The city of Beli Manastir, situated in the heart of the Baranja region, recently got its first hotel. The city is situated in the direct vicinity of the municipality of Bilje, one of the most developed tourist municipalities in Baranja where there are already a sizeable number of accommodation capacities offered in rural households.

Besides organised visits the Hotel Patria plans to link its offer to business clientele, as it has a large congress hall with about 600 seating places and two smaller conference rooms. The hotel’s management sees their advantage in this given that the ambience of hotel rooms can not be compared to that of rural households which are today more attractive to the majority of visitors to Baranja. For this reason the hotel will turn its efforts to those segments of the market that rural households can not cover because of their limited capacities, that is to say the hotel will offer services to organised groups and business people.

This is why the management of the Hotel Patria is counting on groups of hunter and fishers that are traditionally visitors to Baranja, and given that it was precisely in the municipality of Bilje that the World Fishing Championship was held last year, for which top-notch fishing conditions have been created on the Drava River, an increase in the number of fishers visiting the area is expected in the coming period. In line with these expectations, an area for storing equipment and ammunition will soon be erected in the hotel, while the installation of hunting doghouses has already been started.

The hotel has 39 double rooms and three suites, and all of the accommodation units are equipped to the four-star standard so that every bathroom in the rooms has a hydromassage shower or a smaller Jacuzzi, while the deluxe rooms have plasma screen televisions.

Along with this the hotel should soon get a beer hall, an oenotheque, a national restaurant and a cocktail bar, and the appropriate sports grounds. In the meantime guests can enjoy the other facilities in the smaller wellness centre and fitness, Pilates and aerobic centre already on offer in the newly opened hotel.

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

Resources

• Hotel Patria

The five-star Le Meridien Grand Hotel Lav recently opened its doors in the Split-Dalmatia County.

This large hotel complex is situated in Podstrana, a settlement not far from the city of Split, and had been closed for the past fifteen years.

About 65 million Euros was invested in the renovation and widening of the entire hotel and tourism complex. In the accommodation facilities, in four individual, but mutually connected buildings, guests have a total of 382 rooms and suites at their disposal, of which the top management at Le Meridien point out that they are among the most spacious in all of Dalmatia. The hotel also features eight restaurants with a gastronomic offer of international cuisine and an entire range of accompanying facilities.

The hotel’s congress area stretches over 2,900 square metres where one of the largest banquet halls on the entire Adriatic seaboard has been outfitted, while a total of eight modern-style halls are available for smaller meetings.

There is also a large wellness centre with all of the possible facilities - from the classic ones like saunas, massages, Jacuzzis and whirlpools, right up to tepidariums, caldariums and similar wellness facilities.

The hotel has ensured a series of facilities for athletes, recreational athletes and children, and it is adapted to sailors given that it has a large marina with about 60 berths for boats and yachts.

The quality of the new Lav is undeniable, and the beauty of the entire offer is enhanced by the hotel’s exceptionally attractive location. Given that it is situated about eight kilometres south of Split there is a phenomenal view of that city and the surroundings islands from its beaches and rooms.

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

Resources

• Directory: Split
• Le Meridien Grand Hotel Lav

The Tuhelj Thermal Spa, a trademark of the picturesque town of Tuhelj in the Zagorje region of Croatia, recently opened the doors of the largest wellness centre in Croatia. The Thermal Spa is located at the very source of the thermal water spring and medicinal mud, surrounded by the greenery of the pristine nature of the Zagorje hills. The spa is only some 40 kilometres from Zagreb, and besides the new and exceptionally attractive wellness centre, there is a diverse and high quality tourist and catering offer available to tourists.

The new wellness centre spreads over more than 1,000 square metres and features a large number of facilities including as many as seven different types of saunas.

Visitors of the centre can relax in three Finish saunas (a bio-ionizing sauna with crystals, and extreme sauna and a program sauna with chromotherapy), followed by three steam saunas - with salt, with mud and a double steam sauna, and finally in a laconium - a gentle sauna. Also on the bill is a whirlpool, an ice pool, ice cave, kneipp track, relax rooms with various mood settings and a wellness bar offering health beverages and food.

Along with the world of saunas, guests can visit the large SPAeVITA beauty centre and the entire range of sports and recreation facilities already in operation.

The renovation and upgrading of the Tuhelj Thermal Spa has been ongoing over the past several years during which it has operated within the Terme Olimpia Company, a period that has seen the quality of this Zagorje region spa raised to an enviable level. A large aqua centre called Water Planet was opened last year with over 3,200 square metres of outdoor swimming areas and over 1,200 square metres of indoor swimming areas dominated by pools with attractive water effects - waterfalls, underwater massage, Jacuzzis and geysers. Also on offer are winter swimming, air massage, underwater massage beds and an entire range of other facilities.

In the sports and recreation part of the offer guests are offered a wide selection of sports facilities, while the hotel, whose standards are at the level of a four-star rating, offers an excellent selection of local cuisine.

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

Resources

• Tuhelj Thermal Spa

That Croatia is no longer a destination for mass tourism and that it possesses all the preconditions needed for visits by a very demanding clientele is confirmed by the latest ranking of the most prestigious global travel magazine, Conde Nast Traveller. In its special November issue the US magazine included the Dalmatian islands among the top ten destinations in the European island category. The ranking gives the top 100 destination in the world as selected by the readers of this exclusive magazine. The selection of the best in the various categories this year evaluated hotels around the world, cruisers, airline companies, cities and islands, with the islands of Dalmatia making seventh spot.

Canadian magazines share these sentiments. A four-page report in Hello magazine spotlighted Croatia as the new exclusive global Riviera. The World Travel Market tourism fair recently held in London also gave a positive take on Croatia, citing it, China and the United Arab Emirates as the three “leading stars on the rise” and saying that these countries are in a position to clinch the spots of main global tourist destinations.

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

Although the peak tourist season is behind us, Croatia’s best-known tourist Mecca - the city of Dubrovnik, continues to draw attention. As many tourists visit the city during the summer season, when the crowds do not allow one to enjoy the city as it really is, now is perhaps the best time to visit Dubrovnik, where numerous cultural and other events are available to tourists.

The many cultural and entertainment programs the city offers include an attractive sailing regatta held in Gruž harbour in early November and will run through to the end of February. The second International Festival of Nativity Scenes And Christmas Traditions will be held in the City’s historic core in mid-December, and the Christmas spirit with many additional events will continue right up to the Epiphany. An attractive New Year’s Eve party is being organised meantime, another of the events for which Dubrovnik is recognised on the global tourist map, with a series of other interesting events following the New Year’s bash.

After the New Year is brought in tourists will have the opportunity to take part in Dubrovnik’s entertaining feast day of Sveti Vlaho (St. Blasius) the city’s patron saint, in the Days Of Dubrovnik, the Dubrovnik Carnival and in other fascinating events. Besides all this, the city also enjoys a reputation as an ideal place for sweethearts, so that Valentine’s Day in Dubrovnik is sure to remain a fond memory for many.

Along with the traditional cultural events the city will also be the scene of almost daily events accompanied by an excellent culinary offer, there will be a series of shows for the theatre and the clubs of Dubrovnik are also preparing an array of attractive surprises.

Visit the web site of the City of Dubrovnik Tourist Board for all the information you need on the Dubrovnik In Winter program, running from November 1, 2006, to February 28, 2007.

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

Resources

• Directory: Dubrovnik
• City of Dubrovnik Tourist Board