Adris Group announced on Sunday that the successful construction of the Grand Park Hotel had completed its 1.5 billion kuna investment cycle in the Monte Mulini area. The Rovinj company has raised the quality of the tourist offer of the town that has been on the list of the most successful tourist destinations in Croatia for years. Grand Park was the most significant investment in tourism in 2018; the investment reached 700 million kuna, reports Večernji List on April 1, 2019.

“We believed in this project, in the strength of our company, in the knowledge and diligence of our employees, but also in the potentials and comparative advantages of our country. We were not discouraged by an unfavourable socioeconomic situation, anti-entrepreneurial mentality, bureaucratic-administrative neglect. We do not allow mediocrity. We follow the principles of business excellence, and we will persevere in this,” said Ante Vlahović, CEO of Adris Group.

Adris has invested 5.5 billion kuna in the tourism part of its business, the Maistra company, and it will invest an additional 2.3 billion kuna during the next investment period. They recently bought HUP Zagreb, the leader in the hotel industry in Zagreb, and they own hotels in Dubrovnik. Interestingly, in its statement, Adris announced future investments in Split, where they have been preparing for a long time to take over Marjan Hotel.

Grand Park Hotel Rovinj has five stars and six floors, and it can accommodate up to 500 guests. The architectural design was developed by 3LHD, a studio that designed hotels Lone, Adriatic and Mulini Beach. Along with architects and designers, all contractors were also from Croatia. The Bruketa & Žinić & Grey agency developed the visual identity.

The hotel has six restaurants and will offer the largest selection of sparkling wines in Croatia, as well as a rich selection of local delicacies. The hotel also includes the largest wellness centre in Istria, extending to 3,800 square metres of indoor and outdoor space on two floors, including the three outdoor pools at the hotel roof.

The new hotel has created nearly 300 new jobs. Given the highly personalised offer at the highest level, all employees spent months in intensive training, in co-operation with the Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne, one of the best hotel management schools in the world.

Grand Park Hotel Rovinj will receive its first guests very soon, and the room rate will be 4,700 kuna at peak tourist season, which is almost double the price of accommodation at Hotel Lone.

Translated from Večernji List (reported by Marina Šunjerga).

More news on Rovinj can be found in the Travel section.

March 29, 2019 - Putting Croatian adventure tourism on the map, with the biggest welcome in the world. A little kayaking on day 2 from Porec to the Brijuni islands via Rovinj.  

An idea to celebrate the extraordinary potential of adventure tourism the length and breadth of the Croatian coast. As TCN explained in the introductory article, back in 2011, Daniel Lacko and his team's vision was to create a route which mapped out on GPS the world Welcome from Savudrija on the border with Slovenia, to Dubrovnik in the south, to showcase the different types of sporting challenge that could be enjoyed in this hospitable tourist nation. Some 2500 km in total.

After a first-day kayak from Savudrija to Porec, day two was also on the water, and it was an early start for Lacko carrying his kayak through the historic streets of gorgeous Porec.

The challenge for Day 2 - 45 km of kayaking from Porec to the Brijuni islands via Rovinj. 

There would be many different disciplines on land, sea, lake and river ahead, but the project started with kayaking along the Istrian coast. 

A morning farewell to gorgeous Porec. 

Sailing is an important part of Croatia's tourism offer, with the Istrian peninsula dotted with marinas - paddling in Vrsar marina. 

And back out again into the open sea.

The next tourist jewel is one of the gems of Coratian tourism - the peninsula walled stone town of Rovinj, which has more overnight stays than anywhere else in Croatia. But not many tourists arrive by kayak. 

The timeless backstreets of one of the most beautiful towns on the Adriatic. 

And from Rovinj to another national treasure - Brijuni National Park. Apart from its natural beauty, it is also home to some rather unusual animals, including zebras, an elephant and Shetland ponies. 

