April 12, 2022 - The Adris Group is completing the necessary documentation for the Hotel Marjan renovation, after which work on the facility itself will begin!

The new tourist season is approaching, and Hotel Marjan is no different than the last fifteen years - or defunct since 2006 when entrepreneur Željko Kerum bought it. After the bankruptcy proceedings, it was purchased in 2017 by the Adris group from Rovinj, which plans to demolish it.

According to previous announcements, the hotel will be reduced by about 6.5 thousand square meters, which will try to get closer to the original form from the 1960s. In addition, they will try to neutralize the consequences of the never-completed renovation fifteen years ago, when the designer was Jerko Rošin, reports Slobodna Dalmacija.

As part of that, two extensive hotel annexes will be removed, and it was once speculated that they would be converted into apartments. Reportedly, there will no longer be a glass facade that has deviated from the surrounding view. The new facade should follow the original ideas during the original design of the West Coast, which includes the color of the stone. A sizeable inner courtyard or atrium should also be formed.

Hotel Marjan, the former pride of Split tourism, was bought sixteen years ago for 170 million kuna, three times more than the initially requested price. After the grand renovation was promised, a contract was signed with the Hilton chain. But, as is well known, this investment was the catalyst for, conditionally speaking, the collapse of the Kerum dynasty business empire.

At the end of 2017, Adria Resorts bought receivables from the Austrian Heta Asset Resolution Group over the Marjan Hotel. They had previously done the same with claims over hotel annexes and claims from 72 former hotel workers. At the end of 2019, Marjan was bought at an electronic auction for 3/4 of the estimated value, i.e., HRK 324 million. 

Slobodna Dalmacija spoke to Adris Group about the latest plans for the hotel and the dynamics of the works that will put it into operation. They said that this is a demanding project that will contribute to the further tourist affirmation of Split and confirm Adris as the leading Croatian company in luxury tourism. As for the reconstruction itself, their wish is to thoroughly renovate Hotel Marjan and join it to the group of Adris luxury hotels (Grand Park Hotel Rovinj, Monte Mulini, Lone, Hilton in Dubrovnik). 

They also confirmed that, in cooperation with the city of Split and the relevant institutions, they are completing the necessary documentation for the renovation of Hotel Marjan, after which work on the facility itself will begin. The project details (architectural solution, capacities, content), designed by renowned 3LHD architect Piero Lissoni, will be promptly revealed to the general public.

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September 17, 2020 - Hotel Marjan in Split, which has been out of function since Zeljko Kerum took over in 2006 and was bought by Rovinj's Adris Group at the end of last year, will be completely demolished.

T.portal writes that the investors have hired 3LHD studio from Zagreb and the famous Italian architect and designer Pier Lissoni to lead the new hotel project, and they are currently in the process of obtaining a location permit.

After its reconstruction, the former Split tourist pearl and one of the recognizable city symbols will be equally as tall as the building today, but with one floor less due to the desired higher floor height. According to unofficial announcements, in this renovation, the hotel will be reduced by about 6.5 thousand square meters and for the most part, aim to be closer to the original form from the 1960s, i.e., an attempt will be made to neutralize the consequences of the never completed renovation fifteen years ago, when the investor was Zeljko Kerum and designer Jerko Rosin.

Among other things, two large hotel annexes, which are called apartments, will be removed, and there will no longer be the eyesore that is the double glass facade. A large inner courtyard, or atrium, will be formed, and the facade itself will follow the ideas during the original design of the West Coast, which includes even the color of the stone.

Adris Group said only briefly that in cooperation with the City of Split and the relevant institutions, they are preparing the necessary documentation for the renovation of Hotel Marjan. After the renovation is completed, it will be in the group of their luxury hotels (Grand Park Hotel Rovinj, Lone, Hilton and others). Still, they did not want to reveal the planned amount of investment and completion deadlines.

As it was unofficially found out, the original plan was to complete the documentation by the end of this year and start work next year, in which most of the planned two billion kuna of the company's investment in the tourism sector would be spent. As the decision was made at the group level to postpone it for a year due to the corona crisis, it is realistic that Adris Group will take its first major step into the Dalmatian market in 2022.

"The fact is that the coronavirus pandemic affected the course of our investments, but we will be able to talk about the deadlines and details of the project itself, which 3LHD and the famous Piero Lissoni are working on, when the project is completed," the Adris Group confirmed.

