June 10th 2008
I don’t know about you but I rely a lot more on pictures than I do on prose when choosing a hotel. One person’s “modern” is another person”s “bland”. The hotel I find quaint you might find old-fashioned. Maybe because of the internet, I would find it nearly unthinkable to book a hotel now without examining a series of pictures.
January 31st 2008
As a five-star hotel in Dubrovnik, the Hotel Excelsior always had a lot going for it, not the least of which was its excellent Rustica restaurant. Alas, the Rustica is falling victim to the total overhaul of the Hotel Excelsior. The renowned restaurant will become a luxury villa rented to the biggest of the big spenders and the rest of the Hotel Excelsior will also be upgraded to suit the most exacting of standards. Need space? You’ll have plenty of it when the facelift is completed (in late Spring). The 108 rooms will be consolidated into only 95, with the largest rooms on the 5th and 6th floors. Also overhauled will be the swimming pool, spa and wellness area. We can’t wait until the grand opening in late May.
December 7th 2007
The famed rapper’s concert in Zagreb took place on December 3 but the buzz lingers on. First there were his extravagant (OK, not by star standards) list of “requests” for the Hotel Antunovic (as reported by Javno.com): Norwegian salmon, Russian caviar, 50-vitamin mineral water, soy milk in six flavors with only 1.8% fat. I’m thinking ‘What a healthy guy!’ And everything has to be recyclable. And so ecologically-correct! But then there’s the obligatory Dom Perignon and Hennessey. Uh-oh. Maybe, just to please the entourage?
December 5th 2007
Croatia seems to be moving in two directions at once. Ecotourism is the new direction, said National Tourist Board director, Nico Bulic. Tell that to the ever-expanding girth (and price) of Croatia hotels, many of which are adding vast spas and wellness centres. Spa resort hotels are all the rage now as Croatia aims to expand the tourist season into and through the winter. The Grand Hotel Adriatic in Opatija is the most recent addition to an impressive line-up of wellness centres that includes the Dubrovnik Palace and Le Meridien Lav near Split.
November 12th 2007
Now that visitors have returned home, it’s facelift time for Croatia’s hotels. Renovations, reconstructions, additions and improvements are underway in time for the 2008 season. Here’s the rundown: Continue Reading »
November 12th 2007
The invisible force field that draws the sleek & chic to Hvar Town, has left the rest of Hvar Island in delightful semi-obscurity. A recent article in the Toronto Star discusses the village of Humac on Hvar Island, reached by a scary mountain road weaving precariously over the cliffs. Fortunately, the article inaccurately describes this road as “the main thoroughfare on this 68-kilometre-long island”. No. The main thoroughfare is a modern, inland road that connects Hvar Town, Stari Grad and Jelsa. I suppose that if you’re living in Humac though, that mountain road counts as a thoroughfare.
August 21st 2007
It took a while but Split finally has a brand-new five-star hotel only steps from the celebrated “Diocletian’s Palace” and Split’s historical town centre. For years Split has suffered from a shortage of decent accommodation, let alone luxury accommodation but that era is past. The Hotel Atrium is primarily designed for business travellers (FREE wireless access from every room!) but leisure travellers will also find a lot to love. Such as, the indoor swimming pool, wellness centre, jacuzzi, sauna, on-site restaurant and its excellent location. The hotel is so comfy it just might encourage you to stick around Split for a while before running off to the islands. Find out more about Split accommodation.
May 31st 2007
June 6 will see the opening of a fabulous new hotel on super-trendy Hvar Island. Actually, the Hotel Adriana is not a new construction but a totally overhauled, updated, re-designed version of the former Hotel Adriatica. The venerable old Hotel Adriatica was built sometime in the 60s I believe, when Yugoslavia was still catering to mass tourism. I stayed there once about 10 years ago and was definitely unimpressed. Still, it was the only hotel in Hvar with a view of the old town from across the water. That’s probably what inspired the Orca group to undertake the rebuilding project. The result should be awesome. The indoor rooftop swimming pool has a unique canopy top that allows it to be both indoor and outdoor, if you will. There’s and enormous spa and wellness centre plus the usual acoutrements that go along with a top-class luxury hotel. The opening should be quite an event in Hvar. Read more about the Hotel Adriana. Find out more about Hvar accommodation.
April 23rd 2007
The Sunday New York Times has run another article extolling the virtues of Zagreb. Here’s what they say: Continue Reading »
February 15th 2007
The 220 million euro development will be the largest wellness center in Croatia when finished. The Austrian Falkensteiner group is financing the construction of a 460,000 sq metre complex in Punta Skala, near Zadar, that will contain one five-star hotel with 210 rooms and suites and one four-star hotel with 252 suites not to mention pools and saunas in each. Nearby will be 28 Dalmatian-style villas. Plus there will be a marina and a golf course. WOW. The first phase will be completed in 2008. No word yet on when it will all be done.