Tito used Brijuni as his base during his rule, and he hosted more than 60 world leaders here, many of whom brought indigenous animals from their countries as gifts. I am not sure which is more unusual - the collection of living animals, or the stuffed animals who did not survive the relocation. Here are my impressions from a visit six years ago. 

This being the Adriatic, most days end with sunsets like these to mark the end of another perfect day. 

A key aspect of the Welcome project was to promote Croatian tourism, and the official website presents information on the main sites visited. Porec.  

Rovinj and Brijuni. 

Tune in tomorrow as Lacko kayaks to Pula, cycles to Pazin and then indulges in a little speleo-alpinism at Pazinska Jama. 

You can see the entire project on the Welcome website, as well as much more of Luka Tambaca's stunning photography on the Welcome Facebook page. 

You can follow TCN coverage of the whole journey on our dedicated page.

Grand Park Hotel Rovinj, the largest single Croatian tourist project worth 600 million kunas, owned by and invested in by Maistra, is getting finalized these days. Over 500 people are working on the interior decoration and the final touches, and as those works are being finished, the landscaping of the entire Monte Mulini tourist area is being completed.

The hotel's grand opening is expected in April, and tportal visited the site. The new hotel should have 209 rooms, all with a view of the Rovinj old town, accepting 500 guests at a time and bringing over a hundred new jobs to Rovinj.

The hotel will also have six restaurants, wellness and spa centre will be on 3800 square meters, thee will be a congress hall and other luxury zones - such as the shopping promenade, which will host well-known global and local brands. It should be yet another exciting addition to one of already most high-end tourist zones in Croatia, as the opening of the this hotel will be the final chapter in the completion of the already existing tourist zone called Monte Mulini.

And some of the world's (and local) architects and designers worked on the project for the hotel, including Lissoni Architecture, a Milan-based studio owned by Piero Lissoni, who is often said to be one of the most famous Italian designers in the world, whose art is displayed in many museums around the world.

Tportal also visited the construction site for the Grand Park Hotel Rovinj in May last year, and one of the things they made note of even back then was the attention to detail by the investor, as the 50-meter high construction cranes were decoratively illuminated, to make sure that the view of the construction site from the town and the surroundings was as pleasant as possible - while the construction itself was taking place.

February 28, 2019 - Another year, another incredible achievement by the Break Time team as they open their fifth shop in Croatia. 

As Novac/Barbara Ban writes on the 26th of February, 2019, ''Dr. Martin Horvat'' Rovinj Hospital has proudly stated the fact that in 2019, it plans to invest heavily in the amount of 12 million kuna, and it ended 2018 in a surplus in regard to finance and the number of patients. They claimed that they had 500 patients more than one year earlier, that they provided 16,440 more medical services than they did last year, marking an increase of 26.5 percent.

Rovinj Hospital finished of the business year of 2018 with a financial gain of 623,000 kuna. This is the fifth year in a row that Rovinj Hospital has managed to conclude with some excellent financial results, with all of our employees being paid all of their salaries within the deadline, as well as regressions, Christmas bonuses, vouchers, jubilee awards, money for children for St. Nicholas, retirement benefits, sickness benefits, and assistance in accordance with our underlying collective agreement. I'm proud to show this positive change and an increase in the number of visits to our institution from year to year because better implementation means better addressing the needs of our citizens,'' says dr. sc. Marinko Rade, who was recently elected to the Working Group of the Ministry of Health for the drafting of the Ordinance on Health Tourism.

Investments of 12 million kuna are planned to be carried out over the next fifteen months, and alterations have already begun in the department where the patients from the AUVA insurance company stay during their time at Rovinj Hospital. The hospital's entire roof will be changed, the façade will be renewed, and works on the hospital's energy sources will be carried out, a new elevator will also be installed. The total value of these investments currently stands at five million kuna, with renovation of the main building also planned.

