By the same survey, in regional selection Istria is reanked as the most desirable destination, followed by Bavaria, Tyrol in Germany and Lake Garda in Italy.

The analysis was made on the basis of a survey of 1.7 million of ADAC’s members.

The top four destinations for German camping enthusiasts are Germany, Italy, Croatia and France.

In the Lonely Planet’s article , Istra is discribed as follows:

‘Tone Tuscany down a notch or two – thin the tourist hordes, lower the prices, sprinkle a little mystique – and you get Istria. Shaped like a heart, this Italian-flavoured peninsula of 3600 sq km is where continental Croatia meets the Adriatic. In summer months, the sun-and-sea set storms the resort-lined coast, or so-called ‘blue Istria’. For art, food, wine and an offbeat vibe, head to the interior, nicknamed ‘green Istria’ – a bucolic dream of rolling hills, hilltop villages, rural B&Bs and farmhouse restaurants”

To find out what other regions are included in the list  – read the rest of the article here

Sol Meliá, the largest resort hotel company in the world, has shown its commitment to improving the quality of its hotel portfolio in Croatia with the reopening of two resort hotels in Umag , Istria: the Meliá Coral and the Meliá Istrian Villas, both previously operated under the Sol Hotels brand.

The changes have required the adaptation of the hotels to the Meliá Hotels brand standards and its focus on excellent customer service, thus also adding to the attractiveness of Umag as a travel destination.

The new Meliá Coral provides 244 rooms, 6 luxury suites, a range of different options for corporate events, and a great choice of additional facilities including a spa, swimming pool, solarium, tapas bar and Mediterranean tavern. Its multi-purpose outdoor areas are also perfect for social events along with the creation of two new leisure areas for fun and relaxation: the Club Elite Automat and the Beach Club.

The Meliá Istrian Villas is an idyllic oasis of apartments alongside the sea yet only two kilometres from the centre of Umag, which combines traditional architecture with modern design and superior comfort. A place where guests can enjoy both the natural environment and total privacy or take part in a fantastic range of sports activities. This year the hotel also inaugurates a new restaurant named O Grill.
Browse and book all Hotels in Umag

Vila Annete in Rabac

Stylish family hotels in Europe  is article in Saturday’s Guardian travel edition that recommends child-friendly holidays in chic-free zones around Europe where  Vila Annete in Rabac is picked among other family-pleasing accommodation that’s easy on adult eyes. Here is what Guardian writes about Villa Annete, Rabac :

One of Croatia’s chicest hotels, Villa Annette is also ideal for families, with spacious suites with small kitchens, and a children’s menu in the stylish restaurant. The hotel is situated above Rabac bay, with stunning views, and the picturesque village of Rabac is just a mile away. Rooms are sleekly decked out in bright reds and neutrals – with no priceless objets d’art for sticky fingers to knock over, and child-safe railings along all the open spaces.

Four star Hotel Villa Annette, Rabac ★★★★☆  is also featured on our site as  ‘small, charming hotel, located in a protected part of the hill overlooking the bay of Rabac, offering beautiful panoramic views over the Kvarner bay and the islands of Cres, Lošinj and Unije. Prices from €99 – Number of rooms: 12′  –  Check Hotel Villa Annette, Rabac availability  + Browse and book other Rabac hotels + read more about Istria

In last weeks eddition of Guardian Travel, under the title Autumn in the Med, Istria is featured among other Medditeranean recommended destination. Here is an excerpt from the article:

Istria, a peninsula in the north of Croatia, enjoys a temperate Mediterranean climate, which means autumn days will be comfortably warm but nights cooler, perfect if you want to get out and about exploring. The region’s vineyards come alive in autumn, as this is a time for picking malvasia, teran and muscat grapes. Wine trail excursions can take you to the best cellars in the region. It’s also the start of the truffle season, which is celebrated with the two-month-long Days of Truffles festival. This kicks off in Buzet on 12 September – where a giant omelette with more than 2,000 eggs and 10kg of truffles is prepared in a huge pan – and continues until 8 November with fairs, demos of truffle searching, tastings and auctions..

