Split Vestibul Palace Hotel is already proven as first-class, with dozens of awards and plenty of 5-star reviews. Of course, there is always more. The world's biggest tour guide publisher Fodor's Travel included this boutique hotel settled in the heart of Diocletian's Palace on its top 100 hotels list , as the first Croatian hotel ever to reach this flattering recognition. Vestibul Palace was enlisted among 13 hotels in category "Creative Conversions", meaning hotels based in buildings not originally built as a hotel. Competition was fierce, about 17,000 hotels from 43 countries were reviewed.
"When we heard we entered narrow choice of 4,000 hotels, we thought it was a success. This is incredible, said Vestibul's owner Nenad Nizic at a press conference.
Fodor's review of Vestibul Palace is full of superlatives, and now it will be enriched with the Fodor's 100 Hotels Award.
"Three palaces from different eras have been combined to form this intimate Old Town standout with interiors that have been carefully renovated to expose Roman stone- and brick-work, along with more modern, minimalist designer details", said Fodor's review, written by one of the publisher's "mystery guests".
"When we opened in 2005 and said we want elite clients, prepared to pay high price for ultimate quality, many laughed. Now they don't. Now we have reputation based on quality, and our guests are willing to pay average 300 euros per night. Our the most expensive suite costs 800 euros per night, and it's been already booked for October 2014," said Nizic.
Unfortunately, Vestibul Palace is partly a victim of the short season in Split, due to a lack of airlines and conference facilities.
"We might be better than Cannes, but we need more hotels, more facilities for events like conventions, fairs, or exhibitions," said Nizic.
City and county tourist boards managers Josko Stella and Vedran Matosic also attended the Vestibul's press conference, and agreed with Nizic's remarks. They said that Split and surrounding area are on a path to be branded as the center of cultural tourism.
Vestibul Palace was recently also listed on CNN's list of 12 best European hotels settled in castles and palaces, which is another great news for this hotel, and for Split as a boutique hotel destination.
