Slovenia | We Are Life Styles

art hotel tartini, piran, slovenia

by Helen | Aug 17, 2023 | Slovenia, Travel

Piran, on the tiny sliver of Slovenian coastline, is very close to our home – about 35kms, through beautiful countryside and across the border, which now, thanks to Croatia joining the Schengen Zone, is open and we have free passage. Hurrah! Recently, we visited this lovely coastal town, and rather than heading home, we decided to stay over, and opted for Art Hotel Tartini, located right on Tartini Square, overlooking the Adriatic. The square is named after one of Piran’s most famous sons – Giuseppe Tartini, born in 1692, an Italian composer and violinist of the Baroque era. A statue of Tartini now stands in the main square.

Art Hotel Tartini sits on the main square, and its location is perfect if you want to be in the hustle and bustle. Although, to be fair, we’re not talking a town which is rammed – when we stayed, in July, by the evening, the square was pleasantly busy, as a lot of day-trippers had left and it was evident that lots of locals were out and about. The hotel has been renovated and is quirky and in places, really beautiful.

Photo credit : www.arthoteltartini.com

It’s definitely what we’d think of as an “art” hotel – unique pieces of original artwork on the walls, by renowned Slovenian artist Jaša, and lots of graffiti inspired work on communal walls and floors. Yes, do look down! The communal areas – reception and dining area, in particular – are utterly gorgeous.

We booked a room which was described as a double room, with a balcony and sea view – which to be fair, was accurate, but the balcony was tiny. Only room for two small fold up wooden chairs. As we were only there for one night, this was not an issue for us, but for anyone staying any longer, hoping for a balcony to sit out on, and enjoy the views, it might be worth knowing that there isn’t the space to do this…

View from our room

To be fair, the room did have a balcony…

Perhaps the best way to sum up this hotel is to read the review I did of it, after our stay – which I titled “An Enigma of a Hotel”…

This hotel is a bit of an enigma. In a stunning location, right on Tartini Square, and with the most beautiful communal areas – lovely artwork, furnishings etc. The breakfast area is lovely – as is breakfast. Unfortunately, when we stayed (a Monday in July), both the restaurant and the roof top terrace were closed. We couldn’t ascertain if this was because it was of the day of the week, or if one/both of them are permanently closed. Such a shame because we could see the bar & it looked fab. So, why an enigma? Well, the refurbishment has been executed brilliantly in places – we particularly liked the floors. These had obviously originally been carpeted and glued down – and we all know how difficult carpet glue is to remove. Well, if we’re right, the hotel came up with an ingenious solution – cover in resin! The result was very unique and individual, and in some places, messages are written on the floors. Look down in the lift. Our room was quite basic, but clean – a very comfy bed with great linen, and ample storage if you were staying a few nights. We did have a balcony & a sea view, as requested, but the balcony was very small. Only enough space for two fold up wooden chairs, so if your idea is to relax on the balcony, you might want to check out what else is available in the hotel. The bathroom was a bit strange & I’m still undecided if it was “arty” (shabby chic), or just a bit in need of some TLC. Original tiles have obviously been painted over & some are peeling in places. A strange contraption – for air con maybe? – made intermittent noises which were annoying, but I have to say we didn’t hear them in the night. Wi-Fi kicked in OK but then was very inconsistent – not an issue for us as we were only there for a night, but any longer and I think you’d want it looking at.

However, even with the little “quirks”, there was sufficient about Art Hotel Tartini to make it a very enjoyable stay, and we wouldn’t hesitate to book again, next time we’re over in Piran. Special mention must go to the breakfast – an extensive collection of good quality food, including cold meats, cheeses, pastries, eggs, bacon, fresh fruit, yogurts, juices, coffees. I think I also spotted a bottle or two of prosecco, if a Buck’s Fizz is to your fancy in the morning.

It’s also worth knowing that there is NO public parking at all in the centre of Piran. There is a large car park about 1km away, where you need to park up and either take a stroll along the sea front, or hop on of the free shuttle buses where you can get off at Tartini Square, just opposite the hotel. The hotel also validates the parking ticket on check-out and you receive a discount.

antiq palace hotel : ljubljana : slovenia

by Helen | Dec 30, 2022 | Slovenia, Travel

In the heart of Ljubljana city centre, a distinctive stone archway marks the entrance to Antiq Palace, a luxury 16th century palace hotel. Designed originally as the residential palace of noble Slovenian families, it’s now part of the Historic Hotels of Europe group. We’ve been lucky enough to stay here twice. We rarely revisit hotels we’ve stayed in previously. preferring instead to explore new options. But Antiq Palace is one of those places that deserves another visit. It’s a stunningly elegant building, renovated completely in 2011 and just oozes opulence. Even without knowing the history of the former palace and its inhabitants, you can feel the history of the place.

