Hotel Vestibul Palace, a member of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World

Hotel Vestibul Palace, a member of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World

Hotel Vestibul Palace, a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, occupies a spot most hotels only photograph from outside: inside the walls of Diocletian's Palace, between what were once the emperor's private chambers and the Peristil, the square once reserved only for gods. It was formed by merging three palaces built in three different eras, Romanic, Gothic and Renaissance, together with wall elements of Diocletian's own palace and niches dating from Roman times, so guests walk past actual imperial stonework rather than a themed reproduction. That is the one thing here no other hotel in Split can copy. The scale stays deliberately small: eleven rooms across two floors, sizes running from a 23.2 square metre Standard to a 52 square metre Luxury Suite that sleeps three, every category fitted with a full double bed rather than twins, so anyone travelling with children who need separate beds should look elsewhere in the city. There is no pool on site; a beach shuttle covers Bacvice and Ovcice beaches and the marina instead. Restaurant Magnus, named for the man who once led Split's exiled residents home after the fall of Salona, works organic Dalmatian produce into a modern menu backed by a wine list of native varieties. Staff cover English, German and Italian and will arrange a car, a bike, or an airport transfer without fuss. A bridal suite and soundproofed rooms suggest a hotel as comfortable hosting a small wedding as a quiet week of sightseeing. Anyone chasing resort scale should book elsewhere; anyone wanting to fall asleep inside the story of Split should not look past this one. Eleven rooms built into the actual walls of Diocletian's Palace, between the emperor's old chambers and the Peristil square. No pool, no resort scale, just Restaurant Magnus's Dalmatian cooking and a bridal suite for those celebrating something small in a very large piece of history.