April 30, 2021 - Just before the May Day holiday, on April 29, Bluesun has opened its first hotel on the Makarska Riviera - the 5-star BSH Berulia in Brela.

Thus, all guests who have booked other Bluesun hotels in Brela will be accommodated in their most sought-after and most luxurious hotel, regardless of the price range. According to Bluesun, other hotels in their destinations will open gradually, in line with market demands, which is expected at the end of May, reports HRTurizam.

Interestingly, Hotel Berulia in Brela is one of the capital works of Ante Rožić, and the famous Bernardo Bernardi designed the interior. The hotel is divided into individual compositional units, which brings the rooms closer to nature, and all other design procedures lead to the fact that architecture and nature permeate as much as possible, from the fact that the body of the building is "broken" and "pierced" by the atriums. The corridors and staircases partly turn into an exterior space that extends to the terraces. The hotel and outdoor facilities cascade down to the intimate beach of Berulia, respecting the morphology of the terrain and entering it minimally invasively.

"Bluesun Hotel Berulia opens its doors on Thursday, April 29, when we expect about 100 guests, while May Day itself will welcome between 200 and 250 guests. These are mostly domestic guests and guests from nearby auto destinations. The exact number of guests, given the situation, is difficult to estimate because they all have flexible conditions for changing and canceling reservations. Still, we do not expect the number to deviate too much from the current situation. Namely, we are in daily contact with guests who confirm their arrival, and we also record new reservations after confirming the opening of the hotel," said Stjepko Šošić, Bluesun's Director of Revenue Management.

Holiday village Velaris *** in Supetar on Brač and Bluesun camp Paklenica **** in Starigrad Paklenica have already been opened.

Bluesun provides COVID-19 tests / Contactless check-in at all destinations.

For guests to start their holiday safely, they have provided contactless check-in at Bluesun this season. The procedure is quick and easy - and the link is sent to the guest by mail after the guest enters all the necessary information, while upon arrival at the hotel, they pick up the key to their room. By ensuring such minimal contact and avoiding gathering people around the reception, the highest safety and health standards are respected.

"For our guests, we will organize RAT (ANTIGEN) and PCR testing for COVID-19 in Brela, Tucepi, Bol, Supetar. Guests wishing to do so should contact the hotel reception. Testing will be performed on Mondays and Fridays for each listed city so that the arrival time is fixed and the results are issued accordingly. The results of antigen tests will be issued during the stay in hotels, while PCR will be issued and sent by the end of the day for Tucepi and Brela and Brač the next day by 12:00. In case of a positive test result - our employees are educated, and our protocols for such situations are carefully developed," said Josip Rikić, Bluesun's Director of Hotel Operations. 

The price of the PCR test is HRK 560, and the price of the RAT (ANTIGEN) test is HRK 200. The Lablus Split Polyclinic will perform testing in all Bluesun destinations:

Tucepi - testing at hotel Alga for the whole destination
Brela - testing at hotel Soline for the whole destination (until the opening of Soline, in hotel Berulia)
Brac - testing at the Elaphusa Hotel and the Velaris Resort

Since the beginning of April, good booking numbers and great interest in the main season have been recorded, according to Bluesun.

At the moment, it is difficult to plan anything and stick to the numbers, both because of the flexible cancellation conditions that everyone had to introduce this year and because of the last-minute bookings that will dominate. Also, precisely because of the flexible cancellation conditions and the uncertain situation, guests book in several places. A few days before departure, they will finally determine which accommodation and destination to choose, which will further disrupt any long-term planning.

Although the state of reservations doesn't mean much right now, it is good that there is interest.

"Through our own sales channels and major OTA partners, we had the same number of bookings for the main season as in the same week of 2019. Vaccination in Croatia and major markets, strict adherence to epidemiological measures, as well as the possibility of testing at destinations, certainly give optimism for this season," concluded Šošić.

Follow the latest travel updates and COVID-19 news from Croatia HERE.

For more on travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

HRTurizam reports on August 27, 2019, that based on the Decision on the allocation of funds from the Co-financing Program for Capital Projects on the Maritime Property in Split-Dalmatia County for 2019, the County Prefect Blaženko Boban signed contracts worth HRK 8.5 million with the mayor of Omiš Ivo Tomasović, Deputy Mayor of Trogir Ruža Kovačević Bilić, Deputy Mayor of Kaštela Grgica Benutic and Ante Čobrnić of Tučepi.

The city of Omiš received HRK 1.5 million for landscaping Brzet beach, the city of Trogir HRK 3 million for the construction of the breakwater of Brigi Lokvice sports harbor, and HRK 2 million to Kaštela for landscaping the Glavica bay in Kaštel Lukšić. The Municipality of Tučepi also received HRK 2 million to improve the coastal zone from the marina to Gospin creek, all with the aim of strengthening the competitiveness of Split-Dalmatia County through the development of coastal and marine infrastructure, as well as strengthening the tourist and economic resource base.

“It is well known that our County manages one-third of the total maritime domain of the Republic of Croatia. It was not easy to do all the preparatory work because only projects that have been awarded a 

building permit were financed, and the projects were co-financed in the ratio of half of Split-Dalmatia County, half of the units of local self-government. In this way, together with the local self-government units, we will change the overall view of our coastal towns. Therefore, let the contracts signed today be an incentive for other local communities to participate in such county competitions,” said Blaženko Boban.

Stipe Čogelja, Head of the Maritime and Tourism Managing Board, emphasized that the County has already prepared all the relevant strategic documents for beach management, from the Tourism Capacity Plan to the Beach Management Plan, and announced the development of the Integrated Coastal Zone Management Plan foreseen by European Directives which only Šibenik-Knin County has so far. 

"We are ready for a new EU financial perspective from 2021, to apply for even more funding for sustainable coastal zone management," said Čogelja.

To read more about travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

Looking to explore the coastal gems of Dalmatia without the crowds? Let us take you from Split to Tučepi for the ultimate off-season getaway this winter. 

The luxury hotel is considered to be the oldest hotel on the Adriatic coast in Croatia

A second forest fire breaks out in Dalmatia in the early hours of June 19, 2017, as 800 tourists are evacuated from hotels in Tucepi.