My wife and I booked a room at the Grand Hotel Portorož for talks I was presenting at JCON Slovenia in Portorož, Slovenia. Very excited upon our arrival in Portorož, the hotel across the street from the waterfront and incredible views whichever way you turned.
We checked in, parked the car, and dragged our bags up to our room. Upon entry, our excitement quickly disippated as we pulled back the curtains: our balcony provided a lovely view of the roof. If you leaned far over the balcony, you could just make out the water in the distance. A complete bust.
To compound our disappointment, the AC refused to cool the room, the external temps hovering around 90°F, we wathced the thermostat show the room quickly warming from 74°F to 77°F in just a few minutes.
We asked to be moved to a different room, only to learn there were no rooms available that first night; fortunately, fortunately, facilities did something and the room eventually cooled to 72°F. An inauspicious start to our trip.
A large tour group checked out the next morning and, with some level of haggling, we successfully moved to our new room. This time, opening the curtains presented us with a much improved view.
And the air conditioner worked (somewhat) better!
Image Credits
- All images © 2026 Scott C Sosna, all rights reserved.
