First Pool in Croatia (#739)

21 May 2025

File this one under the “whining on the yacht” or “mal de vivre” category.  

I am in Dubrovnik for a work conference staying at quite a fine hotel, the Valamar Lacroma.  In fact, for a swimmer this should be perfect.  They have an unlined, but rectangular 25 meter length indoor pool with depth ranging from 1.2M to 1.35M AND an outdoor pool which appears to have a similar, maybe even longer length.  

I swam 2,000 meters this morning to put the indoor pool as #pool #739 on my #1001pools list.  

So, I should not be miffed at all.  

But, yet I am.  

And I know that makes me entitled and pampered and whiny.  

Why am I, as well as my gym-going fellow conference attendees whining?

Because the entire fitness complex doesn’t open until 7am and the outdoor pool only opens at 8am.  Were we here on vacation, this would still be late, but manageable.   But, with conference activities starting at 8am, it was hard to squeeze in a workout.  

If the pools were lifeguarded or there were “gym safety monitors,” I would understand the need to have operating hours based upon their staffing.  But, they aren’t.  

Ah well. A minor inconvenience and still a far better swim-hotel experience than I would normally get at a work conference.