:: Croatia Blog ::

Another luxury hotel was opened in June on the central Dalmatian island of Hvar, known as one of the sunniest Croatian islands, with an offer based on a rich spa offer.

The Adriana Hvar marina hotel & spa, as the hotel’s full name reads, is situated on the very Hvar waterfront and offers a view of the best known Hvar localities – the Cathedral of St. Stephen, the Arsenal, the main square and Hvar harbour. This is actually a newly-renovated facility operating within the Suncani Hvar hotel company, and which offers its guests accommodation in 50 deluxe rooms, nine classic suites and several spa-specific suites.

The hotel has received a high four-star rating, and along with the classic amenities it also offers a range of attractive additional facilities like a covered heated pool with seawater in which guests will be able to swim yearround. A restaurant has been opened on the hotel terrace, a classic bar and an attractive The Top sky garden bar whose luxurious design and unique setting will certainly become another favourite gathering place for the people of Hvar and their guests.

But the most attractive part of the offer is the new Sensori spa centre that offers numerous therapeutic and beauty treatments, massages and many spa programs like yoga and relaxing excursions into the outdoors. The centre stretches over three storeys with about 1,400 square metres housing all of the indoor and outdoor amenities.

The hotel offer is therefore for the large part based on the concept of wellness and spa, and that this is really a top level of quality is attested to by the fact that the Adriana, Hvar marina hotel & spa recently became a full member of the prestigious global group – The Leading Small Hotels of the World.

Source: ?Croatia Tourist Board?

In Dubrovnik the new Rixos Libertas hotel will open its doors bythe end of the year featuring 315 luxurious rooms and suites. Itwas built at the site of the former Libertas congress hotel. The hotel, which is a mere 15 minute stroll from the old Dubrovnik historic core, has an interior floor space of 45 thousand square metres and offers a stunning view of the sea. Besides luxuriously appointed rooms, a congress centre has been built in the hotel withnine halls and a total capacity of 1,200, while a wellness and spa centre stretches across two floors of the hotel. A casino, night bar, two kindergartens and shops will operate in the hotel, and guestswill also have five bars and three restaurants at their disposal. This new Dubrovnik hotel is a part of the Rixos hotel group thatpools eight hotels with six thousand beds in four countries.

Source: ?Croatia Tourist Board?

Britain‘s Guardian recently proclaimed Zadar the world cool destination.

In the report the Guardian ran on its pages says that Zadar is a favoured tourist destination with a rich history, easily reached by land, air or sea. They made special mention of the Ryanair flights out of London as a way to get to Zadar. On the tourist rout of the town they point out the church of St. Donat as a not-to-be-missed spot, where the Zadar Evenings of Music are staged, the Sea Organ, the only one of their kind in the world and a stroll and coffee on the Kalelargo. The report also says that Zadar has of recently been promoted as the gateway to four national parks – Kornati, Paklenica, Krka and the Plitvice Lakes. Besides numerous cultural events and top-notch accommodation in hotels and other tourism facilities and a thriving nightlife, the Guardian makes special mention of the natural beauty of the Zadar archipelago. They are the reason the magazine highly recommends a visit to the Kornati islands; while for history buffs it recommends a tour of nearby Nin and a visit to the smallest cathedral in the world. And everyone will have their share of good fortune if they just touch the big toe of the bronze statue of Grgur Ninski (Gregory of Nin).

Source: ?Croatia Tourist Board?

Besides being a favoured spot for sailors, the island of Lastovo has also become a new destination for mini cruisers. The island issituated to the south of the island of Korcula in Dubrovnik-Neretva County and is on account of its luxuriant vegetation numbered among the most wooded islands on the Croatian coast. Because of its rich landscape and culture and biological diversity the Lastovo archipelago, which included 46 islands and rocks was last year proclaimed the 11th nature park in Croatia.