Leading Split conservator Rade Buzancic said that talks had been held with investors and designers and that his service was so far satisfied with what they had seen and heard.

"These are top experts who have set themselves the task of making a serious redesign, but almost reminiscent of the original project. They want to get closer to the original of the Marjan hotel and focus on quality instead of quantity, and that is a novelty in behavior in our area," Buzancic said.

Hotel Marjan itself is not individually protected as a cultural asset. Still, it has become part of the recognizable image of the city, especially from the sea, and an actor of a kind of subtle dialogue with Diocletian's Palace - both in area and height. According to the project of Lovro Perkovic, the former industrial zone with quarries and cement plants on the West Coast has been 'sanitized', and as Buzancic explains, in a successful modern style.

"The recent intervention was not particularly successful, and the construction of the double façade even increased the size of the tower and lost the cantilever, which gave the impression that the tower was floating in the air. Investors are very cooperative and are willing to restore most of the delicate image lost in the reconstruction fifteen years ago, and even balconies with bars. The project is currently going in the right direction," confirms the leading Split conservator.

Hotel Marjan, the former pride of Split tourism, was bought by Zeljko Kerum fifteen years ago for 170 million kuna, paying three times more than the requested starting price. He promised and announced a renovation, even signing a contract with the Hilton chain, but it turned out that this investment ran his entire business empire to the ground. The purchase was guaranteed by his retail chain Kerum d.o.o., which the banks blocked, and he announced lawsuits against them.

At the end of 2017, Adria Resorts from the Adris Group bought receivables secured by mortgages over Hotel Marjan from the Austrian Heta Asset Resolution Group. They previously did the same with receivables from hotel annexes and claims of 72 former hotel employees. Therefore, at the end of last year, Marjan was bought for three-quarters of the estimated value, HRK 324 million, by an electronic auction.

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December 1, 2019 - Adris Group has officially become the owner of Hotel Marjan in Split!

Vecernji List reports that the process has taken years because it involved a pre-bankruptcy settlement. Split, which in the meantime has become a tourist mecca with high growth rates of tourist arrivals and overnight stays, has needed a larger, high-class hotel, and the Adris Group has made it no secret that they have serious plans for the infamous eyesore. 

“We are looking forward to the new challenge. Split is a strategic destination in the development plans of the Adris Group tourist section and in this way, we will approach the execution of the Marjan project,” Adris emphasized in a statement, from which it could be learned that they would soon have the status of a top-class hotel in Split; one that will match the quality of the newly opened Grand Hotel Park in Rovinj. Adria added that they are ready to make investments as soon as the legal process is formalized.

The decision of the Commercial Court in Split, which granted the Adris Group ownership of a hotel on the West Riva, became final. Recall, the hotel was owned by Zeljko Kerum, or his company Adriatic, which ended in bankruptcy four years ago due to unpaid workers' salaries. Adris was the company's largest creditor. This summer, the bidders auctioned HRK 324 million, which is three-quarters of the appraised value of the property. However, Adris was the only bidder, so their offer was accepted. 

But that's not all the breaking news about the Adris Group. The largest insurer in Croatia, Croatia osiguranje, which operates within the Adris Group, is investing HRK 100 million in a new core system, which it purchased from Sapiens. This will ensure additional sales growth and quick response of the company to market demands. They expect business efficiency to grow through the simplification and automation of part of the process. The contract includes the implementation and license services for Sapiens solutions.

“Such a significant investment in the digital future of Croatia osiguranje confirms our ambition to maintain and increase the company's competitive advantage,” said Davor Tomašković, the company's leader. It is already being implemented by the end of this year and will last until the second quarter of 2022.

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August 19, 2019 - The sale of Hotel Marjan to the Adris Group means that this former tourist pearl and a current eyesore on the West Coast Riva in Split will shine once again. 

Frankly, there is no reason not to believe that in the years to come, after its reconstruction and renovation, 'Hotel Marjan' will become the pride of this Rovinj group, just like the Hilton Imperial Hotel in Dubrovnik and the Grand Park in Rovinj, which opened in April this year with a HRK 1.5 billion investment, reports Slobodna Dalmacija.

Therefore, when the public electronic auction of Hotel Marjan ended with one Adris Group bid of 324,046,698 kuna, Split collectively let out a sigh of relief. Recall, we’ve waited for the sale for four years, which is how long the bankruptcy proceedings of "Adriatic d.d." took at the Split Commercial Court. You can read more about that here.

