ZAGREB, 7 Sept, 2021 - Three more Croatian restaurants have been added to the prestigious Michelin restaurant guide, bringing the total number of Croatian restaurants with one star to ten, the Croatian Tourist Board (HTZ) announced on Tuesday following notification from Michelin.

The three new restaurants that have been awarded a single Michelin star are Nebo in Rijeka (housed in the Costabella Hilton Hotel), Alfred Keller in Mali Lošinj and Agli Amici in Rovinj. They joined the seven restaurants that have retained their stars - Boškinac in Novalja, LD Terrace in Korčula, Pelegrini in Šibenik, 360º in Dubrovnik, Monte in Rovinj, Noel in Zagrebu and Draga di Lovrana in Lovran.

In addition, seven more restaurants have been awarded the special Bib Gourmand designation for their remarkable menus at affordable prices. There are now 13 restaurants in Croatia with this designation.

The new Bib Gourmand restaurants are Konoba Mate (Korčula), Dunav (Ilok), Konoba Fetivi (Split), Izakaya by Time (Zagreb), Vuglec Breg (Krapina), Konoba Malo Selo (Buje) and Alla Beccaccia (Valbandon).

All the restaurants are listed in the new edition of the Michelin guide for Croatia for 2021. Another novelty in the new edition is the Michelin Green Star designation, which has been awarded to the Zinfandel's restaurant, housed in the Esplanade Zagreb Hotel, to acknowledge its commitment to sustainable and environmentally-friendly gastronomy.

Commenting on the news from Michelin, Tourism and Sport Minister Nikolina Brnjac said that enjoying food and drink is an important part of the tourist experience, adding that Croatia, as a country with a rich gastronomic tradition, should invest more in its promotion and development in the future. 

HTZ Director Kristjan Staničić said that the award of new Michelin designations is a huge success for the Croatian gastronomic scene and very important for the country's tourist industry, considering various restrictions surrounding the coronavirus pandemic.

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June the 18th, 2021 - The much talked about new Rijeka Hilton Costabella Resort is set to open its doors as the summer season rapidly approaches, with high hopes for their first Croatian tourist season, despite the coronavirus-dominated uncertainties which still reign.

Kvarner Bay has increased in popularity in terms of tourism over recent years, with many preferring the often more temperate climes in comparison to a very hot and humid Dalmatian summer. The close proximity to Istria is also a bonus, particularly for wine lovers. Not to mention its close connections to be able to visit both Italy and Slovenia in normal, non-pandemic years.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes, Ryan Gauci of the brand new Rijeka Hilton Costabella Resort has a degree in hotel business from the Faculty of Tourism in Malta and has more than twenty years of international experience under his belt.

The Hilton Rijeka Costabella Beach Resort & Spa will open in just a few weeks and will be run by Ryan Gauci, who has been appointed the new general manager of the resort.

"I'm looking forward to this new opportunity and I'm proud to be able to lead the great team at the Rijeka Hilton Costabella Beach Resort & Spa. My ultimate goal is to make the resort the first choice for guests visiting this area. We're going to try to provide all our guests with an authentic and unforgettable stay. We will provide them with the highest quality services and ensure the hospitality for which Hilton is known around the world, and enable them to experience the unique Adriatic joie de vivre,'' said the new CEO Ryan Gauci on the eve of his appointment.

In addition to his vast experience in the field, Ryan Gauci has worked various jobs at Hilton hotels across Europe, including those in Malta and in the United Kingdom, Poland, France and Italy. Before coming to the much anticipated Rijeka Hilton Costabella Beach Resort & Spa, he was the head of the famous Hilton Prague hotel in the Czech Republic.

Ryan will lead the Rijeka Hilton Costabella Resort's team towards their first summer tourist season in the heart of the beautiful Kvarner Bay, while Jose Luiz Ruiz Arroyo has been responsible for the implementation of the project before the opening of the resort for eighteen months.

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December the 16th, 2020 - The Hilton Rijeka Costabella Beach Resort & Spa is about to be the Northern Adriatic city's latest attraction, and the giant hotel company is promoting Rijeka as a new and exciting destination for 2021.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes, the works on the new Hilton Rijeka Costabella Beach Resort & Spa, in which more than 80 million euros are being invested, are nearing completion. More than 95 percent of the Hilton Rijeka project has now been completed, and the opening is expected in April 2021, the investors - JTH Costabella and representatives of the Hilton hotel chain - announced.

The Hilton Rijeka hotel complex should start operating when a slight return of tourist traffic is announced due to the start of coronavirus vaccination worldwide, and Hilton has recently included the up and coming resort on its list of 21 newly opened facilities located in exciting new destinations that will welcome guests in 2021.

They also point out the very optimistic results of the research which showed them that consumers plan to make up for the trips they missed due to the pandemic next year - in Hilton's poll, as many as 66 percent of Americans and 60 percent of Chinese tourists said they would stop postponing planned trips in the future, while here in Europe, 57 percent of British tourists are already actively planning their travels for next year.

JTH Costabella owner Jaroslav Tresnak said during a tour of the construction site that the facility had progressed despite difficulties with an unpredictable pandemic-dominated situation. Reservations for the new Hilton Rijeka complex have already started, as has the process of hiring staff.

The Hilton complex in the Kostabela area in Rijeka was built on a plot covering 18,000 square metres, and the entire 10-storey building covers an area of ​​25,000 square metres in total. In addition to the hotel rooms, guests will be able to stay in accommodation facilities in villas located right next to the hotel.

