Celebrity season is almost upon as, and the Croatia media on May 19, 2016 is reporting the arrival to Hvar of the world's greatest footballer.
Where do the world's top superstars go to escape and get away from it all?
If the answer is Croatia, the destinations are Dubrovnik and the island of Hvar.
Hvar, the sunniest island in Europe, has long been a major attraction, and the likes of Orson Welles were filming here in the 1960s, Edward and Mrs. Simpson came for lunch in Stari Grad after he abdicated the British throne in 1936, and Mrs JF Kennedy went water-skiing here in 1964.
In more recent years, Hvar has seen plenty of A-listers, including Tom Cruise, Demi Moore, Ellen de Generes, Prince Harry and Beyonce, but still more celebrities visit various hidden bays away from the crowds and enjoy some of clearest water in the world and a relaxing Dalmatian welcome. John Malkovich, for example, described his time on Vis and Palmizana on the Pakleni Islands off Hvar as the most relaxing holiday of his life in an interview with the Daily Telegraph.
And Croatian media is reporting that one Lionel Messi will be arriving this summer, as villa owner Slavko Gotovac informed them that Barcelona superstar has enquired about a 10-day stay in his exclusive waterfront villa on the south side of the island, and has sent a positive response about the villa's availability.
Hvar's celebrity story is set to take another positive turn in the next few years with the recent announcement that a Four Seasons Hotel and Resort will open on Croatia's premier island in 2019. The resort will be located on the Kabal Peninsula, a ten-minute walk from the historic, 2400 year-old town of Stari Grad and its accompanying UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Stari Grad Plain.
