Rovinj has a new wellness centre as of the start of September, opened in the Maistra Company’s Hotel Istra. The centre stretches over about 1350 square metres indoors and about 250 square metres of Mediterranean garden. What makes it more appealing than all other wellness centres in Croatia and around the world is the fact that it is situated on an island that does not have many other facilities, which is why it has been dubbed Wellness Island. The island of Crveni otok, on which the hotel is situated, is situated only fifteen minutes by boat from Rovinj, which makes it especially attractive for all those visitors looking to get some real rest in peace and quiet.

The wellness centre itself is outfitted in the typical Mediterranean style. Comfortable relax rooms, swimming pools, various kinds of saunas, aromatherapy programs, athletic and relax massages and numerous other treatments are a part of the exceptional wellness experience offered on the island of Crveni otok.

The employees of the centre and of the Hotel Istra have created a range of attractive programs like the Get to know Wellness Island complete relax program, the Queen of the Island weight loss program, the Sweet Island slim program with anticellulite treatment based on chocolate and algae for weight loss, the Manager De-Stress program, Teen’s wellness, mini-packages for men and women and much more.

Thanks to investments of over 21 million euros the Hotel Istra has been awarded a four-star rating. The Hotel Eden in Rovinj has also been raised to the same category following investments to the tune of 7.2 million euros, and both hotels have because of the exceptional quality of services and facilities they offer become new members of an esteemed international association, the Special Hotels of the World. The leaders of this association have recognised in the Eden and Istra hotels the kind of outstanding quality that sets them apart from the competition, and these are precisely the criteria that meet the stringent demands of this global association.

source: Croatian National Tourist Board at www.croatia.hr

Resources

• Maistra Hotel Company

Natural beauty is drawing more and more admirers to the settlement of Trsce, located in the Čabar countryside in the northern part of the Gorski kotar highlands and right off the border with neighbouring Slovenia. It is a region that has left a lasting impression on all those who have already visited it and it offers an opportunity for a quality vacation for all those who intend to come, especially those who would like to spent a weekend at least surrounded by almost untouched nature, sightseeing and enjoying the cultural heritage of this peaceful landscape.

Trsce and its environs offer numerous trails for a comfortable walk or bike ride, while in the surrounding woods everyone can pick the fruits of nature, hike, rest or enjoy the recreation of a school in and about nature. Trsce also boasts a large sports hall and four tennis courts while guests can also try their hand at rafting. The only drawback of this gentle countryside so far is the lack of accommodation facilities; a problem that it appears will soon be at least partly alleviated. A new three-star category accommodation facility was opened recently in the centre of the settlement offering eight suites and a total of 30 beds.

Also on offer is a restaurant with local cuisine, a pizzeria and a café bar that seats about 60. This facility will greatly improve the tourist offer of the Trsce area that has, on account of the proximity of the sea and ski resorts, already been picked out as a popular and attractive destination. With the growing number of tourists it was felt that there was a need to further develop the area and to evaluate the existing resources.

Every season is, namely, special in Trsce – there is no oppressive heat in the summer, the spring and autumn are abundant with the fruits of nature, and when snow covers the entire countryside in winter, guests can enjoy themselves in the nearby Rudnik ski centre.

source: Croatian National Tourist Board at www.croatia.hr

Resources

• Municipality of Cabar Tourist Board

Dubrovnik will in January of next year get another highquality accommodation facility at the level of the already wellestablished Villa Seherezada. This is the word from the Hotel Neptun, a company that is, as of recently, sporting a new name, the Importanne Resort, and besides the Villa Elite a series of other ambitious plans are in the works for the coming months. With their help the entire Lapad Bay in which this complex is located will get a new image and a significantly higher level of quality.

The Villa Elita as the most luxurious facility in the company will have only two suites and four rooms but will offer a high quality of service making it appealing to elite tourists.

Other planned works are to be launched in this year – the building currently housing the Hotel Neptun’s reception will be renovated and the new Hotel Ariston will be opened there offering a total of about a hundred accommodation units. The completion of the Hotel Ariston is expected for the next peak tourist season and it will be known then whether it will operate at first as a four-star facility or whether it will open with a five-star rating, this depending on the intensity of construction work and the investments in the hotel facilities.