The Hilton Rijeka resort will apparently boast as many as 132 rooms, 66 villas, six smaller and larger catering and hospitality facilities, and one of the largest wellness facilities in the entire region, a spa area that covers more than 3,000 square metres on two floors with various treatments available in 7 rooms with massages, saunas and more.

Hilton intends to offer the services of this spa centre through membership to Rijeka locals who aren't hotel guests. Guests, on the other hand, will have at their disposal 200 metres of private beach, with a smaller berth for boats, space for water sports and more.

At the moment, the hotel rooms are finished and the installation of kitchens in the common areas is ongoing. The indoor and outdoor pools are now fully arranged, as is the wellness and spa centre with its accompanying massage rooms, saunas, a beauty and hairdressing salon and even a dental practice.

In addition, all underwater and above-sea works on the beach, which is about 200 metres long, have been completed, as has the promenade, the works on which were undertaken by the City of Rijeka.

During the visit, Rijeka Mayor Vojko Obersnel stated that the Hilton Costabella Beach Resort & Spa complex is extremely important for the further development of Rijeka as a tourist destination, which will see the city raised very high on the list of destinations with quality accommodation.

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As Novac/Dora Koretic writes on the 14th of February, 2020, although the deadline for completing the landscaping works in front of the future Rijeka Hilton was extended yesterday until August the 31st, 2020, for JTH Costabella at a government session, Costabella said the hotel would definitely still be ready to receive its first guests this summer and that the extension would not delay the opening this valuable investment.

Specifically, as evidenced by a document discussed yesterday at the government level, JTH Costabella's landscaping work, for which a concession was granted back in November 2015, was due to be completed by October 2019, having already made use of one extension of the deadline for the submission of the operating permit.

However, in a letter sent to the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure from JTH Costabella, they clarify that they want to extend the works because, by signing a branding agreement with Hilton, which was signed back in April last year, they received additional conditions for the quality and the construction of the resort, and therefore the beaches are also implied.

In addition, JTH Costabella said that the completion of the works, among other things, was made much more difficult for them because of the ban on maritime work in the Rijeka area from June the 15th to September the 15th, as well as the fact that the contractor only submitted an extension request on October the 31st last year.

"The opening of the hotel will not be delayed. We expect to open it during the summer, but unfortunately not sooner. The deadline for August the 31st is defined as the deadline, but we believe that both the beach and the hotel will definitely be completed before that date,'' stated JTH Costabella, they also noted that the beach would be even more luxurious than originally planned due to Hilton's requests.

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On Friday, Rijeka signed one of the most important contracts in the history of the city’s tourism. Namely, Hilton hotels, one of the most famous hotel chains in the world, will take over the contract at Costabella resort, which is currently under construction. The resort will take the name Hilton Costabella Beach & Spa, and it will have five stars, which in itself speaks to the importance, prestige and reach of this job, writes Riječanin.rlt.hr on April 26, 2019. 

The Costabella resort, whose construction started two years ago, will have a capacity of 198 accommodation units in the hotel and villas - 132 rooms in the hotel and 66 accommodation units in the villas. Recall, the Costabella investor is JTH Costabella, and specifically Czech investor Jaroslav Trešnak.

The mayor of the City of Rijeka, Vojko Obersnel, his deputies Marko Filipović and Nikola Ivaniš, the mayor of the City Council, Andreja Poropata, and other guests were present at the hotel contract signing at the Costabella resort on Friday.

The contract was signed by JTH Costabella General Manager Jaroslav Trešnjak and Hilton Development Manager for Southeast Europe, Alan Mantin.

"It should be emphasized that Rijeka is the European Capital of Culture next year and we are confident that tourism in this region has a bright future. When opened, this hotel will be one of the most beautiful in this part of Europe. We are confident that our brand will contribute to the recognizability of Rijeka and the entire region on the international tourism market,” said Alan Mantin.

After excavations were carried out 2017/2018, when almost 70,000 m³ of stone material was excavated, which was partially used as a foundation for the construction of a new beach, in June of last year, work on the monolithic iron and concrete construction, including the installation, began. The works are performed by KAMGRAD d.o.o. and GP KRK d.d. with planned completion by the end of this month.

The complex stretches over 18,000 m², will have 25,000 m² of enclosed space and over 500 beds in the hotel and villas.

The complex will have a 30-meter hotel pool, children's pool and jacuzzi and a wellness area of over 4,000 m². The outdoor heated pool will be 50 meters long.

From the pool, there will be an elevator and a path down the promenade to the 200-meter long beach, which will have a small mooring to rent tourist boats and three moors, between which will be two pebble beaches that are 80 meters long.

The Hilton Costabella resort will be one of the most modern and best Hilton hotels in this part of Europe.

"Thanks to this investment, Rijeka will be in a desirable location with a modern tourist complex that will enable the creation of new jobs and be a significant wind in the back for further development of Rijeka tourism," said Mayor Vojko Obersnel on a tour of Costabella's construction site.

By the end of the year, the city of Rijeka will repair the Opatija road to allow, among other things, regular entrance and exit to this facility.

At the end of the construction work, works on interior decoration will take place by December 2019, and the Costabella hotel resort should be open in the spring of 2020.

It is estimated that the entire investment is over 80 million euros.

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