Meeting Star Award 2016: Top 10 Spa Meeting Hotels

GOOD, BETTER, THE BEST.  SOO GOOD THAT WE COULDN’T IGNORE IT!

Based on 133 hidden guests’ ratings, which have been published in the Kongres Magazine, we have selected the winners of the MEETING STAR AWARD 2016.

– 5 categories, 12 hidden guests
– 465 evaluation criteria
– 45 City Meeting Hotels evaluated
– 38 Resort Meeting Hotels evaluated
– 16 Spa Meeting Hotels evaluated
– 16 Boutique Hotels evaluated
– 18 Congress and Convention Centres evaluated

Today we evaluated 16 spa meeting hotels and here is our top ten:

1. LOISIUM WINE & SPA RESORT
Austrian Styria is a model example of a country which lives and breathes with wine tourism. The abundance of wineries, restaurants and vineyards looks like from a postcard. In this idyllic environment, a new hotel emerged, combining excellent hotel, centre of well-being, congress centre and wine-culture. Special experiences are wine tastings and seminars, which nicely round off your congress event. Smaller congress centre in the hotel for max. 120 people is superbly equipped and complemented by special venue in the wine cellar Loisium World of Wine, designed by Steven Holl. A magical place and excellent hotel spa will leave your guests speechless.

2. FALKENSTEINER HOTELA & SPA JESOLO
A trendy hotel that perfectly complements the existing Falkensteiner offer and has a perfect location right beside the Venetian laguna in the middle of a very opulent region. It is distinguished by its first class interior and exterior design and characterized by a high level hotel service. For the green purists it has loads of modern continual solutions and sits among the new generations of hotels (zero CO2 Energy Management).

3. WELLNESS HOTEL SOTELIA
Hotel Sotelia was never shy about its ambitions to bring a genuine wellness experience to the meetings industry, something that other competitors did not yet know about. Its distinctive architectural design has many admirers and its many small details always draw the eye to them. In every respect this is a very good hotel with conference facilities for smaller events. Together with the rich tourist and sports offer Podčetrtek is ideal for carrying out various incentives and other incentive programmes. Today the hotel is no longer the newest on the market, but it is still fresh enough and different from the mainstream offer of Slovenia.

4. SPIRIT HOTEL
The Spirit Hotel, which is currently the city’s “flagship”, certainly represents a new chapter in the rich history and culture of Sárvár’s spa tourism. It is elegant and spacious, which together makes for an impressive hotel. However, this does not mean that it is perfect, as anyone wishing to take advantage of everything the hotel has to offer will have to deal with a relatively high price for this region of Europe.

5. RADISSON BLU RESORT & SPA
This is a hotel without any notable flaws and it assures with the comfort and quality that befit hotels in the colours of the Radisson chain. In automotive jargon it would be a ‘premium’ hotel, and what would give it its premium tag would be its rich and luxurious equipment, the many small details and above all the broad image of the brand. If you have ever organised a meeting in a Radisson Blu hotel, then you can expect a similar experience in Dubrovnik. The hotel is very suitable for incentive events.

6. HOTEL BALNEA SUPERIOR
A full-blooded wellness experience awaits that will not disappoint your congress guests. The architecture of the hotel and the interior spaces are very sound and the quality craftsmanship and materials used catch the eye, with the only drawback being that the hotel is generally very busy and so your conference guests will have to mix with the standard health guests. This aside, the spa is where you can be a little removed from the everyday pressures of the world and enjoy the peace and intimacy of your event. A very authentic and very genuine boutique congress experience.

7. THERMANA CONGRESS CENTRE
It’s a little more than two years since the opening of the congress centre and hotel, for which we can safely say that it is already one of the region’s more pleasing options. Thermana offers a lot for a moderate amount, which is very important in today’s economic climate. It is also striking how much Laško can offer to congress guests beyond its traditional beer specialty: everything from one of the best Slovenian cuisine restaurants to exceptional cultural and historical heritage, along with the option of organising green meetings. Given all of the above, Thermana’s congress offer became an instant hit and caused a mini earthquake on the Slovenian market. Event organisation with the added extra wellness pampering is very appealing, and for the time being any reference we can make to the new congress offer can only be with our full respect.

8. WELLNESS HOTEL LIVADA PRESTIGE
The complex is very fresh and modern, and also very much in tune with what a positive congress tourism product should be. It is complemented by a rich experiential offer around its thermal pools and pampering options. Congress guests will receive individual treatments and culinary experiences, leaving the only real topic of discussion about its placement in the five-star category, as some details ordinarily expected at this level are for the moment not in place.

9. VITALITY HOTEL PUNTA
A natural environment that has the calming effect of the sea on one side and pine trees on the other, not to mention the professional service, friendly staff, solid cuisine, reasonable prices and interesting additional offer. Due to its positioning as a ‘Vitality hotel’ Punta doesn’t instantly attract the attention of congress guests, but it is without doubt a very suitable choice for organising business and motivational events for groups of up to 60 guests.

10. GRAND HOTEL PRIMUS
Grand Hotel Primus has a prime position on a spacious green area surrounded on one side by the swimming pool complex and on the other by a park and a golf course, ensuring that all of its rooms have a great view. Often for an event more than just a well-equipped hall is needed, as what happens during breaks, at lunch, and at the evening event is also important, and in the Grand Hotel Primus the offer is so rich that you can easily fill a day, two or even more for your participants with a top quality programme. The Grand Hotel Primus is a reassuringly solid hotel in every way, especially with its authentic story.

10. RIMSKE TERME
Following a period of turbulence, the Spa management is now working to restore its previous lustre and it can be confidently claimed that so far they are making good progress. The hotel is undergoing its ‘spring’ and is reaching out especially to those souls who want a different experience and a disconnection from the everyday world. With their offer they are trying to move towards a high quality facility, whilst at the same time taking into account the local traditions. The main disadvantage lies in the offer of the town, which is still not alert to what kind of a pearl its Roman Spa is. With a special offer, exquisite cuisine and its pleasing architecture, the Roman Spa is a competitor to Slovenia’s more experienced thermal providers and is worthy of serious consideration.

The Meeting Star Award has been organised for the sixth successive year and the principle remains the same – the winners are selected by hidden congress guests, who make an independent evaluation of the quality of the hotel, congress, restaurant and other services.