The Hotel Neptun, i.e. now the Importanne Resort was last year almost entirely renovated, and tourists are now offered an abundance of sports, entertainment and congress facilities within the complex. When construction is completed the Hotel Ariston complex will get not only a new image, but also new facilities that will significantly upgrade its offer.

The hotel will, namely, be connected to the main building in the complex, while the connection with the restaurant located in a separate building will be secured with the construction of an elevator.

source: Croatian National Tourist Board at www.croatia.hr

Resources

• Directory: Dubrovnik » Hotels
• Hotel Importanne Resort

For the second year in a row the Hotel Dubrovnik Palace is the recipient of two top awards: for best hotel in Croatia and for best SPA resort in Croatia. The recognition came at the prestigious awards ceremony of the “world tourist Oscar” - the World Travel Awards 2006.The Hotel Dubrovnik Palace is also the first Croatian hotel to be this year nominated in the category for best resort hotel in Europe among stiff competition from 19 luxurious hotels in Spain, Italy, France, Greece and other countries. The nomination of the Hotel Dubrovnik Palace in a European category is in itself an exceptional recognition from the global tourist experts who operate in the frame of the World Travel Awards.

The thirteenth gala awards ceremony for achievements in the travel and tourist industry, the World Travel Awards 2006, was held in the luxurious Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort & SPA hotel on the Turks & Caicos islands located southeast of Miami.

The tourist industry’s World Travel Awards was established in 1993 with the aim of paying tribute and granting recognition for achievements in all segments of the global tourist sector. After more than a decade of the award’s existence, tourist professionals and their clients today consider it to be the best recommendation any tourist product could have.

Voting kicked off on April 18th of 2006 and the decision on the best in each of the categories was made by over 150,000 travel agents, tour operators and buyers from around the world.

source: Croatian National Tourist Board at www.croatia.hr

Resources

• Hotel Dubrovnik Palace

The Le Meridien Grand Hotel Lav will this autumn finally open its doors to its guests. This is a large hotel complex, formerly the Hotel Lav, situated in the settlement of Podstrana, not far from Split, that has been completely renovated and will in the future operate as a part of the globally-known Le Meridien chain of hotels.

The hotel bears a five-star standard with some 65 million euros invested in its renovation and expansion. The hotel will be position on the market as a high-quality facility with numerous attractions and will as such be open year-round. The people at Le Meridien are already prepared for their first reservations.

The Grand Hotel Lav is located in a very attractive area - about eight kilometres south of Split with the surrounding beaches and hotel rooms offering a vista of the city and the surrounding islands.

Guests will have a total of 382 rooms and suites at their disposal, of which the top management of Le Meridien say that they will be among the largest hotel rooms in all of Dalmatia. The interior design of is the work of well-known Italian designer Lorenzo Bellini who has breathed a warm ambient into the rooms.

The hotel has as many as eight different restaurants and bars and guests will be able to enjoy diverse cuisine and specific ambiences.

The hotel’s congress area covers about 2,900 square metres and includes one of the largest banquet halls on the Adriatic seaboard, with a total of eight newly outfitted halls offered for smaller meetings. The hotel also offers a large wellness centre with all the possible facilities - from the classic ones right up to a tepidarium, caldarium and others.

The hotel offers a series of facilities for athletes, recreationists and children and is also adapted to boaters given that it has a large marina with about 60 berths for small boats and yachts.

source: Croatian National Tourist Board at www.croatia.hr

Resources

• Directory: Split » Hotels
• La Meridien Grand Hotel Lav

A well-known coastal tourist destination - the city of Opatija, is the recipient of a silver award, while the Skradinski buk ethno-village in the Krka National Park is the winner of a bronze award. The award in question is the prestigious “Entante Florale - Golden Flower of Europe 2006″ that the European association for flowers and the environment awards every year under the patronage of the European Union.

