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Renovation of Medveja Beach – Opatija

Medveja Beach is located in bay of Medveja  – a small fishermen’s village on Opatija Riviera, situated at the foot of Ucka Nature Park, in vicinity of Lovran and Opatija.

The Opatija-based company Hemingway Bar has been granted a 10-year concession for this pebble beach, which should be transformed into the best-equipped beach in the Adriatic. The concession covers around 50 thousand square meters, the sea part accounting for 31 000, and the land part accounting for the rest. The onshore concession includes two catering facilities – a bar and a pizzeria with a terrace.

The Medveja Beach will be renovated and divided into several parts as early as summer 2008. One section will be intended for swimming and open to everyone, another section will be provided for children, and a part of the beach will
offer onshore and offshore sporting options.

In addition, a part of the area will offer luxurious accommodation options – small houses with baldachins, big screen TVs and special service. Food from the restaurant will be delivered across the beach, and Internet access and laptops available on the beach, a first in Croatia. In addition, the beach will offer massage and beauty treatments, aerobics and beach parties.

The complete renovation works of the beach are expected to be completed by the summer of 2009, when beach will employ about 100 people.

The Hemingway Bar Company has bars in Zagreb , Rijeka and Opatija.

More info about Kvarner + Primorsko Goranska County Tourist Board site : www.kvarner.hr

4 Responses to “Renovation of Medveja Beach – Opatija”

  • Medveja-Fan on January 3rd, 2009 3:20 am

    We went to Medveja for vacation for more than 25 years. Last summer we were very shocked, because Hemingway Bar disturbs this wonderful beach. There are “Bodyguards” now at the entrance of the beach, very unfriendly people, they only try to get rid of the camping medveja-guests. Nothing is allowed anymore at the beach. Maybe Hemingway wants to build hotels there where the camping is?!
    You wrote “One section will be intended for swimming and open to everyone” – Ha! You are NOT allowed to bring your own meals, drinks or beach lounger. You have to pay for renting beach loungers, and if you leave the beach, you have to pay it again, when you come back. So you are forced to eat at Hemingway restaurants. A very old lady, who brought her own beach chair with her, got problems and a penalty by police, because she had no money for the very expensive chairs from Hemingway bar. Everybody is disgusted by Hemingway, but you have no chance to do anything against it, because the gouverment gave this concession to Hemingway. All loyal tourist from camping medveja and the locals hope to get rid of Hemingway soon!!!

  • Jan on April 6th, 2009 9:21 pm

    Medveja -fan
    Don’t know what you are talking about. The beach is cleaner then ever. You can bring your own food and drinks and your own chair ( s). You only cannot sit front line waterfront.
    The rest you are telling us is just a big lie.

  • Jeanette on July 13th, 2009 9:30 am

    Hi
    We totally agree with the Medveja-fan. We have visited this beach since 1963 and we were also chocked when we arrived summer 2008. We were not allowed to bring our sun chairs or food. Not even a bottle of water…. We were not allowed to buy food at Konzum and bring to the beach as we have been doing for all these years (the guards checked the bags). So the part where they are saying that one part of the beach is free for everyone is not true.
    This summer we will have to find some other beach which is sad because Medveja has always been a favourite…:-(

  • another Medveja-fan on July 20th, 2009 12:47 pm

    We totally agree with teh Medveja-fan!!! Last year was the fourth time we went to Medveja en what a shock it was! The beach was totally different than what we knew the years before. No more Najadice where we had made a lot of friends. And all the loungechairs and cabins: terrible. And the bodyguards were indeed very rude, especially to old people who had brought their own chairs. We saw how one old man was bullied by the guards to get out of his own chair. And no way that there is part of the beach free to everyone. I think maybe there is room for about 10 people at the free part of the beach, so they are making things prettier than they really are in the little story about the renovation of Medveja-beach! The beach has lost all of the atmosphere that we liked so much. This year we will come back for a few days, mostly to meet with friends. But we will certainly will NOT be coming back because we like Hemingway and all of the posh things so much. I think Hemingway is fishing out of it’s depths and is overestimating itself in a very big way! But I am sad to say that it will probably be the last year we will be going to Medveja. And we are very sorry about that!

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