And while the oldest existing written documents concerning Lastovo date to the 6th century, traces of human presence date back to the Stone Age. There are currently as many as 46 chapels on the island, dominant among which are the late Medieval chapels of St. Martin, St. Anthony and St. Blasius and the parish church of SS. Cosma and Damian dating from the year 1473.

Because of its projected position in the Adriatic Sea, traditional Mediterranean architecture and the wealth of its flora and fauna, both of the islands and of the surrounding waters, the Lastovo archipelago is the ideal place to offer all kinds of submarine sports and the various attractions that are offered in the setting of a nature park.

Source: ?Croatia Tourist Board?

The August issue of the well-known US tourism magazine Travel + Leisure, the magazine‘s faithful readers declared Croatia and it Dalmatian islands among the most beautiful tourist destinations in the world in 2007.

According to the votes cast by readers Croatia took second spot in the Mediterranean in the category of this year‘s most beautiful global destinations, and seventh spot worldwide.

The Dalmatian islands faced the competition of world famous destinations like Bali, Phuket in Thailand, Hawaii, Maui and others.

The magazine is a monthly with a circulation of about 2.5 million copies. Every year the editors select finalists among hundreds of nominated global tourism destinations, and the readers vote for the best among them.

In the selection of the best numerous criteria are taken into consideration like the ecology, cultural heritage and other specific attractions.

Source: ?Croatia Tourist Board?

The Villa Elite which operates as part of the Dubrovnik hotel complex “Importanne Resort” is so far the most expensive tourist facility in Dubrovnik, whose price reaches twelve thousand Euros a night. To date the title of the most expensive accommodation was held by the Villa Šeherezada at half the price and owned by the Lukšic Group.

The villa is located in the beautiful surroundings of the Lapad peninsula and was built in 1931 from the same stone from which the villas of the Dubrovnik aristocracy were built in the XIII and XV centuries. It has two suites and four rooms and can accommodate only 12 guests, and as part of the villa there is a dinning room, a la carte restaurant, garden with beautiful fountain and marble terrace offering a spectacular view of the sea, an indoor pool, sauna, wine collection and of course a beach in front of the villa. Aside from the superbly decorated interior, refined with art works of great Croatian artists and professional staff who are solely at the disposal of the guests of the villa, they will also have at their disposal an expensive fleet of vehicles with a Jaguar, Bentley and BMW, and a speed boat for sailing needs. Although the Villa Elite has only recently been opened and will be available to guests as of next year, from the hotel complex “Importanne Resort” we are told that there is already great interest on the market.

Aside from the Villa Elite the hotels Neptun, Ariston and Importanne Suites also operate as part of the Importanne Resorts and all are five star facilities.

Source: ?Croatia Tourist Board?

Like many European cities, Dubrovnik this year has gained two open-air buses intended for tourist sightseeing of the city, and one of the main tasks of the bus is not only driving of tourists but awakening memories of the Dubrovnik tram which once long ago used to travel along the city streets.

The appearance, colours and recognisable bell of the bus already now irresistibly remind one of the tram which travelled along the Dubrovnik streets from 1910 to 1970.

After a few days driving in regular city transport, the open-air bus has completely reverted to driving along the outlined tourist route. Tourists will therefore be able to traverse the areas of the city from Pila to Babin Kuk by bus, and the bus also drives to two belvederes – the bridge of Dr. Franjo Tudman and one with a view of the city centre.

Modern technology has made it possible for a system of expert audio guide to be built into the open-air bus with whose help tourists during the tour which lasts about an hour and a half will be able to hear the “story about Dubrovnik” in ten world languages.

Source: ?Croatia Tourist Board?

