Dok čekamo u predvorju hotela, recepcionarka nam preporučuje mali kafić pokraj recepcije.

Dok here means while.

It introduces a time clause:

• Dok čekamo... = While we are waiting...

In Croatian, dok is very commonly used for two actions happening at the same time:

• Dok učim, slušam glazbu. = While I study, I listen to music.
• Dok hodamo, razgovaramo. = While we walk, we talk.

So in your sentence, Dok čekamo u predvorju hotela... sets the background action, and the main clause is what happens during that time.

Čekamo means we wait or we are waiting.

It comes from the verb čekati = to wait.

The ending -amo shows:

• 1st person plural
• so: we

A quick breakdown:

• čekam = I wait
• čekaš = you wait
• čeka = he/she waits
• čekamo = we wait
• čekate = you plural/formal wait
• čekaju = they wait

In this sentence, English naturally uses the progressive:

• While we are waiting...

But Croatian often uses the simple present where English would prefer am/is/are + -ing.

Because u can take different cases depending on meaning.

Here, u predvorju means in the lobby, describing location, not movement.
When u expresses location, it takes the locative case.

So:

• predvorje = lobby
• u predvorju = in the lobby

Compare:

• u predvorju = in the lobby, inside it
• u predvorje = into the lobby, movement toward it

So the sentence uses u predvorju because the people are already there, waiting.

Hotela is the genitive singular of hotel.

Here it means:

• predvorje hotela = the hotel lobby
  literally: the lobby of the hotel

This is a very common Croatian structure:

• vrata kuće = the door of the house
• prozor auta = the window of the car
• predvorje hotela = the lobby of the hotel

So hotela is not there because of u. It depends on predvorje and shows possession or close association.

Recepcionarka is the subject of the main clause, so it is in the nominative singular.

The main clause is:

• recepcionarka nam preporučuje mali kafić pokraj recepcije

So:

• recepcionarka = the receptionist
• nominative is used for the person doing the action

She is the one recommending something.

If her role were different, the form could change:

• Vidim recepcionarku. = I see the receptionist.
  Here it becomes recepcionarku because it is the direct object.

Nam means to us.

It is the dative form of the pronoun mi = we/us.

In this sentence:

• recepcionarka nam preporučuje...
• literally: the receptionist recommends to us...
• natural English: the receptionist recommends ... to us or simply recommends us ... is less natural in English, so recommends a small café to us is best

This is because the verb preporučiti / preporučivati often works with:

• the thing recommended in the accusative
• the person receiving the recommendation in the dative

So:

• nam = to us
• mali kafić = the thing being recommended

Preporučuje is the 3rd person singular present tense of the imperfective verb preporučivati.

So:

• preporučuje = he/she recommends / is recommending

Why imperfective here? Because Croatian often uses an imperfective present to describe an action in progress or as part of a scene.

In context:

• Dok čekamo..., recepcionarka nam preporučuje...
• While we are waiting..., the receptionist is recommending...

Even though English often uses is recommending, Croatian simply uses the present form.

Also compare:

• preporučiti = perfective, to recommend as a completed act
• preporučivati = imperfective, recommending / used to recommend / recommends

In a live scene like this, preporučuje sounds natural.

Because mali kafić is the direct object, and kafić is a masculine inanimate noun.

The verb preporučuje recommends what?

• mali kafić

That means the phrase is in the accusative case.

For masculine inanimate nouns, the accusative singular is the same as the nominative singular:

• kafić nominative
• kafić accusative

So:

• mali kafić can be nominative or accusative

Compare with a masculine animate noun:

• vidim malog psa = I see a small dog
  because animate masculine nouns usually have accusative = genitive

But with kafić, which is inanimate:

• vidim mali kafić

That is why the form stays mali kafić.

Kafić usually means a small café, coffee bar, or casual café-type place.

It often suggests something informal:

• a place to sit, drink coffee, maybe have a beer or soft drink

A few related words:

• kafić = café, coffee bar, small bar-like café
• kavana = café in a somewhat more traditional or formal sense
• kava = coffee

So mali kafić is a very natural phrase for a small café.

Pokraj means beside, next to, or by.

It takes the genitive case, so:

• recepcija = reception desk / reception area
• recepcije = genitive singular

Therefore:

• pokraj recepcije = beside the reception desk / next to reception

Other prepositions that often take the genitive include:

• bez = without
• blizu = near
• iz = out of, from
• kod = at, by, near someone's place
• pokraj = beside

So this is a normal preposition + genitive combination.

They refer to related but different parts of the hotel.

• predvorje hotela = the hotel lobby
• recepcija = the reception desk/area

So the sentence means something like:

• while we are waiting in the hotel lobby,
• the receptionist recommends a small café
• that is next to the reception area

So predvorje is the larger space, and recepcija is the specific service desk or area inside it.

Because Dok čekamo u predvorju hotela is a subordinate clause placed before the main clause.

Croatian normally separates that kind of clause with a comma:

• Dok čekamo u predvorju hotela, recepcionarka nam preporučuje...

This is very similar to English:

• While we are waiting in the hotel lobby, the receptionist recommends...

So the comma marks the boundary between:

1. the time clause
2. the main clause

Yes. Croatian word order is fairly flexible, although some orders sound more natural than others.

The original sentence is natural and neutral:

• Dok čekamo u predvorju hotela, recepcionarka nam preporučuje mali kafić pokraj recepcije.

But other versions are possible, depending on emphasis:

• Dok čekamo u predvorju hotela, nam recepcionarka preporučuje mali kafić pokraj recepcije.
  This sounds less natural because clitics like nam usually want a special position near the beginning of the clause.
• Dok čekamo u predvorju hotela, recepcionarka preporučuje nam mali kafić pokraj recepcije.
  Possible, but less standard in feel.
• Recepcionarka nam, dok čekamo u predvorju hotela, preporučuje mali kafić pokraj recepcije.
  Grammatical, but more marked.

A useful thing to know is that short pronouns like nam are clitics, and Croatian tends to place them early in the clause. That is why recepcionarka nam preporučuje sounds very natural.

Not quite in natural English.

Croatian allows:

• preporučuje nam mali kafić
• literally something like recommends to us a small café

In idiomatic English, the best translation is:

• the receptionist recommends a small café to us or more naturally:
• the receptionist recommends a small café

English often leaves out to us if it is clear from context, but Croatian includes nam very naturally.

So when reading Croatian, it helps not to translate word-for-word too rigidly. The structure is:

• subject: recepcionarka
• indirect object in dative: nam
• direct object in accusative: mali kafić