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

The article begins with paragraph: ‘All you need is this 13-page guide, full of holiday ideas for every type of couple.’ and follows by ‘Rowan Pelling gets us in the mood with her tips on how to get it right. And remember, romance isn’t just for Valentine’s Day..’

Under the ‘Glamorous romantic getaways’ subsection, at the 5th place, Vis Island is featured under the title ’Enjoy your own secret garden Vis, Croatia‘, followed by paragraph ‘Hidden behind the 16th-century Garibaldi Palace walls on the island of Vis, Villa Kaliopa is a secret garden of palms, sculpture and candlelit tables each out of earshot so you dont have to whisper your sweet nothings where smiley waiters present the days catch. Hire your own yacht or berth from Kaliopa harbour between May and September to see the Dalmatian islands at their best. Lazy Winch Yachting (01284 830505, lazywinch.com). Six days crewed island sailing in June from 425pp, breakfast and lunch included. Villa Kaliopa (00385 21 711 755) main courses from 25.’

Other featured destinations, among others, include Venice, Vienna, New York and Sicilly..

Read the whole article here

Frontier Financial Services (FFS) was established in early 2007 to support the growing international property investment industry. The popularity of international investment in real estate by UK buyers has meant that more and more purchases were taking place in emerging markets not used to foreign buyers.

The need for international property finance in countries as far a field as the Philippines is becoming more and more common. In response to this diversification and unlike the majority of other international mortgage brokers, FFS actively pursues the acquisition of mortgages in some of the world’s most unusual countries, namely its emerging markets. Its aim is to negotiate the very best finance options whilst offering its customers unparalleled levels of professionalism and service.

As a completely independent body, FFS is not restricted to overseas property mortgages in just one country. Whilst offering finance solutions in the more familiar environments of France and Italy, FFS also offers international property mortgages as far a field as Ghana and the Philippines. In fact it is so dedicated to delivering the highest levels of service to its customers that it is constantly investigating mortgage acquisition in new countries.

As the only UK firm to offer mortgages in Croatia and Montenegro, FFS can facilitate loans of 70% LTV for both UK and Irish buyers on completion. That FFS is the only broker to offer overseas property finance in these countries is indicative of the exceptional relationships and strong trust it has forged with banks worldwide. It has also engineered 90% LTV mortgages in Poland and special terms for newly formed companies in Romania, as well as staggering 100% LTV mortgages in Turkey.

Homesgofast.com CEO Nicholas Marr: “Finding the right finance for an overseas property can be a daunting experience. Frontiers Financial are providing mortgages for our visitors in some of the most difficult places to secure mortgage finance. The new mortgages in Croatia and Montenegro are set to satisfy the demand we have from overseas buyers.”

FFS is also the only international mortgage broker specializing in emerging markets to have gained full AIPP membership. The AIPP is an independent body whose role it is to regulate the international property market and ensure that the industry maintains the highest levels of honesty, integrity and transparency. FFS strive to provide the absolutely highest and most trustworthy levels of service to its clients looking at mortgages for property abroad.

More info: HomesGofast.com, Nicholas Marr, London, United Kingdom, 442070993392; nick ( @ ) homesgofast dot com www.homesgofast.com

Lesic Dimitri Palace is situated within the heart of the historic and beautiful medieval town of Korcula, next to the house of Marco Polo. The Palace will comprise six luxurious residences, which range in size from 50 sqm to 162 sqm, a multi-treatment room spa and restaurant.

Reconstruction began in February 2006, and completion is set for spring 2009.

Whilst complying with the highest standards of reconstruction as laid down by the conservatory department in Dubrovnik, the Palace retains many original features.

Lesic Dimitri Palace was presented, for the first time, at the recent seminar on “The importance of special interests tourism for sustainable development”, organised by the Korcula Tourist Board in November 2007 in Korcula Town.

Read more about Lesic Dimitri Palace + See Photos

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