The entrance and reception area is grand and expansive – but it doesn’t feel stuffy or the kind of place where “ordinary” people like us feel out of place. It’s welcoming, with it’s beautiful decor and artwork and attention to detail in terms of how its accessorised. It takes me quite a long time to check in, as I can spend ages just taking in everything around me.

The rooms – or rather, suites – are pretty unbelievable. We’ve visited both times in winter, so maybe prices increase over the summer months, but the rates for both of the “rooms” we occupied were pretty much on a par with what we’d pay elsewhere. Not bargain basement, but absolutely, definitely not ridiculously eye-watering. On the first stay, our “room” – because that is what I thought I had booked – consisted of a huge double bedroom and an exceptionally large en-suite. With many original features including parquet flooring, antique oriental rugs and frescoed ceilings.

Completely over the top for a one night stay for two people, but we had the opportunity, so we went for it! The second visit, the following winter, was probably even more over the top, because we were able to book a suite this time, for approximately the same amount of money – and so we decided to go for this option, and experience the suite. Believe me when I say that there will be many, many apartments which families live in, which are nowhere near as big. But, if the hotel is housed in a renovated palace, then I suppose if the integrity of the building is retained – as it is – then “rooms” will be on the very large size.

Breakfast is a pretty sumptious affair, too – cold meats, cheeses, fresh bread, pastries, juices, eggs, cereals, coffee – all served in a very elegant dining area. It’s a large space, and tables are positioned in such a way that you never feel you are on top of other diners, so you almost feel as if it’s just you there, having breakfast. There’s also a beautiful internal courtyard, where breakfast can be taken, although in February it was definitely a little too chilly – especially on the first visit when we had a magical covering of thick snow.

We can heartily recommend Antiq Palace Hotel in central Ljublana (just a cobbled street back from the river) if you fancy a night or two of regal opulence. And, Ljubljana in itself, is a very pretty city, but with a very small historical centre, so it’s a real doable weekend visit kind of place. Winter is gorgeous – it’s does get cold and you can be pretty much guaranteed a sprinkling of snow, which makes it even prettier.

← venice : italy : december 22 los caracoles : frigiliana : andalucia : spain →

hotel heritage : ljubljana : slovenia

by Helen | Oct 27, 2022 | Slovenia, Travel

According to the website, the recently renovated Heritage Hotel is…

…one of Ljubljana’s finest boutique hotels. It combines the rich cultural heritage of a Renaissance bourgeois building from the 16th century with the luxury of modern architecture and the prestige of residing in a listed building within the cultural and historically-protected part of the old city.

The building is on the riverside, nestled behind another amazingly renovated heritage building, and is close to everything you’d want to explore in the centre of the old city.

Image : https://hotelheritage.si

The restoration and renovation of the building is really quite beautiful. The integrity of the building has been retained, but enhanced with contemporary features and heritage colours.

Hotel Heritage, Ljubljana

The reception area is more like a cool lounge, with funky, but understated, seating areas and window seats, coupled with clever lighting to create a welcoming vibe. Forest green walls, tangerine orange and baby blue soft furnishings and gold accessories create a feel of opulence. And, it also helps that when you are checking in, you are offered a complimentary drink. Great attention to detail.

Reception area

The hotel has twenty unique rooms. The Atrium style room is a cosy and quiet room in the heart of the house with a view of the internal atrium or, if you look up, the starry sky. The Old Town Rooms have views of the medieval buildings which line the river and The Superior Rooms are spacious and exquisitely furnished, with a views of the old town, Ljubljana Castle or the Ljubljanica River. We’d booked an Old Town View Room and were delighted with the facilities and the decor.

Old Town View Room

The deep, heritage colours of the communal areas give way to softer colours in the rooms. Crisp white walls and beddings are complemented by the deep mulberry and plum shades of the velvet chairs and woollen bed throws, complete with the hotel logo. The original ceilings and beams, and the parquet flooring, add a touch of heritage to the contemporary design of the rooms.

Bedroom & ensuite bathroom

The large ensuite bathroom is behind a glass wall – perhaps not ideal if you don’t like seeing yourself, but a really good way of bouncing light around the room and creating a feeling of space. The bathroom itself is well though out, design wise, and with marbled walls, a white floor, a wooden ceiling with beams and matte gold taps and rainshower, creates a feeling of luxury Like the bedroom, the bathroom is also scrupulously clean.

Sleek & contemporary styling in the ensuite bathroom

Matte gold taps

Heritage & contemporary styling

Breakfast area

A very substantial breakfast fare is served in the room through the crittal doors, but we chose to eat in the atrium. Light and airy, because of the glass lantern ceiling, it’s not only well designed and very tastefully decorated, but full of nods to the history of the building. The wall display of hexagonal shapes takes you through the historical owners and events over the years, rooting the hotel firmly in its past and present.