''Investments for a further seven million kuna will be issued shortly, including the renovation of the façade, the replacement of the entire roof, and works regarding the change of the energy [system] of the main building of the hospital, where there are clinics and departments in which our local patients are treated. We're investing the most in these departments. Reconstruction should start at the end of 2019,'' added Rade.

He added that so far, everything they invested has been covered by money from the hospital's significant profits, and now they are financially secure enough to safely borrow. In addition to all of the works Rovinj Hospital is set to undergo, a library will be opened soon in the department, and a new therapeutic park will be set up.

''So far, we've collected 6,000 books donated by citizens, which is a truly impressive and record-breaking number for a public action. At this time, we're separate the books by their categories and languages, and we're renewing the space where the library will be located at the department. Additionally, the placement of a therapeutic park is ongoing, which is being carried out within the Design/Build project in collaboration with the George Washington University from the USA. The project will be completed by April this year,'' noted Rade.

Rovinj Hospital isn't ''only'' planning to invest in buildings, but also in their much appreciated employees, in terms of their continued and additional education. This will amount to up to 250,000 kuna.

''This is the money that this institution allocates from its income, ie, from the income generated from the private market,'' Rade added that owing to several factors, Rovinj Hospital can't raise anyone's salary regardless of their position, and that's why the hospital's administration has been looking for more innovative ways to properly reward and thus hopefully retain such valued employees, and one way is to pay them in continued, additional education.

''Of course, doctors and healthcare staff are paid for their training and for congresses in order to become superior in their specialties, which means more access to patients. But we're also investing in the non-medical staff who work in our hospital, which I consider to be equally important links in the chain. This means that, let's say, chefs and cooks can receive paid education which then allows them to progress and provides them with technical education and training that can help them out more in their day-to-day work. That's why we've reserved a lot of money,'' concluded the director of Rovinj Hospital.

For more on investment in Croatia, healthcare, health tourism in Croatia and much, much more, give our business page a follow.

Click here for the original article by Barbara Ban for Novac/Jutarnji

After several years when events like this weren't organized in Rovinj, this year will see the return of one of the most attractive sailing event in the world, Adris 44Cup, a stop on the RC44 Championship Tour. Organized locally by the Sail La Vie organisation and the Maestral Sailing Club from Rovinj, supported by the Adris Group the event will take place during the week of May 28th until June 2nd. The event will take place right after the opening of the new Grand Park Hotel Rovinj and the new ACI marina in the town, and an attractive entertainment programme will be organized for the duration of the event. 

Tomislav Popović, Maistra CEO, expressed his satisfaction that Rovinj and Croatia will again be seen as the desirable sports and tourist destination. He says that it is again proven that for the development of the premium tourism it's necessary to have high-quality accommodation and recognisable events. This year's Adris 44Cup is not just a sailing race, but it's also a celebration of the new hotel and the marina, which will both be centres of the entire event. He added that in addition to 4 billion kuna already invested, Adris Group will invest further 2 billion kuna in the tourist segment of their business by 2021, and 450 million kuna will go to Vrsar and their objects there - Pineta and Koversada.

RC44 Championship tour is the world tour, consisting of 5 separate races, held in Montenegro, Rovinj, Sweden, Portugal and Spain. All teams use the same boats, class RC44, designed by New Zealander Russell Coutts, five-time America's Cup winner and one of the greatest sailors of all time and Andrej Justin, Slovenian star-boat designer. Each team consists of the owner, four amateurs, three professional sailors and a tactician. The boats are sometimes called the sailing Formula 1, made of carbon fibres, 13,35 meters long and weighing just over 3500 kg, which gives them remarkable acceleration and a chance for a crew to show their skill.

Chefs with as many as 20 Michelin stars will attend.

October 4, 2018 - Continuing our look at the Mediterranean as It Once Was along Croatia's coast - meet an Istrian jewel in 1965. 

An incredible initiative by Croatia’s best bracelet boutique. 

Fortunately, the twisters have not reached the land.