RESORT SPA
KATH HUDSON » JOURNALIST » SPA BUSINESS
Pearl of the Adriatic
Croatia is fi ghting off its war torn image to regain its ranking among Europe’s top tourist destinations. IO Adria, one of the fi rst operators to invest in the country once more, has opened its inaugural site in Dubrovnik, the Pearl of the Adriatic
“C
roatia is one of the last remaining unspoilt can- vases in Europe,” says Julian Houchin, commer- cial director of iO Adria,
“and we aim to be its leading provider of leisure and hospitality.” And the UK invest- ment company has raised funds of more than €187m (us$230m, £148m) for this purpose. I met the engaging and energetic Houchin
at its fi rst site, the Dubrovnik Sun Gardens. Perched on the stunning Dalmatia coast, where the mountains drop into the sea, this 18-hectare (44-acre) site in the coun- try’s capital was the holiday destination for rich communists in the 80s – when Croatia was part of Yugoslavia – and a prisoner of war camp during the Balkans war. Today, it’s a fi ve-star integrated resort, featuring the fi rst Occo spa – a concept and product line focused on all things Croatian. “In the 80s, Yugoslavia was high volume,
low spend, but tourism is now moving towards the luxury end,” explains Houchin.
“Croatia is now a playground for the rich and famous and the fl ights are starting to
by Anne Semonin – Radisson’s spa partner. Aſt er 18 months, Anne Semonin was replaced by Occo and iO Adria took over resort oper- ations. Overall, the development cost €130m (us$160m, £103m) “I rolled up my sleeves, and came in as sales and marketing director and we put €1.8m (us$2.2m, £1.4m) on the room’s revenue within 12 months, achieving a 24 per cent upliſt ,” says Houchin.
CROATIAN SPA BRAND IO Adria considered other spa franchises, but found their projections unambitious.
IO Adria has 1bn to develop integrated resorts in Croatia for a wealthy clientele
come back. We have visitors from 142 coun- tries, 18 per cent of our visitors are from the UK, with a fairly even split across the rest of Europe and the rest of the world.” With its acquisition of Dubrovnik Sun
Gardens in 2009, iO Adria inherited a Radis- son Blu hotel and a 2,500sq ſt (762sq m) spa
“T ey estimated a profi t would take eight to 10 years, we wanted it in three, so set about creating our own spa brand,” says Houchin. It teamed up with UK-based spa consultant, Anna Doyle, to create an exclusive con- cept and product line which was rooted in Croatia. Doyle travelled to iO’s seven devel- opment (see p66) to take a look at the local foliage, so each property had its own range and identity, using natural, local ingredients. T ink costal rosemary and sage; deep for- est cypress leaf and pine extracts; and grape, blackberry and fi gs from Istrian vineyards.
Another hotel and 200 more residences are planned onsite 64 Read Spa Business online
spabusiness.com / digital
The heat experience area was supplied by Klafs SPA BUSINESS 3 2012 ©Cybertrek 2012
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100