Historical details…

Heritage details…

Everything about Hotel Heritage oozes class and understatement. From the decor to the staff to the soft furnishings and bedding, to the colour palettes, nothing is showy or over-the-top. Whilst it’s not overly expensive either, you do see exactly what you are paying for – and with its location, right on the banks of the river, on the cobbles of the old town of Ljubljana, it’s definitely somewhere to go when you want to just decompress, and breathe. And not pay silly money.

Hotel Heritage : Čevljarska Ulica 2, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

Exterior : Hotel Heritage, Ljubljana

← puglia : italy vatican museums : rome : italy →

winter : ljubljana : slovenia

by Helen | Jan 8, 2022 | Slovenia, Travel

Ljubljana definitely knows how to do winter. It knows how to do summer as well, but in the colder months – especially as you can pretty much guarantee snow – it is very, very pretty. The old part of the city runs along each side of the river, and up to the castle and is full of cobbled streets, baroque buildings, churches, candle lit restaurants and bars, twinkling lights, Christmas lights and trees and beautiful independent shops. Just outside the old city centre, parkland takes over and this is always magical in the snow, especially as there are many ornate and elaborate churches and old buildings, on the fringes.

The centre is lively and buzzing, both during the day and in the evening, because Ljubljana is set up to function all year around. Bars and restaurants still offer the al-fresco experience, because they also offer heaters – some overhead, some under the tables but usually both – and complimentary blankets and faux sheepskins. It does seem unusual to opt to sit outdoors when it is snowing, because in the UK we’d have retreated indoors well before the arrival of the snow. But not in Ljubljana. And this makes it a very magical city.

← nerja : andalusia : spain boutique b&b : mali pariz : marušići : crikvenica : croatia →

vander urbani resort : ljubljana : slovenia

by Helen | Oct 8, 2021 | Slovenia, Travel

Image credit : https://www.designhotels.com/hotels/slovenia/ljubljana/vander-urbani-resort

On the banks of the Ljubljanica River stands a very elegant townhouse, which has been renovated and is now the the Vander Urbani Resort. Part of the Design Hotels Group, it is described as having :

Plush amenities and interesting design quirks create sophisticated, airy spaces in subtle yet sensuous colors. The interior design follows a steady line, which runs almost imperceptibly from building to building. All spaces are light and airy with a careful selection of colors and materials. The rooms and suites, as well as the restaurant, wine cellar, and lounge, feature high-end materials, exquisite design pieces, and plush amenities that culminate in highly sophisticated yet homey comfort.

A beautiful traditional Baroque townhouse externally, internally it is super modern, sleek and effortlessly cool. Its location is pretty hard to beat – overlooking the willow tree fringed river to the front and just below the castle on the hill. Cobbled streets wind along and around the hotel. Set up to function in all weathers and seasons, outdoor seating and tables provide the perfect setting for alfresco dining. It’s absolutely beautiful in the winter especially, as all tables have heaters and complimentary blankets and faux sheepskins are provided. I’m not sure if it’s a permanent winter fixture, but we even managed to bag the ski lift for outdoor drinks on one visit. Quirky and beautiful, especially as it was snowing.

However, warmer months are as special too, in this hotel, as it has has the advantage of having a rooftop infinity pool. This really is the star of the show, offering sweeping views out over the city and up to the castle. No one from the street below can see you, and it’s only for guests, so it really feels like a relaxed, private oasis.

The room we were allocated was funky in design and style – with the thing that I hold above everything else in a hotel room. A super comfy bed, with exquisite bed linen.

Breakfast is a bit special, too. As well as an extensive continental fare, cooked options are also available, enabling you to have e leisurely start to your day in Ljubljana.

I think the hotel is well worth a visit in the summer, but if I’m to be honest, I think it’s in the winter, in the snow, when it shines brightest. It’s not a budget hotel, by any means, but if you can plan ahead, there are deals to be had, and in any event, it’s the kind of place where you might visit if you wanted to treat yourself, or if it was a special occasion. Go for it, if you visit Ljubljana – you won’t regret it.

← the dolphin suites : veli lošinj : croatia ca' amadi : venice : italy →

maribor : slovenia

by Helen | Mar 14, 2019 | Slovenia, Travel

Maribor is Slovenia’s second largest city, but that doesn’t mean it’s big, by any stretch of the imagination. Up until now, we’ve overlooked it, in favour of the capital, Ljubljana, whose appeal is immediate. It’s beautiful, full of well restored and well maintained historical buildings, with a winding river, fringed with weeping willows and a fairytale castle on top of the hill, looking down on the red roof tops of the old town. But, we decided to stop over in Maribor last weekend (Sunday evening) on our way back from Graz, in Austria. Although in two different countries, the two cities are only about half an hour from each other, so we arrived in good time in Maribor, hoping to get out and about and explore the city. Unfortunately, Sunday was grey and cold, unlike the previous day in Graz, which had been very spring-like – warm and sunny. The weather obviously didn’t help, but the outskirts of the city were a bit on the grim side. Very down trodden, and with definite reminders of the austerity of the not too distant past. We did wonder if we’d made the right decision, and whether we should just head home – but we’d made a booking and decided to give Maribor a go…

