U predvorju smo saznali da je u cijenu uključeno i noćenje s doručkom, ali se moramo odjaviti do deset.

Because u can take two different cases in Croatian:

• accusative when it means motion into somewhere
• locative when it means being in a place

Here, u predvorju means in the lobby / in the foyer, so it describes location, not movement.

• predvorje = lobby, foyer
• locative singular of predvorje = predvorju

Compare:

• Idemo u predvorje. = We are going into the lobby.
• Čekamo u predvorju. = We are waiting in the lobby.

So in your sentence, u predvorju is locative because the action happened there.

Smo saznali is the past tense.

Croatian past tense is usually made with:

• a present-tense form of biti (sam, si, je, smo, ste, su)
• plus the past participle

Here:

• smo = we are (auxiliary, used to build the past tense)
• saznali = past participle of saznati for a masculine-mixed or all-male plural subject

So:

• smo saznali = we found out / we learned

If the speakers were all female, it would be:

• smo saznale

This is one of the important things English speakers notice in Croatian: past participles agree in gender and number with the subject.

Both are possible in principle, but smo is a clitic, and Croatian clitics usually prefer the second position in the clause.

So:

• U predvorju smo saznali... sounds natural and standard.

The first unit is U predvorju, and then the clitic smo comes right after it.

Croatian clitic placement often feels unusual to English speakers because these little words do not always stay next to the verb the way English auxiliaries do.

A few examples:

• Jučer smo došli.
• U hotelu smo čekali.
• Tada smo saznali istinu.

So smo is not just randomly placed; it follows a common Croatian word-order rule.

Da introduces a subordinate clause, very often corresponding to English that.

So:

• saznali da... = found out that...

Then je is the verb is inside that subordinate clause:

• da je u cijenu uključeno... = that ... is included in the price

So the structure is:

• saznali = we found out
• da = that
• je uključeno = is included

This is a very common Croatian pattern:

• Znam da je ovdje. = I know that he/she is here.
• Rekli su da dolazi. = They said that he/she is coming.
• Saznali smo da je sve spremno. = We found out that everything is ready.

This is a great question because it looks surprising.

The expression uključeno u cijenu or uključeno u cenu/cijenu is idiomatic and often uses the accusative after u in this kind of fixed commercial meaning: included in the price.

So:

• u cijenu uključeno / uključeno u cijenu = included in the price

You may also encounter u cijeni in actual usage, especially in speech or regional variation, but u cijenu is a very common standard expression in this meaning.

Think of it as a set phrase you should learn as a chunk:

• To je uključeno u cijenu. = That is included in the price.

So even though English suggests a simple location idea, Croatian treats this expression idiomatically.

Because uključeno agrees with what is being included, and here the key noun is noćenje.

• noćenje is a neuter singular noun
• therefore the participle/adjective is also neuter singular: uključeno

So:

• noćenje je uključeno = the overnight stay is included

If the noun were masculine, you would get:

• ručak je uključen = lunch is included

If feminine:

• večera je uključena = dinner is included

If plural:

• pića su uključena = drinks are included

In your sentence, the phrase is:

• u cijenu uključeno i noćenje s doručkom

The adjective/participle uključeno matches noćenje.

Not quite.

• noć = night
• noćenje = an overnight stay, lodging for a night, spending the night somewhere

In hotel language, noćenje is very common. It refers to the accommodation for the night, not the time period night in the abstract.

So:

• jedno noćenje = one night’s stay
• dva noćenja = two overnight stays

In your sentence:

• noćenje s doručkom = overnight stay with breakfast

This is similar to hotel English like bed and breakfast included or an overnight stay with breakfast.

S doručkom means with breakfast, and here s(a) means with, so it takes the instrumental case.