Read the whole article here

In today’s eddition of Guardian Travel, under the title ‘ Ten of the best WWOOFing breaks’ , Nadomak Sunca in Istria is also featured.

The article starts with ‘ These European holidays are great for the environment and for your budget – provided you don’t mind mucking out on a farm or sticking your hand in a beehive’ and contniues with listings.

This is an excerpt from the article:

Nadomak Sunca, Istria, Croatia: An unusual opportunity to WWOOF for a children’s NGO. Nadomak Sunca was set up in 1993, during the war in the former Yugoslavia, to provide long-term foster families for children who had been orphaned or otherwise displaced. Their work continues with disadvantaged youngsters. WWOOFers work in the organic garden, which feeds the foster families, and help out with the children’s therapeutic activities such as horseriding and gardening. Minimum stay is three months and there are some visa restrictions.

Getting there: Take the train to Trieste in north-eastern Italy. Then take a bus to Buje, where the hosts will pick you up. The bus journey takes around an hour.

Read the complete article here

Among other sugested European holiday castles, villas and mansions, Casa Oraj in Istrian resort of Lovran (located 5km south of Opatija), is also recommended.

Here is an excerpt from the article:

Croatia, Casa Oraj, Lovran, Sleeps 8:

Casa Oraj’s huge terrace, which overlooks the Adriatic, is crying out for a party.

A renovated stone farmhouse set high on a hill among chestnut and olive trees, rooms are basic but clean – not that you’ll notice much since open-air massage can be arranged, and afterwards a dip in the pool belonging to Villa Astra below (it has the same owner) is great for shaking off a sunbathing fug.

The caves in the hills below are not just for the brave – there are ropes to guide your way – but make sure you don’t do it after sampling Casa Oraj’s wine cellar. 00385 5129 4604, lovranske-vile.com, from £50pp per week. Nearest airport: Pula  – Read the whole article here

• Glam beach retreats for under €100 :  Beach bungalows, Palmizana, Croatia

Glitzy Hvar is Croatia’s celebrity magnet. It’s here that the moneyed dock their mega yachts, stepping ashore to strut the town’s pale marble promenade.

But 10 minutes away courtesy of a private speedboat, lies the island paradise of Palmizana and Pansion Meneghello whose bungalows and two restaurants are tucked around 200m of sandy beach.

A botanical haven, the thick Mediterranean pines, palms and fragrant eucalyptus that cover the island were planted a century ago by Eugenio Manghello, the grandfather of the current owners.

• 0038 52 171 7270, palmizana.hr, four-person bungalows from €210pp pw. Nearest airport: Split.

• Mum, can we move here? Croatia : Villa Carlini, Istria

Nature and Kind promises an “authentic and enriching experience beyond the ordinary” and these double-storey villas on the Istrian peninsula – known for its vineyards, olive trees and Medieval towns – appear to do the job.

Restored using Istrian stone, wood and terracotta and featuring a walled garden that encloses a pool, lawn and patches of lavender and rosemary, Villa Carlini strikes a good balance between authenticity and a hi-spec retreat.

And, if you like doing stuff there’s tons of activities, including game fishing, cycling, boat charters to nearby islands, dolphin-watching, waterskiing and snorkelling.

• Nature and Kind (0845 299 7776, natureandkind.com) has a week from €511pp (based on eight sharing). Nearest airport: Pula.

This is an excerpt from the article:

Mondo Konoba may be the best little restaurant that you may never reach. It is what eating in the Old World should feel like. Just be warned that you’ll have to work for it..

