This unique hotel is one of the best hotels we have ever stayed at in Europe! The staff, service and amenities are 5-star plus! We arrived on a chilly afternoon and were greeted with smiles and warm tea. Robert quickly checked us in, took our bags up to our room and suggested a chef's choice menu for dinner. Eric, the chef is truly talented. Every course was more impressive and divine than the previous. Nate was our server and was one of the best we had on our trip. His recommendations on wine were excellent. In the morning, we were greeted by Marko who quickly brought us coffee and remembered my tea :) Breakfast is included with the room, is a wonderful start to the day and will leave you full and energized for the day. The staff goes out of their way to ensure every need and desire is meet. Tjasa, Jernig, Aladdin and the entire staff all were fantastic and helpful making our stay a truly memorable one. The rooms were lovely. The showers divine, very comfortable beds and linens. We had fresh baked goods and fruit in our rooms every day. Thank you to everyone at the hotel for treating us to a once in a lifetime stay in beautiful Ljubljana.

There really needs to be a Tripadvisor category for 5+ hotels, with some way of limiting how freely people could award such recognition - for example, allowing people to identify a hotel as being among the top 5 or 10 they have ever visited. Zlata Ladjica would fit into that group for us.

The hotel itself is beautiful and in excellent condition, with tasteful decor and colors and an thoughtful combination of the building's old heritage with modern design. We had the experience of two different rooms during our stay, both of which were very well decorated and designed - in fact, each room is unique not only in its shape but in its decor. The bathrooms were creatively designed and the furniture was well chosen.

Yet the real standout of the hotel is its team. From top to bottom, front desk to restaurant, the staff were fantastic - not mere employees but rather well-educated team members who shared the responsibilities for seeing that each guest's needs were addressed. The bar/restaurant staff was particularly impressive, but then again so was the front desk staff, and even the cleaning ladies were full of smiles.

The food must be mentioned as well. Breakfast might as well count as lunch as it was oh so large. On the first morning, you are treated to a standard plate with local traditions, which alone would satisfy most hungry diners, but you then also are asked to select from the list of egg and other mains - all delicious but belt-busting. After the first day, you have different themed breakfast options (mermaid, fitness, etc.), which didn't reduce the food quantity but does provide some variety when compared to the traditional European hotel breakfast buffet.

We also enjoyed dinner in the restaurant one night and were very pleased with the quality of the food. And, oh yes, the service was excellent.

In other words, a 5+ hotel experience!

Arrived on a day when there was a brief window of cloud and then it rained wildly until I left. I still thought this was one of the nicest hotels I’ve ever been in. The staff are friendly and accommodating- the waiter in the restaurant was knowledgable and proud of the Slovenian origin of the food- the history of the hotel and the pride they took in the place was evident. The location was fabulous and there is a real wish within me to come back and experience this gem of a place in a gem of a city, but this time in sunshine