As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes, unlike in previous years, when Istria and Kvarner would dominate the scene with hotel openings and investments, with the entry into the 2022 summer tourist season, the trend has moved south, and some of these projects will have a significant impact on the overall development of Dalmatia’s many destinations this summer.
Makarska, a Central Dalmatian city that has long been waiting for a significant shift in the quality of accommodation, now has something to brag about. The new Valamar and Aminessa projects could mean a new beginning for Makarska’s tourism story and a move towards much more added value.
After Stari Grad on the island of Hvar, the grand opening of the second Valamar Hotel Places is being prepared this week in Makarska, in a building that operated under the name of Dalmacija Sunny before the reconstruction began.
Imperial Riviera has invested an enormous 67 million kuna in the Dalmacija Places project, and they took care of additional promotion in the first season of the new facility by bringing the prestigious WTA Makarska tournament, which they co-organised.
The first five-star hotel on the Makarska Riviera brought Aminess into its own portfolio, and hotel Aminess Khalani Beach received its first guests earlier this month. The hotel has 299 rooms, three outdoor pools, a wellness and spa centre, an indoor pool, a gym, three restaurants and three congress halls fit for about 600 guests, and the investment in the facility is worth 50 million euros, making it just one of a number of large investments in Dalmatian hotel capacities in 2022.
The next major hotel projects were located on the neighbouring island of Brac and across on the mainland in the City of Split, and one of them caused great controversy among members of the general public. In a few weeks, we’ll be able to see what possible meshing the quaint former fishing town of Postira and the oversized hotel built along the coastline could ever possible happen. The gigantic hotel in this small, quiet island town has caused a lot of controversy among locals.
The management of the hotel that will operate under the name Grand Hotel View has been taken over by the Crikvenica-based Jadran (Adriatic), which is majority owned by pension funds PBZ Croatia Osiguranje and Erste Plavi. The facility, in which about 50 million euros have been invested, has as many as 230 rooms, an indoor and outdoor pool, a wellness centre and a congress hall, and will employ about 100 workers during the summer season. The hotel will be advertising its capacities as of the 1st of July this year.
In September this year, the doors of the long-awaited Dalmatia Tower in Split are set to open, which will house the first Croatian AC Hotel Split Marriott with 214 accommodation units, five modular conference halls with a total capacity of 300 people, as well as a wellness centre with an indoor pool and a gym.
A few weeks ago, the last element of the architectural design of this skyscraper was installed, which, with its 135 metres of height, became the tallest building in all of Croatia. The hotel will, in addition to enriching the overall congress offer, increase the presence of foreign hotel brands. The next big hotel investment in Split is expected from Adris in Hotel Marjan. Most of the huge sums of money being poured into Dalmatian hotel capacities are occurring in and around Split, which will certainly push what Croatia’s second largest city and its surroundings and nearby islands can offer to guests from all walks of life.
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