Mondo Konoba sits on a slope just outside the large gate to the beautiful medieval village of Motovun, which is on a hilltop deep in the Croatian countryside almost an hour from the nearest train station. Visitors can drive up the narrow winding road almost to the top, though they must leave their cars and make their way along the final stretch of narrow cobbled streets with misshapen and brightly colored houses on foot. Otherwise, it’s a stunning, but tiring, half-hour trek to Motovun….

Read the complete article here

Swap Corfu for Korcula : A long-time family favourite, Corfu offers an ideal mix of bustling resorts, long sandy beaches and stunning Venetian architecture in Corfu town. The Croatian island of Korcula, however, can match it on almost every front – wooded hills, unspoilt beaches and an elegant old town of its own. There are vineyards for wine-tasting, walking and cycling trails and a far less developed feel than its Greek equivalent. Best of all, the Croatian kuna goes much further; try garlic mussels washed down with a glass or two of Posip (local white wine) and you won’t spend much more than a fiver.

Swap Chianti for Istria: Vinophiles who shudder at the price of accommodation in the Italian wine region should look further afield; Istria, Croatia’s northernmost province, has rolling hills scored with vines. In autumn the woods are filled with truffles, and villages are home to cheese and olive-oil makers, whose produce is a fraction of the price of their Tuscan equivalents. Hilltop towns such as Groznjan and Motovun have all the charm and none of the crowds, while a long lunch in the square in medieval Svetvincenat will deliver home-made pizza with wine for around £15.

Swap Ibiza for Zadar: It might sound surprising, but Zadar in Croatia has one of the hippest club scenes in Europe come the summer months. Like D’alt Vila, the atmospheric old town in Ibiza, the polished cobbles of Zadar are crammed till the early (or late) hours with partygoers moving between venues such as the Garden and the Arsenal, which stages art and fashion shows alongside the club nights. If you’re looking for a Pacha equivalent try Porat run by renowned Croatian promoter Sergej Ludovic – where drinks will cost considerably less than the Pacha-average of £20.

Read the whole article here

Under the title ‘Find a budget base in Croatia‘ , David Ryan writes about his Istrian experience. This is and excpert from the article:

Every holiday has a defining moment, a mental snapshot which recalls the mood, be it eye-glazingly good or teeth-grindingly bad. In Croatia, it came on the final evening.

Replete with excellent local seafood and Istrian wine, we sat and watched the promenaders on the quayside in Fazana. The sun had plunged behind the Brijuni Islands, trailing a palette of bright pinks and sombre blues; the water lapped against the harbour wall and the fishing boats bobbed. The town square was bathed in amber light and, from beneath the campanile of the 14th-century church of St Cosmas and St Damian, a male folk choir began crooning into the balmy night… Read the whole article here

Along with the program for the period from 29 December 2008 till 4 January 2009, created to suit the liveliest time of the year, Valamar announced some imaginative surprises for all participants in the New Year’s spectacle. Show cooking, relax room, free use of indoor pool and fitness centre, live music every night, champagne, top quality wine and delicacies from the Istrian region…they are all a part of Valamar package presented last week in Porec, Croatia.

The culmination of the New Year’s Eve program will happen in the Valamar Diamant Hotel where gala evening will take place and where guests will be offered a wide range of tastes and flavours of creative Istrian cooking, consisting mostly of fresh seafood, which placed Istria on the lists of world’s top gastronomy. The menu will, among other things, feature oysters, crabs, octopus, scampi, salmon and truffles, which in combination with fine wines of this region, definitely presents a combination that should awake interest in those who appreciate gastronomy and entertainment.

Valamar Diamant Hotel in Porec is located in the near vicinity of sea in the true Mediterranean surroundings of green stone pines, ten minutes walk away from picturesque historic centre of Porec, the central place of western Istrian coast and town with long and turbulent history.
Porec is most famous for its well preserved historic centre. One of the many interesting things that are connected to Porec, is that its streets have preserved its original formation from the Roman times till today, as well as the architecture, cultural and historical monuments. The Euphrasian Basilica from the 6th century, as the most important one found its place on UNESCO’s list of protected cultural heritage.

