldn't figure out. Definitely real, and definitely worth the extra effort it takes to actually get there.
That pool… is it *really* as dreamy as it looks? I'm picturing Olympic-sized, or am I delusional?
Dreamy? Oh, honey, it's borderline *hallucinatory*. Okay, the pool isn't Olympic-sized. (Thank God, because I'd spend all my time just trying to find the shallow end). It's more… perfectly proportioned. Big enough to do some serious swimming laps (which I did, after the second glass of wine...a risky move), but small enough so you could actually appreciate the view. And the view, as I mentioned, is the real star.
Picture this: You're bobbing around, the sun's kissing your face, the sea breeze has worked some serious magic on your hair, and you're looking out at… well, just pure, unadulterated bliss. There's even a little shallow area for lounging, perfect for when you realize you've had too much sun and need to cool off but *still* want that perfect Instagram photo. (Don't judge me!). The water is SO clear, you can see the tiles at the bottom, and it's always the perfect temperature. Seriously, the only downside is the constant temptation to never leave.
What's the vibe? Loud party, relaxing escape, or something in between? 'Cause I need to know what to pack.
Alright, here's the deal. It's *mostly* a relaxing escape. Like, properly relaxing. Think sipping Aperol spritzes, reading a book (or pretending to), and occasionally making witty comments on the beauty of the world. However... and there's always a "however," isn't there?
It's not strictly a silent retreat by any means. The times I was there, there were a few other guests, and we'd all end up chatting over cocktails, sharing tips on exploring the local area, or just laughing at our clumsy attempts to use Croatian phrases. One night, we even had a spontaneous pool-side sing-along (my rendition of "Bohemian Rhapsody" was particularly *memorable*... for all the wrong reasons, I suspect).
So, pack for both. Swimsuits, sunscreen, a good book, a sense of adventure, and maybe a disco ball. Okay, maybe not the disco ball, but you get the idea. It's a place where you can be social, or just be utterly, gloriously alone and watch the sunrise.
Okay, so the pool is amazing, but seriously, what else is there? How do you NOT go stir-crazy?
Stir-crazy? Nah. Okay, look, I’m a city girl at heart, and I thought, ‘remote village? Gonna be boring.’ I was so wrong. Croatia is incredible.
Kakma itself is small, yes, but that's the point! It's quiet. The locals are super friendly, and I even managed to butcher enough Croatian to order a decent coffee. Beyond Kakma, you have to explore! Hike some trails (the views are beyond epic), take a boat trip (spotting those little islands from the water... a must), and gorge yourself on delicious Croatian food.
I'm talking fresh seafood, amazing pastries, and wine that is… dangerous. (Especially if you're me, with a tendency to overindulge). There are nearby towns and villages to explore, historic sites to visit. Honestly, I spent a week there, and I still didn't see everything. And can I tell you a secret? I went back for a second week a few months later! That should tell you something.
Tell me about the food! I'm a foodie. Is it all just "fish"?
Okay, let's talk food. Food, glorious food! Right, yes, there's a LOT of amazing seafood, but don't let that scare you. I love seafood, but if you're not a fish person, you're still golden.
The restaurants serve everything. Grilled meats (the lamb is to die for), pasta dishes that'll make you weep with happiness, salads bursting with fresh, local ingredients. And the pastries? OH. MY. GOD. I think I gained five pounds just looking at them. They're light, flaky, and filled with everything from apricot jam to chocolate.
There are little markets where you can stock up on local produce (tomatoes that actually taste like tomatoes! Crazy, right?), and the local wine is… let's just say I have a few empty bottles at home as souvenirs. Trust me, even if you hate fish (which, personally, I think is a crime), you'll eat like a king (or queen) in Kakma. It's a foodie paradise. I still dream about it.
What's the deal with getting there? Flights? Ferries? Do I need a Sherpa?
Okay, getting there. It's not *on* the moon, thankfully, but it does require a little planning. You'll want to fly into Split (SPU) airport. From there, you can rent a car (necessary to get to Kakma, although I'm a notoriously bad driver, and even I managed).
The drive is beautiful. Winding roads, stunning coastal views... just be prepared for some hairpin turns. Alternatively, you could hire a private transfer. That’s what I did the second time because, let's be honest, I'm a sucker for convenience.
It's about 2 hours from Split airport, and then you get to the village. It's a bumpy ride down a narrow road to get to the villa, so hang onto your lunch! But the minute you see the view from the roadHotel Finder Reviews
