Nikki Beach Accelerates Worldwide Growth

Five-Star Miami Beach Hospitality Brand Has $400 Million in New Projects in the Pipeline

To capitalize on a rebounding global travel market, Nikki Beach is expanding its worldwide hospitality portfolio with 10 new projects totaling $400 million now in the pipeline in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

"Nikki Beach is all about the celebration of life," said owner Jack Penrod, who founded the Miami Beach company in 1998. "Through the years, our guests have enjoyed sharing our unique beach club experience with family and friends. Now, we are responding to their requests by opening beautiful new boutique hotels and resorts around the world."

Building on the remarkable success of its 13 beach clubs in glamorous worldwide destinations, including the 2009 opening of the Thailand Nikki Beach & Bungalow on the island of Koh Samui, Nikki Beach is now focused on the luxury resort segment. In the next three years, the company's Hotel and Resort Division expects to complete nearly 1,000 rooms in new territories identified more than a decade ago as jet-set destinations suitable for the five-star Nikki Beach brand.

A strong and growing hotel and resort operator, Nikki Beach now manages properties in 12 countries around the world, according to Sary Arab, chief operating officer, Nikki Beach EMEA Hotels & Resorts Ltd., which is based in Europe and the Middle East. "We are excited to lead the natural evolution of our global lifestyle brand into the luxury boutique segment," Arab said.

Working with local development, architectural and construction partners Nikki Beach has new hotel projects planned for appealing Middle East and Mediterranean coastal locations, as well as the Cape Verde Islands, and Amsterdam. "We are expecting an upswing in high-end travel and our construction and development plans are well-timed to take advantage of that trend," added Arab.

The next new Nikki Beach resort is scheduled to open in 2012 in Qatar on The Pearl, a Riviera-style island in the Persian Gulf. The Pearl, Nikki Beach Resort & Spa will be a boutique beachfront resort with 47 luxury villas and spa suites in the United Arab Emirates. Other Nikki Beach resorts now in development are scheduled to open in 2012-14 in Cypress, Greece, Egypt, Jordan, Croatia and the Cape Verde Islands.

Noting that Nikki Beach is a family owned business, Penrod said, "We have built strong, long-lasting relationships with our guests through the years. Now, we can offer them these attractive hotel and resort options that expand on our beach club experience and take Nikki Beach to a whole new level."

Since its founding on Miami Beach, Nikki Beach has set the standard for an outstanding beach club experience and is now the premier worldwide luxury brand synonymous with jet set travel, leisure and entertainment. For more information, visit www.nikkibeachhotels.com.

LAND ON AUCTION - CALL FOR INVESTORS

The bank is selling this prime location, 15.900 m2 residential building land through auction. The auction is organised by only a few people, and Middelland is the only party promoting!

Everybody knows Primosten: this fish-shaped peninsula with its pittoresque belltower in the middle is one of the main destinations of Middle Dalmatia. It is only 20 minutes from Trogir and Sibenik, and 30 mins from the major airport. This land plot is within the residential building zone: you can build a footprint of 30% on it, three stories high. The building can be used for permanent or temporary living: ideal for building a small villa or apartments settlement for foreign buyers.
The land is sold on auction, and the auction has not yet delivered a buyer (because they don't do good marketing). This gives an immense opportunity for savvy investors seeking building land at the coast, on an A-location.

other land prices by the sea, today, in general: EUR 120/m2. Middelland expects this land to sell for much less!

Billionaires choose Croatia

The Mail discovers where the Forbes' rich list billionaires spend their
holidays, and Croatia is among preferred places17 March 2011
Description:

The Mail discovers where the Forbes' rich list billionaires spend their
holidays, and Croatia is among preferred places
Ever wondered where do the rich go for holidays? Well, their choice of
holiday destinations may surprise you. The Mail discoveres where the
Forbes' rich list billionaires spend their spare time. Bill Gates, once
the world's richest man, prefers Croatia.

Bill Gates, Microsoft owner and second-richest man in the world is a
regular visitor to Croatia for holidays. After his first visit in 2004,
he has been coming there on numerous occasions. Prefering quiet places
for vacation he likes to stay with his family in a small town of Skradin
in central Dalmatia, about 17 kilometres from Sibenik, just north of Split.

Skradin has fewer than 4,000 residents and it is a quiet and privat
place which is certainly one of the reasons why Gates choses it. It is
situated at the entrance to the Krka National Park where visitors can
see ruined fortresses, waterfalls and a 15th century monastery on
Visovac Island.
To show his appreciation for privacy of this hideaway, Gates recently
donated money to a charity clearing landmines left over from the
Croatia's 1991-95 war for independence.

Croatia: New life for Opatija, the 'Nice of the Adriatic'

the telegraph: friday 08 april 2011

Julia Warren reports on a festival that aims to bring back the glory days of a Croatian resort beloved of the Viennese.

Next month, the Croatian resort of Opatija will resonate to the sounds of a musical event which aims to recall the glory days of somewhere once termed the "Nice of the Adriatic" by the great and the good of the Austro-Hungarian empire.

The event – a concert featuring music by Mozart, Dvorak and Bartok – will be held on April 23 in the Crystal Ballroom of the Hotel Kvarner, a grand old establishment that was built soon after a railway link was established between Vienna and Opatija in 1873. And it will feature musicians from Austria playing in the Orchestra Academy Ossiach, an ensemble based in the south of Austria with direct links to the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.

The idea for the concert – or rather a series of concerts to be held as part of the Festival Kvarner this year – came from Michael Fendre, a 36-year-old Austrian with a passion for music and vivid memories of the tales of his grandparents detailing how they attended concerts, partied and fell in love in Opatija.

On a whim, two years ago, Fendre got in his car and drove the four hours from his home near Salzburg to the place he had heard so much about. And he too fell in love with it.