This Rovinj group has waited long enough to invest big money in Split, and we can only hope that the transaction will be completed as soon as possible. Though we know the sale process is far from complete. 

Ante Gabelica, bankruptcy manager of "Adriatic d.d.", said it will take months before the buyer receives the papers that will allow them to register as the new owner of the famous Split hotel.

The Adris Group didn’t want to get ahead of themselves, either. 

“Let's wait for the legal process to be completed, after which we will be able to talk about the details of the hotel renovation. So far, we can only tell you that we did not hide our ambitions. Adris is a serious investor. We are sure that Split will get the hotel that this beautiful Croatian city deserves,” said Predrag Grubić, director of corporate communications at Adris Group.

At the moment, we only know about their plans for Split, which were published on its website in June:

“By 2023, Adris will invest more than HRK 2 billion in tourism, keeping 95 percent of hotel capacity at the highest level of supply. In addition to investments in Rovinj, Vrsar, Zagreb, and Dubrovnik, there are plans to invest in Split, a growing and recognizable Croatian tourist destination.”

Former employees of the failed Adriatic company are pleased with the sale. Representative Ante Ledenko pointed out:

“We want the Adris Group as a quality investor to make a great hotel and to settle our claims of EUR 2 million, as promised in writing to each worker individually. We should be treated as partners, not as factors that hinder investment.”

The entry of the Adris Group also means that the staunch construction site of the hotel will no longer be the eyesore of Split. Back in 2012, the hotel was closed by a building inspection, as its owner, Željko Kerum, stepped down from the main project. Since then, this space has been without sufficient physical and technical care. Because of this, homeless people, foreigners, and other curious strangers have entered the construction site for years almost unobstructed, and are exposed to a decrepit structure and many broken windows. 

Written warnings from the police, as well as from the city's Department of Public Utilities, indicate that this is a major problem, pointing out that damaged panels on the front of the hotel endanger the safety of passers-by.

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Split’s wishes have finally come true. Hotel Marjan, once a symbol of the Dalmatian capital which for the last 11 years has been the city’s eyesore and a threat to the heart of the flourishing tourist town, is ready for sale, reports Slobodna Dalmacija on April 15, 2019. 

Namely, the bankruptcy was completed for "Adriatic" d.d. by making a conclusion about the sale. The process is final and the final document produced by the judge of the Commercial Court in Split, Ivan Čulić, will go to Fina, who will look for a buyer.

Fina will sell the hotel by an electronic public auction. The hotel itself is 5,679 square meters, with a substation, parking lot, three courtyards and stairs, altogether making up nearly 12,000 square meters. According to bankruptcy law, four auctions are envisaged. In the first the object cannot be sold below three-quarters of the established value, the second below one half, the third below one quarter, while the fourth is sold for one kuna.

According to the accepted assessment by court expert Jure Malenica, the price is EUR 58 million or HRK 432 million (VAT included, so that there would be no confusion), which means that the buyer must offer approximately EUR 44 million in the first auction. In the second auction EUR 29 million, then EUR 14.5 million, and so on. 

The bankruptcy administrator Ante Gabelica is convinced that the unfinished hotel will soon be sold since it is an attractive property in a prestigious location.

Interestingly, there is no lack of interest, but the keys to the future owners are firmly held by the "Adris Group", whose "Adria Resorts”, through the purchase of receivables, has already invested an amount that is close to or even higher than the total estimated value of the object. There would be an uproar if Adris did not eventually buy the hotel. After all, the powerful Rovinj company already announced a significant investment in Split in its annual plan.

Recall, Željko Kerum bought the hotel "Marjan" in 2005. Kerum paid HRK 170 million, which was three times more than the required HRK 57 million. Less than four years later, a contract with "Hilton" was signed, and Kerum became the mayor one month after that. Works on “Marjan” were quickly interrupted, and in 2015, it all ended with the bankruptcy of “Adriatic”.

Fortunately, Split’s best-known eyesore will soon get a new owner who will give a new dimension to the tourist offer of the city.

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A look at the construction of Hotel Marjan in 1963, courtesy of the Facebook group Split kroz povijest. 

Could this be the end of the neverending saga surrounding the sale of Željko Kerum's unfinished life project?