Valamar Hotels and Resorts is the leading Croatian hospitality management company, operates 40 properties in four Croatian destinations. Click for more information about Valamar Diamant Hotel and booking

Hotel Lone will be situated in the exclusive Monte Mulini Zone in Rovinj, in which hotel company Maistra invested around 290 million HRK. The hotel was designed by 3LHD architectural studio of Zagreb.

Hotel Lone will be situated in Zlatni Rt Park Forest. It will have 240 rooms, nine suites and a presidential suite. The hotel will contain a wellness and spa center, a fitness area and numerous catering facilities. It will also have a congress hall seating 600 people, and a few smaller conference halls.

The Design Hotels chain, established in the USA 15 years ago, comprises 170 hotels in 41 countries. Most of the hotels are in Europe – 118 of them. The Design Hotels organization requires a special and authentic product, providing a high level of service and being different than hotel chains for its avoidance of standardization of design, service, etc. Member hotels/hotel companies are required to persist on uniqueness of their hotels, modern design and harmony with the environment and natural heritage.

Pula Airport has also started to welcome flights from the German cities of Dresden, Leipzig, Rostock, Berlin and Erfurt, as well as Paris, France.

In May, Pula Airport will have direct flights to Cologne, Amsterdam, Moscow, Newcastle, Eindhoven, Bordeaux, Nantes, Manchester and Edinburgh, while flights to Stockholm and Yekaterinburg will be available from early June.

At the end of that month, flights for Belgrade, Copenhagen, Göteborg, Kiev, Barcelona and Madrid will be introduced, enabling tourists from many European cities to arrive quickly in the middle of the Istrian peninsula.

Pula Airport is only a few minutes by car from the center of the Pula town that has existed for three millennia and represents a treasury of cultural wealth. With its distinctive Arena, which transforms into a stage for culture & entertainment, and its numerous cultural monuments, Pula has obtained the status of a cultural tourism destination.  Istria tourist facilities are situated in the abundant forests along the sea, with magnificent beaches stretching for a hundred kilometers. Modern roads will quickly take you from Pula to any other tourist destination on the coast or in Croatia’s interior.

The new ferry line, which will be a seasonal one, already got approval from Croatian authorities and is now in process of obtaining accreditation of concession.

In the summer months, roads in area around Pula are getting very buzy with daily traffic jams and lack of parking places, so it is expected the new ferry line will improve traffic conditions around Pula as well as in the whole Istria. Check Istria Map for location of Pula, Fazana (Brijuni) and Rovinj.

For all future updates on this and other Croatia ferry lines, stay tune here at Croatia Ferry News

Following the reconstruction of Hotel Riviera in Porec  – Istria, that began in early February, this oldest hotel in town located in the historical town core, will be renamed to Hotel Palazzo and will completely change its appearance.

The old part of the hotel, which cannot be modified for its architectural value, will remain unchanged, with two new wings to be added giving it a touch of modern style.

The new Hotel Palazzo will have a total of 70 rooms and four presidential suites – the smallest will have an area of 85 square meters, and the largest as much as 400 square meters.  Around 5 million euros is to be invested.

Surrounded by the sea on three sides, the attractive hotel will have an outdoor swimming pool with seawater available all year long, a beauty salon, an extensive wellness and fitness offer, a night club, a premium restaurant and more..

The new hotel building, offering a high four-star service, should get its exterior contours by the beginning of this year’s summer season. However it is unlikely it will be able to receive its first guests by that time.

Porec Town Tourist Board  www.istra.com/porec

The Minister of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure Božidar Kalmeta, after a discussion lead by the representative from Istria, concluded that the addressed topic would be regulated via an amendment.

It was not specified although it was already, to some extent, part of the plan, Kalmeta stated, reminding everybody that the joining of the Istrian railway system with the rest of Croatia demanded an additional tunnel through the Učka mountain range.