Known for its quality tourist activities and facilities, cultural events and attractive manifestations, Zadar is a must see locality on the tourist map of Croatia. It is sufficient only to mention the sea pipe organ constructed on the Zadar waterfront, which with the harmony of sea and sounds additionally attracts visitors and it is the only one of its kind in the world. One would do well to also mention the Musical evenings in St. Donat, the Zadar theatrical summer, Festival of contemporary music and Nights of the full moon when the Zadar waterfront has its lights turned off to bask in the full glow of the full moon and life returns to a time long ago. This festival of culture and traditions of the Zadar region attracts tens of thousands of tourists, who along with traditional music and dance can also enjoy the flavours and scents of rich cuisine of the Zadar region and other parts of Croatia. Many tourists will also remember this year’s stay in Zadar because of the spectacular manifestation the “Millennium Jump” in which a total of 1503 people dove head first from the Zadar waterfront into the sea for a Guinness record of the most massive jump of its kind. Aside from the promotional, entertainment and tourist characteristics, in the realisation of the whole project, which was organised by the Tourist Board of the City of Zadar, special emphasis was place on ecology and protection of the sea from dangerous algae, and for the millennium photograph of the well known Croatian photographer Šime Strikoman on this occasion on the pebbly part of the waterfront a sign stating “Zadar – Croatia Millennium Jump” using human bodies was also organised. The entire spectacle was followed by numerous television stations from Croatia and abroad, with VOX and RTL sending live pictures around the world from the Zadar waterfront filled with people diving into the clean sea.

Source: ?Croatia Tourist Board?

The unique gastronomic manifestation “Nin šokoladija” in whose final stages once annually tourists of the ancient town of Nin may enjoy, has a significantly greater effect than organising an attractive tourist event. The entire project was initiated five years ago by the Tourist Board of the City of Nin to promote the organised production of Šokol (an traditional smoked and cured meat) and through the hospitality offer promote the autochthonous values of their own region. Šokol is an original smoked and cured meat product which has been linked for centuries to the Nin area and is produced according to an traditional and well kept original recipe in the north-western part of the Zadar County. It is made from fresh pork neck from home reared pigs in a procedure similar to the production of pršut (smoked ham) – three to seven days it sits in clean sea water, then it is placed into cooked red wine and is then covered with a number of different spices (pepper, cloves, nutmeg) which is then “pushed” into the meat. It is tied with string in a special way, then after a few days it is smoke cured, an then place in the bura (special type of wind), which according to the inhabitants of the Nin region is the most important part of the curing of Šokol.

Namely, the unique microclimate which in itself joins together the bura wind brought from the sea and mountain air enriched with the scents and ingredients of medicinal herbs from Velebit affect the curing process and quality of the Nin Šokol.

The production of Šokol has many hundreds of years history and is part of the family gastronomic tradition of the Nin region in which once livestock breeding and in its making even the youngest generations took part. Given that it was produced in very small quantities it was once served only to selected guests, and even today it is offered as a special delicacy. According to maintained tradition Šokol is eaten on the occasion of celebrating the apparition of Our Lady of Zecevo in 1516, where every year on the 5th of May and the 5th of August the faithful make pilgrimages by boat and on foot to the Island of Zecevo and after the holy mass traditional feast on Šokol. By stimulating its organised production for which the local inhabitants of the Nin region are showing increased interest, is a guarantee that in the future an increasing number of tourists will be able to enjoy in the flavours and scents of this original delicacy.

Source: ?Croatia Tourist Board?

A brochure and a film on Marco Polo were launched by the Croatian Tourist Board (HTZ) in Korcula on Tuesday as part of events marking the anniversary of the naval battle near the island of Korcula on September 7, 1298, between the strongest naval forces of that time, Venice and Genova, during which Marco Polo was taken prisoner.

Speaking about the film and the brochure, entitled “Croatia - The Homeland of Marco Polo”, HTZ director Niko Bulic said they were based on scientific research and would confirm the fact that Marco Polo was a great 13th century seaman and explorer of the Far East, born on Korcula, which made Croatia too his homeland.

The brochure was written in Croatian, English, Chinese and Japanese and the 16-minute film was made in Croatian, English, Japanese, Chinese, Russian and Spanish.

Source: MMTPR