March the 21st, 2026 – The long awaited 5* Pical Resort finally opens its doors, marking the operational dawn of the most significant investments in Croatian tourism in a long time.
As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, after over 18 months of very intensive construction, the brand new 5* Pical Resort is now open. The much anticipated new complex is the flagship of Valamar and the most significant tourism project in Croatia in recent years. It marks a new tourism dawn for the City of Poreč and for Istria as a whole.
The first guests arrived at the hotel back in mid-March as part of the “Be the First” campaign, while a high level of occupancy is expected for the upcoming Easter period. Interest for the main part of the summer season is already strong, with demand in the pre-season and post-season also noteworthy. This is primarily owing to the MICE offer and the Pical Event Centre, the largest congress venue in all of Istria with a capacity of up to 1,200 participants.
The new 5* Pical Resort will employ more than 800 people by the beginning of this summer, most of whom are already actively engaged in various stages of the hotel’s operational work. Education and training to provide 5-star service began a year ago, clearly confirming the project’s ambition to set the highest standards of service quality possible.
the grand opening is set for june
Some of the facilities, including the beach, promenades and Purobeach, are currently in their final stages of construction, and their opening is currently planned for May. The grand opening of the resort for its partners and the public is scheduled for June.
The hotel boasts 514 accommodation units and already offers a complete experience through interesting family facilities, wellness, a varied gourmet offer and options for the ever-popular congress tourism. A rich and diverse content has been designed for families, including PlayLand, a 1,200 m² family play and learning centre, with a range of creative, educational and entertaining activities intended for all ages.
The hotel’s impressive offer has been further enriched by the Fun Zone with children’s playgrounds, as well as Valamar’s Maro Club with carefully designed programmes for children, along with a range of additional content tailored to family holidays. ESPA at Pical, the first such spa concept in all of Croatia, was opened together with the hotel itself, while in addition to the hotel’s three main restaurants, the gourmet offer is being further rounded out through collaborations with renowned chefs and brands.
valamar’s new shining star
Harry’s Piccolo Poreč, located within the Pical Resort itself, is also scheduled to open this week. This is a restaurant created in collaboration with Matteo Metullio and Davide De Pra, chefs whose restaurant in Trieste over in Italy holds two Michelin stars.
“The new 5* Pical Resort opening its doors is the result of the hard work, dedication and joint efforts of a large number of people. Behind this project are hardworking individuals from Valamar, our partners, the local community, shareholders, investors and many others who have each made an important contribution in their own way. That’s why I’d especially like to take this opportunity to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart – for the support, trust and energy they have brought to this project. I’m sure that we’ll be more than proud to have such a hotel and resort in Croatia for a long time to come,” stated Željko Kukurin, President of the Valamar Management Board.
The stunning 5* Pical Resort represents a very important step in the development of Poreč and Istria as year-round destinations and further confirms the role of tourism as one of the key drivers of Croatia’s economic development.
