Diocletian’s street (Dioklecijanovca ulica) inside the palace walls should see another hotel opening...
While it’s no surprise that there are a number of tourist facilities within Diocletian’s palace and the historic center of Split, it is unique when the investor of a new project within that space was once a popular football player. Former Hajduk footballer Darko Miladin is the next to invest in a new project within the palace, and he surely claims that this one will be special.
In an interview with Slobodna Dalmacija on January 28, 2017, Darko Miladin announces that there will be many unique aspects of this new hotel, and for starters, the hotel will essentially float above the alleyways of Split, with guests sleeping over the heads of passers-by.
“My object lies 90% above Diocletian’s street, above the archway where people walk, and only 10% of it connects from the side. At one point it was a part of the palace D'Augubio. We will specifically make a heritage-hotel, and we will return the building back to its original state. It will look like it did in the 15th century. From the walls to the ceilings and floors…there will be something special. The hotel will have five rooms, with a reception, but no restaurant,” announces Miladin, who does not believe in the aesthetics of steel and concrete in the historic center.
“Old houses have a soul, and they function as a whole. We put wooden beams in, Venetian below…and inside there will not be concrete, parquet or tiles. We have not yet asked for deadlines for when it should be ready. The investment is quite demanding, and the building was about to collapse,” he adds.
The question of furniture for the heritage-hotel has not yet been completely resolved.
“We have some original furniture, and some we will still try to buy. We will deal with this stage of planning once we get to it,” adds Miladin.
Until then, another problem must be solved: the entrance.
“The entrance of the hotel should be on the west side, from the palace D'Augubio where it once was. I filed requests to conservationists to approve this, but I do have an entrance directly from Diocletian's street. If I'm not given permission to open the entrance to the hotel at the site where it was before, then the entrance will be from the street.”
The former footballer adds that he has already accomplished projects such as this in Dubrovnik, which shows that he is up to the demanding task.
“I was born in Dubrovnik, in the Old City. I have a house there that was restored with antique furnishings 10 years ago. A lot of people come there just to see it and admire it. In Split, I will do a copy and paste of what I have done in Dubrovnik. I believe that it will be very interesting,” concludes Miladin.
