May the 16th, 2022 - The Hungarian Lorinc Meszaros is investing an enormous 375 million kuna into a luxury Icici hotel which will transform this picturesque area and raise the overall tourism standard.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes, the construction of the luxury hotel Riva’s Hotels & Resorts in Icici has started, a project worth 375 million kuna in which the well known Hungarian investor Lorinc Meszaros is investing, together with the local developer the DDG Group.

This gorgeous new luxury Icici hotel will have a 5 star ranking and will boast 180 rooms and 12 villas. The laege project also includes the construction of an access road, a pedestrian bridge to the nearby sea, and a new rainwater drainage system from Ucka.

“I immediately recognised this location as a potential site for the construction of a hotel, so I called Meszaros for help. It's a 22,000 square metre gross developed project, with an underground garage with five above-ground floors, with an open space near the road arranged for all Icici locals as well as all of our future guests. We plan to arrange some surrounding greenery, and put in fountains and cafes. With this project, Icici will get a taste of luxury tourism and an urban square as a gathering place. We've been struggling with projects for three years, and we now have 24 months until the grand opening,'' said Denis Sikljan, the founder of the DDG Group.

Lorinc Meszaros pointed out that, after the football camp in Osijek, this is their biggest investment in the Republic of Croatia.

“I've always wanted to invest in building a hotel. Thanks to the designers for a beautiful building, but without the local authorities and the help of the mayor, none of this could have happened. Our cooperation with the local community is good, and we're trying to make it even better. With the purchase of Miramar and Riva’s Hotels & Resorts, our investments amount to 100 million euros and what I can promise you is that we won't just be stopping here,'' said the Hungarian entrepreneur and investor at the opening ceremony of the construction site of the up and coming luxury Icici hotel, which was also attended by Opatija Mayor Fernando Kirigin.

“When I ran for mayor of Opatija, my vision was Opatija which boasted elite tourism and value-added products. It was up to us as a local self-government unit to give our full support to this project. The tourist season is just around the corner, we've already reached about 200 thousand overnight stays and I hope that we will be better than we were back during the record year of 2019, which will undoubtedly give investors more confidence in it all,'' said Kirigin.

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October 13, 2020 - As Jutarnji.hr reports, a five-star hotel project that has been on hold for years should soon begin on the site of an old hospital in Icici.

Namely, as confirmed by the developer Denis Šikljan, owner of the DDG group, the construction of a 50 million euro five-star hotel will start at the beginning of the next year on an attractive plot of 20,000 square meters across the beach. The project holder is Rivas Hotels & Resorts, which is owned by the Talentis Group.

It is a company owned by the family of Lörinc Mészáros, a Hungarian investor who bought NK Osijek a few years ago and which should build a stadium worth 40 million euros in that city. Mészáros is a frequent guest in Opatija, which he loves very much, and his company has about 30 hotels in its portfolio in Hungary, Austria, Montenegro, and Romania.

The hospital in Ičići was once taken over by Industrogradnja, and as the company went bankrupt, the land went to Karlovačka banka.

"Karlovačka banka has been the owner for a long time and it had a lot of investors who knocked on their door, but they did not manage to realize it with any of them, because there was no 'middle man', and that is what we do. So, we reconcile the interests of all participants and prepare projects for implementation," said Šikljan.

He added that the works in Ičići will start after the New Year.

"We pushed the project for a year and a half and only when we completed everything, we went to the investors. The hotel should be completed by the 2023 season. We will turn almost half of that plot, which is private, into a public one, a new square will be built for the citizens to use, there will be movement in front of the hotel, which will meet the needs of the locals,“ said Šikljan.

The hotel will have 180 rooms and 12 villas will be built. The construction of a fountain is planned in the public part of the space, and commercial facilities will also be built. Also, across the road, to the beach, there will be a bridge.

'We plan new projects with Rijeka'

As a developer, Denis Šikljan worked on housing projects in Rijeka and Krk, and he also realized shopping center projects in Serbia. According to him, he is now developing a project for Haludovo in Malinska on the island of Krk, where he is in negotiations with the Armenian owners. He is also interested in Rijeka, which, as he says, he wants to start with new projects.

"This is a project of a residential and business center on the site of the former Istravina factory, and we have a project for a new marina that is planned to be built in Porto Baroš, as well as for the Rijeka bus station," says Šikljan.

For more info and photos of the future hotel, check the article on Novilist.hr.

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Over the last few days, Croatian media reported that Opatija had rejected a 50 million euro investment by Malta company AX Holding, who had planned to build a complex of accommodation units for seniors, i.e., a five-star apartment-hotel and 200 apartments, on the site of the former hospital in Ičići, reports Novi List on January 23, 2019. 

The Ministry of Tourism even backed the idea.

“It's about investing in the segment of senior tourism, which we expect will be even more developed in the future. During 2018, the Ministry made new legislative changes in the framework of additional quality development for health tourism, which is closely linked to seniors. What we are constantly pointing out is that we want our tourism to be the result of thoughtful, responsive and sustainable tourism policies and that tourist activity continues throughout the year, creating many benefits to our society, from employment and income to other economic activities. Selective forms of tourism, such as for senior citizens, contribute to year-round tourism,” emphasized the Ministry, but the City of Opatija did not share their enthusiasm.

The story stems from Opatija’s urban plans for a project that includes 75 percent allocated for hotel rooms in the area, which investors did not fit into the vision.

Namely, according to the Urban Plan, the area should see construction exclusively for tourist purposes, or a minimum of 75 percent for hotel accommodation and a maximum of 25 percent for apartments, while the potential investors proposed an investment of 200 apartment units.

The Mayor of Opatija, Ivo Dujmić, says that they do not want new apartments, but investments that will increase hotel accommodation units.

“A lot has been said recently that the City of Opatija rejected a ‘valuable 50 million euro investment’ for an apartment-hotel in Ičići on the plateau of the former hospital. You have the right to wonder why we would reject such a valuable investment. The construction of an apartment-hotel, i.e., buildings with only accommodation units, opens the possibility of selling individual apartments on the market, given the inadequate regulation of the issues in question by Croatian regulations, and in practice, they get housing dormitories instead of hotel facilities. According to the Urban Plan of Ičići, in this area, the urban plan approved by the City Council foresees the construction of hotels exclusively tourist purpose - i.e., a minimum of 75 percent for hotels and a maximum 25 percent for apartments. We do not want additional apartments in a valuable area. The investors from Malta projected around 200 accommodation units, which is contrary to the existing UPU and could not be accepted," said Dujmić, adding that in the meantime, the Ičići City Council demanded that further conditions be set for that location.

“In particular, for the location of the hospital in Ičići, all construction conditions should be returned to at least the level of 2013, and not lower. The hospital should not be converted for residential use, but should be exclusively for hotel and tourist purposes with amenities that would represent the center of the area,” mayor Ivo Dujmić concluded. 

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