The two gastro-guides present a total of 32 Istrian restaurants,  and five in Opatija.

The Italian gastro-guide Veronelli was printed in 40 thousand copies, and the French Gault Millau in 30 thousand copies, and they will both be ready for the upcoming tourist season.

Inclusion of the Istrian gastronomic offering in the pages of such important European gastronomic guides is a great, yet expected success. As it happens, great improvements in the quality and quantity of the gastro offer have been noticeable in the entire Istria over the past few years, and this mainly pertains to the traditional specialties, which have already made Istria distinctive. The gastronomic specialties are accompanied by Istrian wines and olive oils in the international distinctiveness.

Istria Tourist Board www.istria.hr

According to Jutarnji.hr , Croatian daily, the fire is under control and it is expeced that Bura wind, predicted by weather forecast for Croatia, will push the ship further away from Croatian coast.

Update: 7 February 2008 – Minister says situation regarding Turkish ship is stable

The Croatian Minister of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure Božidar Kalmeta said that the situation was stable regarding the Turkish cargo ship that caught fire on the open sea off Istria on Wednesday.

Briefing the government at the start of its session on Thursday about this accident, Kalmeta said that all necessary steps, proposed for such cases, had been taken since the very moment the authorities were informed about the fire on the 193-metre-long ship, which was transporting 11 tonnes of hazardous cargo and 200 trucks from Istanbul to the Italian port of Trieste.

He said that five tugboats had been on the scene all the night to help extinguish fire and act in case of fuel leakage.

The owner of the ship also engaged the Dutch company Schmidt, specialized in fire extinguishment operations, and its specialists are expected to start putting fire on the ship later in the day.

Until the noon on Thursday the flame was contained, and white smoke was curling from the vessel.

Kalmeta said that the ship owner and the Croatian rescue services would agree on the location where the ship would be towed. (Hina)

Update: 17 February 2008 – Towing of burnt Turkish ship from Croatian waters to Trieste begins

The towing of the Turkish ship ‘Und Adriyatik’ from Croatian waters west of northern Adriatic city of Pula to the Italian port of Trieste began around 1300 hours on Sunday.

The 193-metre-long ship was being towed by two Italian and two Croatian tugboats and a Pula Port Authority boat. The vessel was expected to arrive in Trieste on Monday.

The towing was being electronically monitored by the Rijeka-based National Search and Rescue Centre and the Pula Port Authority.

The Turkish ship was sailing from Istanbul to Trieste when it caught fire early on the morning of 6 February 13 miles west of the northern Croatian Adriatic resort of Rovinj. All nine passengers and 22 crew members were rescued by a passing Greek ship and taken to Venice. The fire on the ship was put out on 9 February.

The vessel was transporting about 200 trucks and 11 tonnes of hazardous material. (Hina)

Turkish-flagged ship catches fire off Rovinj, all passengers safe

The Turkish-flagged ship ‘Und Adriyatik’ caught fire early Wednesday morning 15 miles off the northern Croatian Adriatic resort of Rovinj, said Marina Haluzan, spokeswoman for the Croatian Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure.

Three vessels that found themselves in the vicinity were sent to the site of the accident. All 22 crew members and nine passengers aboard the burning ship were rescued by the crew of the Greek ship Ikarus Palace.

The National Search and Rescue Centre said it began a rescue operation at 0500 hours.

The National Emergency Services Centre said that the 193-metre-long ship was transporting 11 tonnes of hazardous cargo (oil products) and 200 trucks to the Italian port of Trieste, and that it was very likely that the ship would sink and pollute the sea.

Photos of the burning ship

Blazing freighter threatens oil spill off Croatia – A burning Turkish cargo ship with 1,000 tonnes of crude oil aboard was drifting towards Croatia’s Adriatic coast on Wednesday, threatening to pollute tourist beaches.

