Kempinski, the oldest European luxury hotel brand, is taking over the PortorožPalace Hotel, which will becomepart oftheglobal hotel chain covering 109 hotelsand 12,000 rooms. The hotel wiU open its doors to visitors later this autumn.BY MATIJA PAVLIČ '~"~17"7"ith the opening of the Pal-/ ace Hotel back in 1910, theV V costal town of Portorož fi-nally became a major player in localtourism; the past decade, however,was not as successful. Anchored atan embarrassing standstill that hasseen a decade and a half of majorinvestments, expansion, renovationand ownership
consolidation dur-ing which nothing really changed,Portorož at last sees the light at theend of a tunnel. The new hotel her-alds the beginning of a new era thatwill be much more glamorous andexciting.In the words of Marino Antolovič,CEO of Istrabenz Turizem, "Portorožhas, with the inclusion of the Pal-ace Hotel into the Kempinski hotelchain, become one of the top inter-national tourist destinations." TheIstrabenz Group has successfullyachieved one of its main goals inthe field of tourism. The new Kem-pinski Palace Hotel is an importantmilestone that will set the bar muchhigher for the entire destination andplace Portorož on a map of globaltourism.Why exactly did the KempinskiHotels S.A. ultimately decide togo into a partnership with the Is-trabenz Group? As Reto Wittwer,CEO of the Kempinski Hotels S.A.,states, "We are very proud to beable to add the renovated PalaceHotel, a veritable historic jewel,to our chain of luxury hotels. The hotel is the embodiment ofPortorož's respected history fromthe beginning of the 20th centu-ry and we are convinced that thenew renovated hotel will becomeonce again one of the most attrac-tive locations for more demandingtravellers." It seems clear that thevery first luxury hotel in Sloveniaof its kind will certainly leave itsmark on Portorož and the hotel industry in general. The 185-room-and-suite hotel willopen its doors later this autumnand will be one of the most luxuri-ous and impressive hotels betweenDubrovnik and Venice, makingPortorož an attractive tourist desti-nation in the eyes of even the mostdemanding international guests.Kempinski HotelsThe Kempinski hotel brand was es-tablished in 1897 in Germany andis now Europe's oldest and mostestablished luxury hotel brand.Managing hotels of various char-acteristics all over the world, bothof modern design and older hotelsof individual charm, Kempinskihotels offer luxurious accommo-dation, excellent cuisine and state-of-the-art facilities. They also re-flect some of the finest traditionsof European hospitality and aresynonymous with style, nobilityand efficiency; all the more reasonwhy visitors to Slovenia will notregret staying at the new Kempin-ski Palace Hotel. • Herald of a new dawn"Meduza", an exclusive beach placed right in front of the Lifeclass Hotels,heralds a new dawn of Portorož's tourism offer by introducing the muchneeded changes, prior to the grand opening of the new Kempinski PalaceHotel later this autumn.The renovation of Meduza Beach, features white Istrian stone, remodelledgreen plots and two piers that have been completely renovated, is the firstserious tourism investment in 20 years in Portorož, said Marino Antolovič.Visitors will be able not only to enjoy a versatile food and drink menns, butwill also be able to make use of exquisite beach wellness pavilions offeringTai and Ayurvedic massages and special pre- and post-tanning skin treat-ments. Between 28thjune and 31 st August, there will also be a Mini Club atthe beach that will see the Lifeclass team organise various workshops andfun activities for everyone. A toast by strategic partners, from left to right: Malte Wiedemeyer,Vice-President of Marketing at Kempinski, Marino Antolovič, CEO ofIstrabenz Turizem, Igor Bavčar, President of the Management Board ofIstrabenz, and Rupert Simoner, Regional Vice-President of the Kempin-ski chain
Medij: The Slovenia Times
Avtorji: Pavlič Mitja
Teme: Istrabenz
Rubrika / Oddaja: Ostalo
Datum: 18. 07. 2008
Stran: 8