HIDDEN GUEST: Park Plaza Histria

Istria is the most developed tourist destination in Croatia and its main city is Pula. The development of tourism in the city was formed by the company Arenaturist, with several decades’ of tradition in the field of tourist service provider behind it. The company’s hotels have over the past few years been thoroughly renovated and have become part of the Park Plaza hotel chain. The most prominent of these, the Hotel Histria in the middle of the Verudela tourist village, underwent a thorough renovation in 2012. It is located right on the seafront in the middle of a beautiful park and opposite the ACI Marina Veruda.

The Hotel is located about 4km from the centre of Pula, a city that has its own international airport with regularly scheduled connections to Zagreb Airport and direct connections to Amsterdam, Dublin, Edinburgh, London, Manchester, Oslo, and Vienna. Ryanair flies three times a week to Pula and many of these connections are charter or seasonal. Pula is accessible by car via the recently finished “Istrian Y” highway. It also has a direct rail link with Slovenia and Italy, but not with the rest of Croatia. The hotel has an extensive car park that is perfectly sufficient in the case of major congresses. Public transport is accessible and frequent.

At first glance, the hotel may look a little bit architecturally fuzzy, but the main benefits of the renovation are hidden inside. The interior design was conceived by the Scott Brownrigg architectural studio from London, which has also taken care of the external appearance of a luxurious Mediterranean garden. The result is evident in the many fine details, one of them being the conservation of white marble in the entrance hall. The designers have also selected several pieces of design furniture that give a good sense of ‘staying’ in the hotel. As a result of the works the hotel operates to a high quality and is today very pleasant.

The breakfast experience was way above expectations – great service, excellent staff and a tasty meal. The clean and cosy hotel provides both comfortable accommodation to international congress guests and good cuisine where the food has a real taste. Added value comes with the lounge bar that has a rich selection of drinks and is an ideal place for open bar entertainment. Despite the size of the hotel, guests are made to feel very welcome.

With absolute sincerity, it can be written here that the interior is among the most beautiful we have seen in this class. It’s at the same time both adequately prestigious and also functional. We were enthusiastic about the colour schemes and the comfortable bed, which is mega-comfortable and offers a great sleep. Then there is the high-quality bathroom, which is loaded with bathroom gizmos. This is all topped off with views of the sea that are offered from practically every room. The bright and airy conference centre can accommodate up to 700 participants and has completely changed the congress image of Pula. It is complemented by three smaller rooms which can accommodate from 20 to 80 people.

DESSERT – The extras

The proximity of Marina Veruda, where you can rent a sailboat for an unforgettable sailing cup.

FLOP – NEGATIVE SURPRISES

Slow WiFi.

TOP – POSITIVE SURPRISES

Friendliness of the staff and the special energy of the city of Pula.

If hoteliers too often use the word “new” about their renovations, in this instance Park Plaza Histria really does deserve to use it. It has been proven in this case that good hotel design does not change without a need for it to do so, therefore the Hotel was given an entirely new interior dedicated to the comfort of guests. This new form is highly enjoyable and we were also pleasantly surprised by the service.

Hotel Park Plaza’s new, comprehensive offer truly makes an impression. Its mission is to satisfy congress participants with spaciousness, comfort and a Mediterranean spirit. It’s more than difficult to satisfy every delegate’s tastes, but at Histria it feels like they may be very close to this. Moreover, despite the size of the hotel, the care for guests feels almost like in a boutique hotel.

FINAL GRADE: 4.49 BRONZE RESORT MEETING HOTEL

GOLD final score from 4.81 to 5.00
SILVER final score from 4.61 to 4.80
BRONZE final score from 4.41 to 4.60