“The situation is dangerous but it’s under control at the moment. An additional difficulty is that the currents are carrying the ship towards the coast,” Sea and Transport Minister Bozidar Kalmeta said before heading to the region….

Read the rest of the article

The greatest confirmation of the hotel’s quality is certainly satisfied guests, and besides their praise the recognition coming from business partners also holds an important place. Maistra was again last year prominent among many competitors and confirmed its quality and recognizable profile by winning these awards.

British tour operator Thomson Holidays, a part of one of the leading tourism companies in the world, the TUI Group, has again this year awarded the Maistra’s facilities in Rovinj Gold Medal Awards based on customer satisfaction, in two categories.

The award in the 4T Best Thomson Summer Accommodation category went to the Hotel Eden for the 9th time running, while the Hotel Park won the award in the 3T Best Thomson Summer Accommodation for the 4th time in a row.

Maistra’s Belvedere tourist resort is the only facility in Croatia to win the Neckermann Primo Award 2007, which also puts it among the Top 100 best and most popular facilities in the opinion of guests. This award is particularly significant as it shows the success of last year’s 13 million euro investment into the reconstruction of the resort.

All three awards are granted on the basis of surveys carried out among guests that stayed at Maistra hotels by way of these tour operators. The evaluation itself covered several key factors such as location, quality of service, cleanliness, room comfort, food quality, activities on offer, the price to quality ratio, the guests overall vacation satisfaction and other similar criteria.

More info Maistra: www.maistra.com , Istria Tourist Board : www.istra.hr

The first draft of 2007 figures are following:

• Croatia had a total of 10.8 million visits (6% increase compared to 2006), resulting in just over 57 million overnight stays.
• Istria had a total of 2.75 million visits. (5% increase compared with 2006), resulting in 18 million overnight stays.
• Kvarner had a total of 2.45 million visits (5% increase compared with 2006), resulting in 12.6 million ovenight stays.
• Dalmacija had a total of 4.5 million visits (7% increase compared with 2006), resulting in 24.5 million overnight stays.
• Croatian Adriatic Coast had a total of just under 10 million visits (7% increase compared with 2006), resulting in just over 55 million overnight stays.
• Continental Croatia (Slavonija and Central Croatia), had 400 thousand total visits (6% increase compared with 2006), with 850 thousands overnight stays.
• Zagreb had a total of 606 thousand visits (13% increase compard with 2006), resulting in 1.1 million overnight stays.

Most visitors to Croatia came from Germany, Slovenia and Austria, followed by resident of other European coutries.

Valamar Hotels & Resorts, the largest Croatian hotel company, managing 38 tourist facilities in four leading Adriatic coast destinations, has published sales results for the previous year and announced new investments for business expansion.

“This has been a very successful year for Valamar. We have achieved an increase in sales income of 14% compared to previous year, with 80% of hotel occupancy level. We are preparing new capital investments of 14 million EUR intended for human resources, Valamar brand expansion, consolidation and sales increase” – said Mr. Zrinko Kamber, a member of the Valamar Board, at the annual convention of Valamar Group held in the hotel Dubrovnik President.

Valamar has also announced further investments in existing facilities, namely Hotel Koralj in Krk and Hotel Luna in Poreč, which will be improved by new amenities and go through marketing repositioning. Those resorts will also get the “Valamar” brand added to their names.

The most significant investment is related to construction continuation of the Valamar Lacroma Resort, the largest congress hotel in Dubrovnik, which will be opened in 2009. This is a 34 million EUR project for the high-class hotel which will have 400 luxury rooms and suits, a multifunctional hall with thousand seats, wellness and business centre, pools, restaurants, bars and other facilities and programmes of the highest quality.

