October the 14th, 2025 – Poreč and Split will be forever altered as these two popular coastal cities are set to get large super luxury hotels in 2026.
As Kult Plave Kamenice writes, next year could represent a dramatic turning point in the profile of Croatian tourism. One of the strategic problems of the Croatian tourism industry is the lack of large luxury hotels that can attract guests with high purchasing power all year round and that have a multiplier effect on the offer in their given destination.
It’s important recognition that 10 Croatian hotels have been awarded the Michelin Key, but there are still issues. For example, one new holder of Michel Keys is the impressive Villa Nai, but it only has only eight rooms. It’s also very good that Croatia has both the San Canzian and Villa Dubrovnik and the Maslina resort with one Michelin key, but these are also smaller hotels.
The only truly high-class large hotel on the Croatian coast with internationally relevant gastronomy, which is open all year round, is the Grand Park in Rovinj (the holder of one Michelin key).
That is all apparently about to alter, however, as both Poreč and Split will finally get two large super luxury hotels with five stars and high gastronomic ambitions in 2026. These are the Pical resort in Poreč and the much anticipated Marjan in Split.
Valamar’s Pical is set to open in spring 2026 and will have as many as 540 five-star rooms and suites, as well as a large number of restaurants and bars. Its offer also includes a Croatian version of a famous Trieste restaurant with two Michelin stars. Pical will finally transform beautiful Poreč into a top-class tourism destination, thus elevating the entire Istrian peninsula.
This will be helped by Ana Roš’s restaurant, which is opening its doors in December this year, as well as a luxury heritage hotel on Poreč’s Riva, home to the chef Roš bistro.
Adris, meanwhile, plans to open the Marjan hotel on Split’s West Coast (Zapadna obala) in 2026. Marjan will have 285 five star rooms and a Split branch of Rovinj’s Michelin-starred Cap Aureo restaurant by chef Jeffrey Vella.
Given the fact that the City of Split currently has no more than 200 rooms categorised as being of five star quality, and that gastronomy is relatively neglected across all three of the very good Split hotels (Ambassador, Park and Briig), it’s quite clear that Marjan will dramatically improve Split’s entire tourism picture. Marjan’s future guests will also naturally encourage the growth of a much more serious Split restaurant scene.
The last two years of Croatian tourism have been extremely turbulent, with plenty of reasons for uncertainty and pessimism. With Poreč and Split both on course to get large super luxury hotels in 2026, the coming year could bring some solidly based optimism to Croatian tourism.
