In the footsteps of kings.

The fact that Opatija, on Croatia's northern coast, gets its name from the local word for "abbey" belies the fact that the town has been a playground for the well-heeled for over a century (there is, in fact, an abbey in town, however). Austro-Hungarian nobility dotted the coastline with villas and retreats, taking advantage of the year-round Mediterranean climate. One such escape, the Villa Neptun, built in 1876, is the core of the Belle Époque Hotel Miramar, a stately mini-castle on the Adriatic's azure edge.

Consisting of four properties flanking a manicured garden, the Hotel Miramar transports guest back to the age of kings and archdukes. The four Exklusive Suites look over both garden and sea, a view once enjoyed personally by Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria. Chef Arthur Berger is attached to seasonal and local produce; autumn is famed Lovran chestnuts. Istrian truffles and lamb also grace the menu.

Dedicated to the wellness of its guests, the Miramar is a fully equipped spa resort, pampering guests with two pools, several saunas and a Roman-style laconium, a dry heat room allowing the body to heat up slowly and gently.

In other words, for all you latter-day wannabe blue-bloods, this was how royalty is done.

hotel-miramar.info

David Perry

10/31/08