4 Flats, Slomškov trg 11, Maribor, Slovenia

We booked an apartment online, and were delighted to find it was located in the above building (our apartment was the one on the bottom right, with the two big windows). 4 Flats is just what it says – four converted apartments, off a communal entranceway. However, before getting into the apartments, you have to go through the arched doorway, just to the left of the tree. The door is ancient – and could be described as delapidated, BUT it became immediately clear, once through the doorway, that this was a building with real history, and hence the doors…

Internal courtyard : 4 Flats, Maribor

Look at those walls! If these were in England, they’d probably be being preserved by English Heritage, but these are the communal entrance way, behind the great big delapidated wooden doors. There’s a cobbled accessway, and once the exterior doors are opened wide, residents drive their cars through here, to park in the internal courtyard. Amazing that a building like this, is just, well – there…

Our apartment was actually fab – quite minimalist, but all the right colours for me! Plus, lots of the original features had been retained, including the huge windows – which had an inner frame of double glazing, so absolutely no noise when they were closed.

Two of the other apartments were obviously not booked, and the doors were open, so I did have a bit of a nosey – and can confirm that the images on Booking.Com are completely accurate. All very lovely and well renovated.

It’s worth mentioning that there are parking bays all around the little park just outside the flats – and it’s free on a Sunday. (Payment – very inexpensive – begins at 8am Monday morning). Just across the park, with a view from our apartment windows, is the Slovene National Theatre, with performances of drama, opera, and ballet annually attracting the country’s largest theatrical audiences. We saw the audience leaving after the Sunday evening performance and it’s very clear that the Slovenes like to dress up for the theatre. Very grand, indeed!

The owner of the apartments met us and tried very helpfully to suggest where we could eat on a Sunday evening – although he did struggle, by his own admission, as many places, at this time of year, are closed on a Sunday evening. Nothing for it, then, but to get out and exploring Maribor. The historical centre is very small – and very, very, very old. You can really imagine what life must have been life in medieval times, as many of the buildings are literally teetering on the brink of collapse. We did spot one for sale, so if anyone fancies a bijou residence in Maribor, hit us up and we’ll get the details to you.

Narrow cobbled streets, like the one above, lead off one of the main sqaures – Glavni Trg – down to the Drava River, and the area of Lent. It did look as if the bars which line the river would be lovely in the summer, with plenty of evidence of outdoor seating, terraces and umbrellas already being put out, but it was a bit chilly – even with blankets – outside The Piranha Cocktail Bureau. The logo led us to this very stylish bar…

The interior is very striking, including backlit wall of bottles of spirits and liquers, and furnishings with lots of accents of black. I think I was most impressed by the toilets – scrupulously clean, and everything high gloss black. No photos unfortunately, as I still find it too weird to take photos of loos We were lucky too, to get a very pink sunset – much welcome after the gloomy afternoon.

Just next to Piranha Cocktail Bureau – and this has been verified by The Guiness Book of Records – is Stara Trta, the world’s oldest vine, growing outside an old medieval house called Hiša Stare Trte, also known as The Old Vine House.

We did eventually find somewhere to eat – Ancora, an Italian restaurant. Suffice it was a pretty surreal experience, but I’ll leave that there.

Monday morning was bright and sunny, so we took the opportunity before heading off, to scoot around the historical centre. One lap of about 30 minutes and you’re done, but there are some sights really worth seeing, especially if you look up, above the street level shop fronts, which are mostly fairly dreary. But look above street level, and this is what you’re greeted with…

Glavni Trg, Maribor’s second largest square

Also in Main Square is The Plague Column. Erected in 1743 to replace an older version, this monument commemorates the end of the plague, which killed over one third of the city’s inhabitants between 1680-81. The large monument, designed by Jožef Štraub, dominates Glavni Trg (the main square) and features a golden Virgin Mary on top of an eight metre column surrounded by six saints. It’s really very, very impressive!

So, what did we actually think of Maribor? To be honest, I’m still a bit undecided. There’s a definite palpable sense of history, and parts of the old historical centre are undoubtedly beautiful. It doesn’t have the sassiness of Ljubljana, or the coastal aspect of Koper. But, there’s something about it. It’s raw and a bit rough around the edges and feels like it’s not quite in 2019. It feels like a city that has a bit of catching up to do. However, when it does, I think that Maribor will be somewhere that should be on your destination wish-list. Until then, if you love history, you will like Maribor. And, if you need a new hat, you’ll definitely like it…