The chairman of the Valamar Group Board Peter Fuchs emphasised the importance of human resources investments:

“Next year, Valamar will invest 1 million EUR in human resources, including education for more than 1300 employees. Besides that we have granted scholarships for 45 students and established Valamar Academy which gave us three new managers and one assistant manager. We expect that further development programmes for new generations of attendants will produce 11 managers and 20 department managers.” – Mr. Fuchs said.

Besides the investments in new objects, human resources and facilities, Valamar emphasises the trend of direct sales increase, in particular, online reservations through their website http://www.valamar.com/, which has had more than 4 million visitors this year.

Average number of visitors per day is 12000, which increases up to 30000 in the peak of the season; this is the maximal number of visits recorded as of 10 July. The website visitors came from 178 countries, but more than half of them were from Italy (33%) and Germany (18%), followed by Austria (10%), Croatia (9%), Slovenia (6%) and Great Britain (3%)… Investments in internet, as a direct marketing and sales channel, are regarded as very important, as this channel has been progressively growing every year.

“This year’s results are above all expectations so I can safely say that we have considerably exceeded the a priori set high scale. From the total number of this year’s reservations, 27% have been made via direct sales, whereas the internet plays an important role here. We have invested in numerous targeted forms of internet marketing, from advertising on highly visited internet portals on targeted markets, over marketing on search engines, all up to implementation of new forms of market communication – informative blogs in five languages that inform our visitors on events and other interesting facts connected to our destinations ” – says Zeljko Kukurin, director of direct sales and marketing in Valamar.

Beside the direct effects of online booking, Valamar points out that 60% of their guests use internet when planning their vacation, so that the influence of internet in marketing and sales stretches beyond the framework of the mentioned figures.

“In 2004 we started with serious investments in this channel, with new web sites and a completely automated online booking system that has the option of online payment for all our hotels and campsites. Last year we redirected the hotel and apartment offer to web site http://www.valamar.com/, and campsites to http://www.camping-adriatic.com/, whereas we have continued the permanent online marketing activities” – says Franko Rados, executive informatics e-business in Valamar.

In Valamar they also point out that they expect a continual increase of visits in the following yeart as well as navigating towards new markets.

Valamar Hotels and Resorts is the leading Croatian hospitality management company, operates 38 properties (21 hotels, 8 apartment villages and 9 campsites) in four Croatian destinations (Poreč, Dubrovnik, Rabac and Krk) is the market leader in this segment.

CONTACT
Mario Slavic
Phone: (385)51 451 081
Email: mario.slavic@valamar.com

ORGANIZATION
Valamar Hotels & Resorts
http://www.valamar.com/
Miramarska cesta 24
Zagreb , Croatia
Phone: (385) 1 6312 777
Fax: (385) 1 6312 778
Email: info@valamar.com

The Umag company Istraturist recently completed construction of new attractive Istrian villas which have now become an integral part of the tourist settlement Stella Maris in the immediate vicinity of the town of Umag, Istria.

With an investment worth about 17 million Euros, the settlement Stella Maris has been transformed into an exceptionally comfortable holiday region – it is an area of about 80 thousand square metres which is dominated by a hundred year old pine forest surrounded by an attractive lagoon. There used to be accommodation facilities in this area earlier, however, now the settlement has been modernised – supplemented with the new luxury resort Istrian villas.

In the entire resort tourists have at their disposal a total of 180 accommodation units of four star category. Every villa has its own private garden which blends perfectly into the picture of an otherwise picturesque peninsula isolated from traffic, noise and activities of the rest of the settlement.

Aside from their own luxury villa, guests can also relax in the new Aqua Chill Out zone with a pool, sun tanning area and relaxation area.

The whole renovation of the entire area was approached with great care which also included the restaurant where primarily sea specialties and the flavours of Istrian traditional cuisine are offered.

Along with the newly restored beach, a beautiful walking path leads all the way to the historical centre of Umag.

More info at Istraturist Umag web : http://www.istraturist.com/ and Umag Tourist Board: http://www.tz-umag.hr + Map of Istria