boutique_meeting_hotels

The Meetings Star Award has been awarded for the past twelve years by the editorial board of Kongres Magazine and Conventa to the best destinations, meeting hotels and individuals. The gala ceremony for the winners will take place on Tuesday, 22 February 2022 at 17.00 online.

Since its inception, the Meetings Star Award has become a recognised accolade by event organisers and the industry. It is considered one of the rare awards based on comprehensive criteria and standards. The evaluated hotels and destinations are assessed by hidden congress guests. They are industry professionals with rich experience in event organising and extensive knowledge in the hotel business. Furthermore, the assessors have verified references in ensuring the quality of their work in the meetings industry, thus ensuring clients get objective insight and the reliability of the methodology. Our hidden guest assessors strive for objectivity, are fair, meticulous, reliable, well-organised and pay attention to detail. The evaluation matrix comprises over 500 tangible criteria, divided into various categories. Further information regarding the evaluation can be found at http://www.secret-congress-guest.eu/.

Before the event in February, it is our honour to present the best hotels in the third category – BOUTIQUE MEETING HOTELS.

A record-breaking 37 hotels from 8 countries of New Europe earned the certificate of quality within the category. The majority of evaluated hotels come from the Alpe-Adria region, the triangle between Austria, Italy, Slovenia and Croatia. Currently home to the largest number of boutique hotels, specialised in incentive events, Istria stands out in this category. Since the start of our evaluation, 62 boutique meeting hotels have been evaluated, 59% of them acquiring the certificate.

The congress capacities of boutique meeting hotels are substantially smaller compared to other hotels. A large proportion of hotels (81%) only feature 1 to 2 congress halls that can capacitate up to 78 participants on average. Among all evaluated hotels, the hotel capacities are noticeably smaller. Most boutique meeting hotels offer 11 to 20 rooms. On average, 37 certified boutique meeting hotels feature 28 rooms. More than half of all certified boutique hotels (62,16%) belong to the four-star category, while the rest are five-star hotels.

Among all boutique meeting hotels, the hidden guest assessors marked the following segments of the offer as best (out of 37 hotels):

4.90 Employee Attitude
4.86 Location
4.86 Bars and Restaurants
4.85 First Impression
4.84 Reception
4.83 Hotel Bed

Categories that received lower marks in this year’s evaluation, on the other hand, were the following:

4,29 Accessibility
4,67 Additional Offer
4,68 First Impression
4,68 Bathroom and Restroom
4,71 Lobby
4,73 Hotel Breakfast

The average final mark of evaluated boutique meeting hotels is the highest among all categories and amounts to 4.78. Similarly to other categories, the average final mark is higher compared to the evaluation in 2020. In most cases, boutique hotels offer exceptional service, evident in their average marks. Categories that are particularly important to event organisers were awarded the highest marks. Boutique meeting hotels can be labelled as typical incentive hotels, where personal approach, exquisite cuisine and often intriguing stories result in a combination unmatched by larger and less-personal hotels.

Sunrose-7-Heritage-Boutique-Hotel

10 BEST BOUTIQUE MEETING HOTELS IN 2021

WINNER: WINE & HERITAGE HOTEL ROXANICH
Final Mark: 4.96

Boutique hotels that consider meeting planners in the design phase are rare. At the foot of the enchanting Motovun hill, a renowned Istrian winemaker, Mladen Rožanić, thought of this part of the offer. Who thought that an old wine cellar would become the heart and foundation for one of the best boutique hotels in Istria. Wine, cuisine, architecture and the art of living are the reasons why the hotel is fully booked even in corona times. The same goes for mesmerising events taking place here. The hotel boasts a relatively spacious congress hall that can capacitate up to 150 participants. As suitable, it is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment. Its industrial design seems to have been made for modern meeting planners. Hosting a coffee break on the vast terrace, overlooking the vineyards covered by a thin layer of water, is a remarkable experience. We dare say that Wine & Heritage Hotel Roxanich was created for smaller business events and incentives. The hotel’s attributes result in an excellent story that we named the Roxanich Experience and seems embedded in Motovun itself. The wine story is the icing on the cake – an experience that you will surely remember because of the special and unique wine story. The hotel is, likewise, memorable and exceptionally Instagrammable. Staying in the hotel is a “road movie” through the culture and history of this part of Istria.

