Losinj
1,100 aromatic and healing herbs. Because of the marine environment, the soil is intensely rich in minerals and with apparently 2,600 sunny hours a year, things grow easily here. There are some 140 miles of walking trails on
the island to boost vitality, but if – like me – you prefer to let someone else try and pamper you into health, then The Spa Clinic back at Hotel Bellevue is just the place. A very impressive facility, one of the hi-tech options is Light Colour Movement system or LCM, apparently designed to re-harmonise the body. It involved lying on a bed of hot water while slightly psychedelic colours and sounds played around my head for a half hour. Afterwards, the therapist diagnosed me as being “tense”. He then gave me a shiatsu massage, and from that was able to give me a scarily accurate diagnosis of my life and all its ills. You don’t need to hear that, but suffice to say, this spa knows its stuff.
Next steps Jadranka operates six hotels, three villas, a range of apartments and six restaurants on the island and is determined to make Losinj a more recognisable luxury destination on the Mediterranean, with the focus also on its history as a wellness destination of course. The aim is to get all of its facilities up to the
four-star mark but the emphasis of its current €200 million investment cycle is on the luxury product in Cikat Bay, which also includes newcomers Hotel Alhambra and Vila Hortensia. Alhambra, which includes its little neighbour
health history of Losinj, the building could easily have started to look like a sanitarium. But with smiling staff and happy guests everywhere –mixed with those constant flashes of green – it is far from that; with swimming pools and the sea glinting at the end of a wooden catwalk through the heart of the hotel, flashes of blue are never far away either. It is a big hotel though, there’s no denying
that, so at breakfast time the restaurant hums with guests and it’s hard to create much of an atmosphere in the evening; many guests venture out to one of the other restaurants owned by Losinj Hotels, taking advantage of the dine-around concept. Or there could be a night-time visit to the towns of Mali Losinj or charming Veli Losinj. For a small town, it’s rich in history, helmed
by the large church of St Anthony and the defence tower of Kula, which was built by Venice
when it reigned over Losinj in the 15th century. Now it looks down peacefully over pastel- coloured houses and plays host to a museum, worthwhile for a glimpse into the seafaring history of the islanders, whose ship-building skills were once world-renowned. These days the marine focus is on dolphin studies, with the Croatian government having proclaimed a nature reserve around Losinj to try and protect its large dolphin population, numbering as many as 120 bottlenose dolphins. The island’s other key town, Mali Losinj,
is larger and has more of a commercial buzz to it, but both Veli and Mali can be easily explored in a day, perhaps with a stop in between at the Garden of Fine Scents, where local woman, Sandra Nicolich is being encouraged by Losinj Hotels to develop her aromatic kingdom. Her knowledge of the plants on the island is unmatched – impressive when the Cres-Losinj archipelago is thought to be home to more than
Vila Augusta, is a boutique hotel with 36 rooms and 15 suites, an indoor pool, private “beach” and a spa and it has already become a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World. Meanwhile, next to Hotel Bellevue is the exquisite Hortensia, in a totally different style altogether and my overall favourite of the three hotels. Once a two-star pension, this Austro-Hungarian villa has been given a thorough makeover and is now an exclusive-use villa, with butler service, 10 bedrooms, dining room with a terrace, living room with bar, outdoor pool and private garden and seafront sunbathing area. While tourism may have been around for many
years here, it’s early days for this latest journey into the realms of five-star. The travel may sound complicated from the UK, but there are no shortage of options, including combining it with Venice. And the service in the hotels and restaurants wasn’t always as slick as it could be, nor is the food as varied as an international luxury palette might expect. But with Jadranka’s determination to get this place on the luxury map and the genuine beauty and charm of the island, it’s bound to be the name on many people’s lips soon. In the mean time, I’d recommend “taking the air” on this little island any day.
Pictured 1. Cikat Bay 2. Hotel Bellevue 3. Boutique Hotel Alhambra 4. Villa Hortensia
DESTINATIONS WINTER 2015
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