bled_slovenia
Photo credit: www.bled.si

BLED, ICONIC MEETINGS WITH CHARACTER

Bled is unquestionably among Slovenia’s leading meeting destinations. The lake, island and castle are a truly unforgettable sight, with countless other natural and cultural attractions to stun visitors just a short drive away. A meeting in Bled will stay in the memory of attendees forever. As a recognisable iconic brand Bled stands out among other meeting destinations in the region.

TOP 5 PLACES WHERE PEOPLE MEET

The best places to meet, stay and incentivize in Bled.

HOTEL GOLF
The Golf Hotel is a modern conference and spa hotel standing on a small hill in the centre of Bled. With as many as eight function rooms and over 1,000 sq. m of meeting space, the hotel is the largest hotel convention centre in Bled, priding itself on its long- established tradition of hosting the most diverse meetings. A special feature of the Golf Hotel is the exceptional Živa Wellness Centre, which aims to further the heritage of Arnold Rikli’s 19th century healing methods and enhance them with a modern approach.

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GRAND HOTEL TOPLICE
The Grand Hotel Toplice boasts a prime location right on the shore of Lake Bled. The five-star hotel has retained the elegant style of the 1930s and is one of Slovenia’s most distinguished hotels, offering traditional comfort and the highest level of services. The hotel’s conference centre features two larger, divisible conference halls, as well as two smaller meeting rooms, several indoor exhibition spaces and magnificent lakeside terraces ideal for coffee breaks.

HOTEL PARK
The Park Hotel enjoys a central location on the shore of Lake Bled, close to the Bled Congress Centre and amidst Bled’s lively goings-on, which makes it a popular choice for business and leisure travellers alike. The hotel boasts a conference centre with three halls, the largest of which seats up to 120 participants theatre-style and is divisible. There are two business offices, spacious exhibition areas and four additional function rooms located on different hotel floors. Beautiful views of the lake unfold from all of the meeting spaces.

BLED CONGRESS CENTRE
With 512 seats, the Bled Congress Centre is Bled’s largest convention hall. It boasts a superb, lakeside location in the very heart of the town, enabling easy access from several hotels of various categories that are all within walking distance. The centre was built in 1961 for a major chess event and underwent a thorough renovation prior to Bled hosting the 1989 World Rowing Championships. The facility is the prime setting for larger corporate, association, scientific and governmental meetings, as well as cultural events.

BLED CASTLE
For centuries the imposing Bled Castle has been watching over the lake and the town from its steep, 130m-high rocky mount. Written about as early as 1011, it is Slovenia’s oldest castle. Most of the castle today dates back to the Renaissance period, while the daunting stone walls stem from the Romanesque. The castle is a unique viewpoint, with beautiful vistas across the lake, the island and the surrounding villages, even extending as far as the Karavanke and Julian Alps.

ESSENTIAL MEETING EXPERIENCES

Take a Pletna boat
The pletna boat, the origins of which go back to the 12th century, are rowed by a boatman standing upright and are covered by a linen canopy, which is probably where their name originates from.
Boat traffic on the lake was regulated by Empress Maria Theresa in the 18th century, who gave 22 families the rights to operate boats. Their descendants retain these rights to this day.

Bled Island
The island on Lake Bled is a charming sight that together with the mighty castle adds to the enduring allure of Bled. The ride in a traditional wooden ‘pletna’ boat to reach it is an adventure in its own right, but alternatively visitors may opt to row to the island themselves, while in particularly cold winters, when the lake freezes, it can even be possible to walk there.

Bled Golf Course
Set in idyllic countryside and with majestic views of the surrounding mountain ranges, the Bled Golf Course ranks among central Europe’s most beautiful and oldest golf courses. Laid out in 1937, its 18-hole King’s Course was redesigned by Donald Harradine in 1972 and was joined by the 9-hole Lake Course in 1993. The two courses are suitable for beginners and professional golfers alike, and pride themselves on great open spaces and fairytale countryside. This treat for golfing enthusiasts also has three practice greens and a driving range.

If treading the fairways doesn’t appeal, the Alpine-style Lake House will surely beckon for an informal get-together in its pleasant, comfortable interior or on its shady terrace overlooking the Lake Course.

ESSENTIAL INCENTIVE EXPERIENCES

ROWING WITH OLYMPIANS ON LAKE BLED
Accompanied by Slovenian rowing Olympians, participants will learn basic rowing skills in professional racing boats. An eight person crew demonstrates the balance between individual strength and team performance. The experience will allow your team to feel the physical, mental and emotional aspects of working together – as well as learn how to move a boat efficiently and with speed…

VITAL PLUS AT CAMPING BLED
This multi-day ‘glamping’ programme focuses on your vitality and includes workout sessions such as morning yoga, cycling on Pokljuka and jogging, during which participants get to encounter the sights of Bled. Invigorating breakfasts will be served on the pier, but lunch will first have to be caught and one of the dinners will feature live cooking by chef Simon.

CHEF’S TABLE
A 3-hour event, the Chef’s Table is an ultimate culinary experience encouraging the team to head into the kitchen with their colleagues, partake in an interactive cooking demonstration, filled with fun cooking tips and tricks and afterwards bond over a seated meal.

ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE

Around the year 1500, the castle administrator was a man called Hartman Kreigh, who reputedly ruled with an iron fist. One day, however, he disappeared without trace, never to be seen again. His wife Poliksena, also a merciless lady, was inconsolable. In his memory, she gathered all her gold and silver to have a bell cast for the island chapel, but while the bell was being ferried to the island, a severe storm sprang up, capsizing the boat and taking the boatmen and the bell to the bottom of the lake with it. Devastated, Poliksena left Bled to enter a convent. When the Pope heard her story, he had a new bell cast and sent it to Bled, but to this day it is said that on windy nights the original bell can still be heard tolling at the bottom of the lake.

The unique Vila Bled is in a majestic park right on the shore of Lake Bled, its setting outside the centre of Bled ensuring privacy for the most selective events. The villa was constructed in 1947 on the site of a former royal summer home and subsequently served for decades as one of President Tito’s residences, before being turned into a boutique 1950s-style hotel. The reception hall has direct access to a lake-side terrace and is a wonderful venue for meetings of various kinds, as well as gala dinners prepared and served by the highly skilled staff of the Slovenian State Protocol Service, which manages the hotel.

An exceptional building set on 30-metre pillars in the hotel park, it was designed by Jože Plečnik, one of the greatest Slovenian architects, as the reception area of a new royal residence, the plans for which never came to fruition. It was later used by Tito for relaxed tea parties and today it makes for an outstanding setting for a standing reception with the most beautiful view across Lake Bled and the island.

WHEN IN BLED

MUST HAVE – GASTRONOMY

THE ORIGINAL BLED CREAM CAKE
It would be a sin to leave Bled without tasting the original Bled cream cake!

Not every cream slice is the original Bled cream cake. Seven, the fairytale number, is the secret behind this legendary dessert. To make the original Bled cream cake, puff pastry is folded seven times and left to rest overnight, so it is even lighter when baked in the morning. A light egg custard is boiled for precisely seven minutes before stiffly beaten egg whites are added to it and the mixture poured over the first layer of delicate puff pastry. The delicious custard cream is then topped with a layer of whipped cream and covered with a second layer of puff pastry, which is then dusted with vanilla sugar. The original Bled cream cakes are still made strictly to the recipe perfected by the pastry chef in the 1940s.

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS

  • 10 real places that look like they belong in fairy tales, Trip Advisor
  • Record catch in Lake Bled: sheatfish 2,45m / 80kg
  • In last 60 years: made and sold over 60 million cream cakes
  • Number of overnight stays: domestic 37.955, foreign 590.536
  • The swans live on Bled Lake since 1902
  • In end of February 50 daredevils jumped into the Lake. It had 4 degrees
  • The record for running around the Lake is 18:55 minutes
  • Number 1 when it comes to the most famous attractions in Slovenia.BLED GREEN NUMBERS
  • App. 30% of meeting organizers decide to implement some of suggested  “green” practices into their event within Sava Hotels Bled and the trend is still rising
  • More than 300 herbs were planted by guests and partners of Sava Hotels Bled
  • More than 3.000 guests decided to spend a night in wooden forest villas in 2014 (»Bled Glamping«)
  • First carbon footprint analysis was made in Slovenia
  •  At least 7 ways of eco mobility options to use within Sava Hotels Bled: by foot, pletna boat, carriage, regular bicycle, electric bicycle, sup, kick scooter …
  • Quantity of organic trash in Sava Hotels Bled decreased by 30% in 2014 in comparison to the one in 2013
  • 2 tons of local ingredients used in catering within Sava Hotels Bled per year
  • 4.000 litres of tap water served at meetings within Sava Hotels Bled per year
  • All Food & Beverage suppliers of Sava Hotels & Resorts originate from Slovenia

PRO BLED

PRO BLED

  • Bled is safe. Slovenia ranks among the safest destinations in the world.
  • Bled is easily accessible.The country lies in the heart of Europe and is easily accessible by air, road and rail. Ljubljana International Airport is merely a 30-minute drive from Bled, while Klagenfurt Airport in Austria is another nearby option.
  • Bled is compact, with all its facilities and sights being within walking distance.
  • Bled has excellent infrastructure.Bled’s conference infrastructure is being constantly upgraded and modernised.
  • Accommodation options range from the simple to the sophisticated, all being good value for money.
  • Bled has a rich tradition in hosting meetings. Bled has been actively present on the world conference map for over 25 years, playing host to medium-sized corporate, association and governmental meetings of between 100 and 400 delegates, as well as frequent top-end sports events.
  • Many meetings have found their home in Bled, returning year after year.
  • Bled is attractive. Beautiful nature provides a fantastic backdrop that enthuses and inspires participants. The lake, island and castle are a truly unforgettable sight, with countless other natural and cultural attractions to stun visitors merely a short drive away. A meeting in Bled will remain in the memory of attendees forever.
  • Bled blends business with pleasure. Be it an adventurous sporting activity, a cultural exploration or an oeno- astronomic teambuilding programme, Bled is the right solution.
  • Bled offers superb cuisine. Bled gives you the chance to taste its regional fare in a traditional inn, or you can opt for the best gourmet cuisine created by the town’s new generation of contemporary chefs. Differing in their execution of dishes, they however all have in comm

WHO TO CONTACT

Saša Zor
Director of Sales – MICE
Sava Turizem d.d.
Dunajska 152, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenija
phone: +386 4 206 6033
fax: +386 4 206 6029
e-mail: sasa.zor@sava.si
www.sava-hotels-resorts.com

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