“This is, apparently, a good story,” says Zvonko Kotarac proudly while looking at the selling capacity of his new hotel. “The interest is unbelievable, we are close to closing bookings for the peak season,” adds the Split entrepreneur. He is convinced that having a hotel that is 65 percent full year-round will certainly be achieved, reports Slobodna Dalmacija on February 18, 2019.
The hotel above the Žnjan plateau is still under construction. When opened in May, which the investor does not doubt at all, it will be the largest operating hotel in Split.
With 600 beds available, it will significantly improve the tourist image of a city that cries for quality hotel facilities as opposed to plenty of beds in private accommodations. It will also change the image of Žnjan.
“It seems to us that this is the correct way of urbanizing this area,” says Kotarac.
The luxurious building will consist of two parts; the Amfora Resort is the main facility on nine floors with 207 accommodation units, 30 to 70 square meters in size, while the Amfora Resident will include 30 high class apartments between 40 to 100 square meters. The buildings will be connected by a walkway.
Unlike the latest trends in buildings with fully enclosed facades, as many as three-quarters of all rooms will have a balcony overlooking the coast, the sea and the central Dalmatian islands. The total investment is more than 26 million euro.
The main building and public spaces were designed by Emil Šverko, rooms created by designer Patricia Sabljić, and the restaurants and Sky bar by architect Ante Vrban. The residential part is authored by Neno Kezić.
The hotel will be called “Amfora” because Zvonko Kotarac owns a family collection of amphorae, one of the most complete in the area, which is greatly preserved and aged between 1800 and 2500 years. Thirty listed and conservation-protected amphorae will be permanently exhibited at the hotel. As a national cultural asset, it will be accessible to the public in the lobby of the hotel.
Amfora will offer a congress hall with 500 seats, a wellness center of 2000 square meters, four types of saunas with an open view, three swimming pools, two of which will have a sea view and one that will be a winter pool with a glass wall, and two restaurants and three bars next to the spectacular Sky Bar, in an area of 800 square meters for 500 guests at the top of the building.
Amfora will accommodate a very diverse clientele, from business people to families, mainly from the UK and Scandinavian countries. The hotel will boast 80 permanent staff and 40 seasonal workers. Interestingly, competitions for staff are still open.
The investment per room is at the level of the European average of about one hundred thousand euros. A lot of the accompanying content burdens the price but gives it quality. According to today’s business parameters, the investment should be returned in ten years, and maybe a bit sooner.
Kotarac is not a new player in the hotel business. You might already know him as the owner of the first five-star hotel in Split, “Atrium”, which will be closed for two months due to complete reconstruction next January.
However, future hotel Amfora will be completely different. The Atrium, as a city hotel, has a large fluctuation of guests who stay for a day or two, while the Amfora will see guests staying for half a week to a week. The Amfora is expected to be even better annually.
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