Best little hotels/hideaways in Slovenia?

Rogla treetop walk https://treetop-walks.com/pohorje/en/

Maribor with glamping spot https://chocolatevillage.eu/
... and enjoying restaurant MAK https://www.restavracija-mak.si/

In Rôcicz, to the north-east of Maribor, close to the Austrian border, vineyards stretch across the rolling countryside. At Mulec, a family-run business that produces wine and operates a small campsite, you can hire an electric mountain bike and get a bespoke cycling route to explore the region’s natural beauty. If you wish, you can sample their white wine and sparkling wine afterwards, accompanied by homemade cold cuts and spreads.
https://www.mulec.si/

In Sveti Jurij ob Ščavnici, the Kócbeck family has been in the business since 1929 and, in addition to various types of oil, also produces pesto and sun-dried tomatoes with pumpkin seed oil. For the chocolate, salami, honey, gin and ice cream in their shop, they collaborate with other suppliers. During a guided tour, you’ll learn all about how they work and get to sample their products, so you’re sure to want to buy more than one item. You can stay in their appartments.

https://kocbek.si/en/

And why not stay with farmer Bojan in Cerkvenjak at his Firbas farm? As well as a comfortable room, you can stay in a wooden cabin with an outdoor shower or in the charming hayloft above the stables. Great fun with (older) children, as you can relax in the hammock, peek through a glass window at the animals below you and roll around in the hay. As well as growing fresh vegetables, he also produces his own wine, pear juice, liqueur, salami and bacon. And at breakfast, he’ll fry eggs for you himself.
https://firbas.com/
https://maps.app.goo.gl/CcgkEZ3af63J1dxK8

If you haven't been to the Logar Valley, it is gorgeous and a great place to spend 4 nights. You would need a car. Tourist Farm Lennar would fit the bill as "not uber-luxury, but really comfortable, clean, friendly, atmospheric, with the ability to have great food."

This website on the Solčava Panoramic Road gives much info on the area: https://www.logarska-solcavsko.si/en/

Piran is great for a seaside experience. I loved Memento B&B -- a cozy small hotel off the main square of the town. Visit Nika's Tiny House for amazing art made from driftwood that can make a quite unique souvenir (https://nikastinyhouse.si/). Take a ride along the coast with Saša in his restored classic Citroën Dyane (https://www.laganini.si/).

Škocjan Caves -- strongly preferred by Slovenians over Postonja Cave -- much more in the direction of nature than tourist site with an astounding Lord-of-the-Rings-caliber cavern that made me want to grab a staff, slam it into the ground, and shout "You shall not pass!" in my very best Gandalf voice.

I enthusiastically second Dave's recommendation of the Logar Valley and Tourist Farm Lenar. The Logar Valley is full of nature activities and stunning scenery, but not full of tourists.

We stayed at Tourist Farm Lenar in 2024 for three nights and I did not want to leave. I suggest requesting a room with a mountain view. We ate several times at the Pension at the foot of their road - it was also not fancy, but good food, a deck with that mountain view, and inexpensive wine and beer.

After a hike, you can go to Tourist Farm Matk (up a winding road) for their incredible goat milk ice cream.

There are pictures and details in the middle of Cameron's blog post Month: January 2025.

I can recommend Guest House Vračko in Zgornja Kungota, close to Maribor very near the Austrian border. The guest house is newly redone, very modern and comfortable, the larger rooms being the most luxurious, and the price is very reasonable. It is woman-owned and run, very friendly, a delicious breakfast is included, and dinner is available in the beautiful dining room or on the patio, all very reasonably priced. They offer the wines made next door at the owner's brother's winery.

You can walk out of your room and directly onto a wine road hiking trail that takes you into Austria, through vineyards, tidy barnyards and woods, past wineries, all with wonderful scenery. You can stop for refreshment at several wineries. "The view" of the heart-shaped road is on this trail. The winery there charges 5€ for access to the view, applicable toward food or wine. Our first visit there we didn't bite, figuring we could go down and walk it and "see" it. Nope. Pay the 5€. It's actually rather confounding.

This trek takes all day with the diversions, and can be a little tricky, but with a printed trail map, a GPS map and charming (!) signage, it's fun and manageable. I will say that when we were there in early June the skies were not a clear as our visit in September, but you can't control the weather.

On our second visit, we used the guest house as a base for visiting Ptui and the wine and pumpkin seed country in Eastern Slovenia. Definitely visit Kócbek Oil Mill. It was recommended to us by the ladies at Vračko as the best, and we showed up without an appointment. With an appointment we could have had a tour of the mill, but even without it was a wonderful visit with all kinds of tasting, including an amazing pumpkin seed roll. The owners are absolutely lovely.

We had a delightful day in Ptui, visiting the castle and museums, especially seeing the Kurent costumes. The highlight for us, though, was the two weddings in the old town, where the festivities and music and in one case wine were shared with passers-by. We ended up later relaxing at a cafe with one of the wedding bands and a woman with her daughter. The band played "Na Golici" (Avseniks' famous song) for me (quite a compliment) and we had a great chat. Slovenians like Americans and are very congenial. The woman and I still text one another.

If the area around Novo Mesto appeals to you as a base, Domačia Šeruga is definitely a sweet little hideaway. Oh my goodness, the food. An amazing breakfast with the best homemade croissants I've had outside of France. And amazing farm-to-table dinners.

One last recommendation: for Maravida Vacation Rooms in Dobrovo, in the wine and food region on Goriška Brda. Young Jakob presides over new and modern guest rooms, and does everything in his power to make sure your stay in his home is a gastronomic success. He laid out the most incredible fresh breakfast I have ever seen: croissants, fresh fruit (and it was cherry season!), cheeses, meats, mozzarella and tomatoes, yogurt, granola, and then Jakob whipped up a traditional frtalja for us. All served on the patio overlooking the hills. We could hardly do it justice after the amazing dinners he recommended. Definitely get a table at Marica and have Nona's menu. Really elevated home cooking. It might have been our best meal in Slovenia. Nearby Belvin restaurant in Medana is also to die for, and the view is gorgeous. Note that "Jakot" is "Tokaj" spelled backwards. All the wine is fabulous.

I spent a wonderfully laid-back 6 nights at the Panorama B&B in Ptuj in June 2023. The rooms are basic (and some have simple cooking facilities) but the atmosphere made it unforgettable. The host family is incredibly kind and helpful (and they speak so many languages!). The breakfast was full of local and homemade products. The property is surrounded by a large garden with room enough for all the guest to spread out at tables or benches/loungers. The B&B is on the other side of the archaeological park from Ptuj, giving you a beautiful view from the garden and it's an easy stroll into town.

I loved that I was the only English-speaking tourist there and was surrounded by mostly Czech and Slovak visitors at the start of family summer holidays. Several extended families were there during my stay and they celebrated birthdays together in the garden, complete with cake, and it was just a great atmosphere.

In addition to exploring the old centre of Ptuj, it was a great location to visit Maribor from and to go into the Jeruzalem wine region (I did a hike but it's very popular with cyclists). The Ptuj therme is also fun for a day amongst the locals.