Read the full Hidden Guest evaluation here.

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TOP TEN BEST BOUTIQUE HOTELS IN 2021

1. Wine & Heritage Hotel Roxanich, Motovun, Croatia – final mark: 4.96
Read more here

2. Sunrose 7 – Heritage Boutique Hotel, Bohinj, Slovenia – final mark: 4.95
Read more here

3. Mama Thresl, Leogang, Austria – final mark: 4.93
Read more here

3. Boutique Hotel Alhambra, Mali Lošinj, Croatia – final mark: 4.93
Read more here

4. Aman Sveti Stefan, Sveti Stefan, Montenegro – final mark: 4.92
Read more here

5. Hotel Adriatic, Rovinj, Croatia – final mark: 4.91
Read more here

6. Hotel Tri Lučke, Krško, Slovenia – final mark: 4.90
Read more here

7. San Canzian Hotel, Buje, Croatia – final mark: 4.88
Read more here

7. Hotel Falisia, Portopiccolo, Italy – final mark: 4.88
Read more here

8. Hotel Soča, Bovec, Slovenia – final mark: 4.87
Read more here

9. Hotel Plesnik, Logarska Valley, Slovenia – final mark: 4.86
Read more here

10. Meneghetti Wine Hotel & Winery, Bale, Croatia – final mark: 4.85
Read more here

10. Hotel Ikador, Opatija, Croatia – final mark: 4.85
Read more here

We sincerely congratulate the best hotels and wish them a successful congress year of 2022.

On the day of the online gala ceremony, taking place on Tuesday, 22 February 2022, we will award the winners with prestigious accolades. Furthermore, all Meeting Star certificate recipients will be announced for 2021. In the category of resort hotels, the following certificates, divided into three sub-categories on the premise of achieved points in the hidden guest evaluation, will be announced:

17 GOLD certificates – final score from 4.81 to 5.00
17 SILVER certificates – final score from 4.61 to 4.80
3 BRONZE certificates – final score from 4.41 to 4.60

You are cordially invited to attend the award ceremony. To confirm your attendance, fill out the following registration form: https://form.123formbuilder.com/6079495/meetings-star-award-ceremony-2021.

All certificate recipients can be found in Kongres Magazine’s venue and hotel finder FIND VENUES at https://kongres-magazine.eu/search-venues/. You can seek hotels according to the certificate or final mark.

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BRIEF ANALYSIS OF EVALUATED BOUTIQUE MEETING HOTELS

In this year, we conducted an in-depth analysis of the evaluation results. Below, we present some of our most intriguing findings for the premier time:

Number of hotel roomsNumber of hotelsPercentageAverage
Over 50513,51%59,6
31 – 50718,92%40
21 – 30924,32%25,3
11 – 201335,14%16,7
Less than 1038,11%9
Average28,38
Hotel room pricesNumber of hotelsPercentageAverage
Up to 100 EUR513,51%86,0 EUR
From 101 to 200 EUR2156,76%145,1 EUR
From 201 to 300 EUR616,22%231,0 EUR
Over 300 EUR513,51%466,2 EUR
Average194,43 EUR
Number of meeting roomsNumber of hotelsPercentageAverage size
1 to 53081,08%1,2
3 to 5718,92%3,3
5 to 1000,00%/
More than 1000,00%/
Average1,65
Total event space in sqmNumber of hotelsPercentageAverage size
Up to 50 sqm1129,73%36,8
51 to 100 sqm718,92%79,9
101 to 200 sqm1540,54%143,1
Over 200 sqm410,81%264,8
Average112,70
Max. capacity theatreNumber of hotelsPercentageAverage size
0 to 10 participants12,70%10
11 to 25 participants410,81%15,8
26 to 50 participants924,32%40,9
51 to 100 participants1232,43%81,6
Over 101 participants1129,73%135,9
Average78,78

MEETINGS STAR AWARD NIGHT

You are cordially invited to join us for the announcement of the winners, taking place on 22 February 2022 at 17.00.

You can reserve your place by filling out the REGISTRATION FORM.

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