The fact that Opatija and the Skradinski buk ethno-village were selected from among 5,800 candidates from 12 European countries speaks volumes of the great value of this recognition.

The grand lady of Croatian tourism, as Opatija is often referred to, takes great pride in the stunning parks and attractive “Lungo mare” seaside promenade that make up only a part of the appealing picture of this city. Along with the classic vacation tourism that has drawn tourists to Opatija for over a century, this is a city in which congress tourism is also developed. Opatija is the seat of a Riviera with the longest tradition of tourism in Croatia.

Nurtured parks, seaside promenades, well-maintained swimming areas and fountains are only a part of its appeal.

The Skradinski buk ethno-village draws attention with its exclusively natural phenomenon. The Skradinski buk itself is the longest and most beautiful waterfall on the Krka River and one of the best-known natural beauties in Croatia. The waterfall is made of travertine cascades, islands and lakes, while the small mills and baskets on the waterfalls are simple works in which the energy of the waterway turns a grinding stone through a system of wooden wheels and cogwheels to mill grains. The ethno-village is closely connected to this tradition, which has existed in the area since the Roman era. It got its present appearance in the 19th century.

It was recently again renovated and has become, because of its traditional heritage, an important monument to the economic history of Šibenik and the Šibenik area.

source: Croatian National Tourist Board at www.croatia.hr

Resources

• Directory: Opatija
• City of Opatija Tourist Board
• Skradinski buk - Krka National Park

The Italian Federcampeggio association recently awarded the Umag camp Park Umag, a part of the Istraturist Company, a top merit award for “quality and amiability”. The award comes after a vote by members of the association that were in Croatia during the summer season of 2006 staying in 150 Croatian camps and taking part in the “Campeggi Croatia: Simpatia ed ospitalita 2006″ action with the aim of discovering the qualities of these camps. During the award presentation ceremony at which the leaders of the Istraturist Company and the Federcampeggio association were present, the Italian colleagues spoke of the overall camping offer in Croatia, saying that Croatian camps were significant competitors that were, as a result of improvements and all-encompassing investments, becoming increasingly attractive to the entire camping population.

The awards ceremony and the accompanying thematic workshops was held during the 13th International Motorhome, Caravan, Camping and Outdoor Vacation Show - “Mondo Natura”, held in Rimini from the 9th to 17th of September of this year, the top camping event in southern Europe, that this year pooled as many as 400 exhibitors.

Istraturist has invested 11 million euros during 2005 in its 5 camps, which has raised the overall camping offer to a 4 star category. More than half of the investment was directed to the Park Umag camp, that opened the 2005 season with revamped parcels and sanitary facilities, mobile homes, special horticultural landscaping, a pool complex and a series of attractive new facilities for guests. This is also the first Croatian camp that has had a membrane bioreactor installed for filtering wastewaters. The feasibility of the investment was proven already in the first year as the camp in 2006 recorded a 25% increase in the number of guests and also won numerous awards both from guests and from professionals.

source: Croatian National Tourist Board at www.croatia.hr

Resources

• Directory: Umag
• www.istraturist.hr

I just read the story on yet another way of tempting tourists to Croatia. Now, I don’t know about you but this one is new for me. And when I think about it, I don’t understand how I haven’t heard of it sooner. So what is it all about? It is simple. Dental care in Croatia is a lot cheaper than in Western Europe (about twice to even four times cheaper). Now, combine this with the fact that Croatia is becoming increasingly popular tourist destination and this ingenious, yet simple idea reveals itself. You can come to Croatia, enjoy your holidays, visit dentist and you might save complete accommodation cost! Wow! Free holidays!

Of course, Croatian dentists did not invent this type of tourism offer - medical tourism and dental tourism were popular long time before this. I found an interesting website that claims to be “The UK’s leading guide to medical tourism” (link at the end of this article). It has a section on dentistry and under Croatia it has 3 dental clinics in Croatia: in Zagreb, Split and Rovinj. On this site you can also read patient stories, get quotes for services in different countries, learn about dentist accreditations and more. But please read this article before visiting, I tried to do some research on the subject and you just might find it useful before starting your own investigation.

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