After a very early start on Friday morning (3.30am to be precise) and a short flight we arrived in Dubrovnik. During the descent, the captain informed us the weather wasn’t glorious sunshine and blue skies but that didn’t deter us from being excited at visiting Dubrovnik for the first time.
With it’s stunning coast line, medieval old town, rich and fascinating history, backdrop to the very popular Hunger Games, delicious food and wine and the easy and direct access from the UK has made Dubrovnik a very popular destination for incentives. With this in mind we couldn’t turn down an invitation to see what all the hype was about.
We were all staying at the Hotel Dubrovnik Palace, a lovely location about 10 minutes away from the old town. The area is quieter and has amazing views over the clear blue water and some of the islands dotted around.
The hotel is a destination in its own right. The hotel has just over 300 rooms (combination of rooms and suites) all with sea view and a balcony, 6 bars and restaurants, indoor and outdoor pools, wellness centre with jacuzzi, steam room etc and 11 meeting rooms. There is also plenty of space inside and out to privatise for drinks receptions, dinners or parties.
Following a delicious lunch of seafood and fish accompanied by chilled white Croatian wine we ventured off into the old town. Our guide for the trip was Vesna, she was so knowledgeable about Dubrovnik and it’s history, culture, people and food as well as venues which can be used for groups and other incentive ideas. She truly made the trip memorable for everyone!
We walked around the old town, climbed up the 200 steps to Fortress Lovrijenac and simply drank in the clean sea air as our eyes feasted on the panoramic view and caught our breath.
That evening we had a few show-rounds of other AHL properties; Hotel Excelsior and Villa Orsula. These hotels are very different in style and size the the Dubrovnik Palace hotel and are more suited to the smaller incentives.