• dictionary form: doručak = breakfast
• instrumental singular: doručkom

So:

• s doručkom = with breakfast

Other examples:

• s kavom = with coffee
• s prijateljem = with a friend
• s obitelji = with the family

A pronunciation/spelling note: Croatian writes s before many consonants, but often sa before certain sound combinations for ease of pronunciation:

• s doručkom
• sa sestrom
• sa mnom

So here s doručkom is the normal form.

Here i means also / too.

The idea is:

• we found out that the price also includes an overnight stay with breakfast

So i adds one more item to what is included.

In English, depending on context, you might translate it as:

• also
• too
• sometimes just leave it implicit if English sounds more natural that way

Croatian often places i directly before the word or phrase it emphasizes:

• I Marko dolazi. = Marko is coming too.
• Doći ću i sutra. = I’ll come tomorrow too / also tomorrow.
• Uključeno je i piće. = A drink is also included.

So in your sentence, i highlights that noćenje s doručkom is another thing included in the price.

The verb is odjaviti se, which means to check out / sign off / unregister oneself, depending on context.

In hotel language:

• prijaviti se = to check in
• odjaviti se = to check out

The se is part of this reflexive verb. It does not always translate literally as oneself in English, but it is required in Croatian.

So:

• moramo odjaviti would sound incomplete or wrong in this meaning
• moramo se odjaviti = we have to check out

This is very common with Croatian verbs that are reflexive in form but not translated reflexively in English:

• smijati se = to laugh
• nadati se = to hope
• bojati se = to be afraid
• odjaviti se = to check out

Because odjaviti se is the perfective verb, and here that fits the meaning.

Croatian verbs often come in aspect pairs:

• odjavljivati se = imperfective, focusing on process/habit/repetition
• odjaviti se = perfective, focusing on completing the action

Since checking out is a single completed action that must happen before a deadline, the perfective verb is natural:

• moramo se odjaviti do deset = we have to check out by ten

You would use the imperfective form in contexts like repeated or ongoing action:

• Gosti se odjavljuju na recepciji. = Guests check out at the reception desk.
• Cijelo jutro su se odjavljivali. = They were checking out all morning.

English speakers often need time to get used to aspect, because English does not mark it in the same systematic way.

Moramo is the 1st person plural present tense of morati = must / have to.

Forms of morati:

• moram = I must
• moraš = you must
• mora = he/she/it must
• moramo = we must
• morate = you must (plural/formal)
• moraju = they must

So:

• moramo se odjaviti = we must check out / we have to check out

In many contexts, Croatian morati covers both English must and have to.

Do deset means by ten / until ten.

• do
  • genitive expresses a limit up to a point in time
• deset here functions as ten o’clock

So:

• moramo se odjaviti do deset = we have to check out by ten

Compare:

• u deset = at ten
• do deset = by ten / before ten / no later than ten

Examples:

• Vraćam se u deset. = I’m coming back at ten.
• Moram završiti do deset. = I have to finish by ten.

So do deset gives a deadline, not the exact time of the action.

Croatian often leaves out sati when the meaning is obvious.

So both of these are possible:

• do deset
• do deset sati

Both mean by ten o’clock.

The shorter version is very common in everyday speech. Croatian frequently omits words that are understood from context, especially with time expressions.

Examples:

• Vidimo se u pet. = See you at five.
• Radimo do tri. = We work until three.
• Moramo otići do deset. = We have to leave by ten.

So do deset is perfectly natural and does not sound incomplete.

Again, this is about Croatian clitic placement.

The word se is a clitic, and clitics tend to come in the second position of the clause or clause-like unit.

So after ali + the rest of the clause, the natural order is:

• ali se moramo odjaviti...

This may feel strange to an English speaker because English would keep must and the reflexive element together differently.

A useful thing to remember is that Croatian clitics such as se, sam, si, je, smo, su, ga, mu, etc. often cluster near the beginning of the clause.

So:

• Ali se moramo odjaviti do deset. = natural
• Ali moramo se odjaviti do deset. = much less natural in standard word order

This is one of the most important syntax patterns for learners to get used to.