HIDDEN GUEST: Hotel San Martin

The Hotel San Martin, a family business, has put a meticulously restored and fortified medieval Šmartno at the centre of the new congress offer of the Gorica Hills. With nineteen rooms and the adjacent Marica it has become a popular starting point for the incentive exploring of the Brda area, where little pearls are dotted all over the hillsides. The heart and soul of the hotel is the owner Vesna, who with tireless Brda energy is running the hotel and doing everything required to ensure the guests’ satisfaction. For their incentive meetings, the establishment has already found several Slovenian companies who appreciate their kindness, diversity of offer and hotel intimacy. The hotel is also soon to get a pool, making it even more attractive.

Although Brda can appear to be a remote region, with the new facilities popping up it is becoming a starting point for discovering Posočje, the Gorizia region, Karst and Veneto. The nearby airports of Trieste and Venice make flight availability here much better than the Slovenian average. In the shadow of Nova Gorica’s gaming boom, a sustainable tourism product is slowly and steadily taking shape, which is unequalled in all of Slovenia. As Brda is mainly a destination accessible by car, the free of charge parking in front of the hotel is also very welcome.

At first glance the hotel is unique and has been created for aesthetes and lovers of minimalistic design. The intertwining of architectural minimalism with the drama of the Gorica Hills (Goriška Brda) also fits nicely into the medieval panorama of Šmartno. Once a school building, it has today become a modern and nice boutique hotel.

The staff attitude is as befits a family hotel, with the owners creating a pleasant atmosphere and it the hotel seemingly reflecting the unique spirit of Brda, colourful and full of life all year round. The ambitions of the hotel are reflected by its ambitious cuisine, the young chef working hard to follow creative cooking trends and the hotel’s extensive wine cellar guaranteeing unlimited wine pleasures. The hotel’s cuisine also follows the principles of green tourism and the majority of the dishes are local. All in all, everything is in its rightful place and with the addition of exceptional friendliness and hospitality of the owners.

Hotel rooms

The hotel rooms are complete and fashionable, the very well equipped bathroom really standing out. Above everything else, the price is more than solid and represents significant added value.

Meetings centre

In the hotel, there is a fully technically equipped smaller conference room available that holds up to 40 participants. Inputting together events the owners will be of great help, both in terms of cuisine and helping with any logistical complications.

DESSERT – The extras

Electric bikes and scooters are a nice – and green – innovation that will help you overcome the otherwise challenging Brda hills, with some ‘chunkier’ congress guests having tested the hilly inclines and conquered with the help of electricity! The bike and hiking trails are well marked and the orientation doesn’t pose any major problems. There are nine marked trails and in all of the hotels, tourist farms and TIC logically organised maps are available.

FLOP – NEGATIVE SURPRISES

During our stay, the meticulous eye of our Hidden Guest assessor did not encounter any unpleasant surprises.

TOP – POSITIVE SURPRISES

Brda wine-making with some of the best Slovenian winemakers and amazing views of the Julian and Carnic Alps highlighting the fullness of the southern wines and the freshness of the northern.

A modern and pretty special boutique hotel that is hard to miss. The terrace with its amazing views grabs most of the attention and with the exceptional attitude of the staff, who excels at every turn, the hotel is very impressive overall.

FINAL GRADE: 4.46 BRONZE Boutique 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