A perfect weekend getaway at Oranda Village, Slovenia

Sometimes you just need to pack your bag, get your girls and go somewhere nice. Where to? Oranda Village is a perfect fit. It's not a hotel packed with all sorts of tourists. It’s more like a home away from home. A really nice one :)

The 10 apartments in Oranda village, Rogaska Slatina, Slovenia, are high scale apartments where luxury meets minimalism, wrapped in the context of nature. I absolutely love their architecture. Clean lines, wooden elements, lots of space, be it in the kitchen or bathroom or living room.







Cherry on the top? Your own sauna in one of the two bathrooms. Who’d like to share their sauna with a bunch of strangers when you can enjoy it with your friends only, talk endlessly or laugh loudly without anyone shhhh-ing at you?

Bubble bath, movie night and sauna sound like a perfect getaway from a daily routine or a great destination when traveling.





When tourists come to Slovenia, they rather travel to Bled and Ljubljana instead of discovering other beautiful places Slovenia has to offer. Which I understand of course. But honestly, stooping in Rogaska Slatina is worth the detour. The city itself is very charming and there are plenty of things to do. Spa, massage, sports, chilling… You can easily find your relaxing treat.



When we were talking about how great Oranda Village is, we could instantly think of other occasions to come back. Birthday celebration for instance. Or couples weekend off. The apartments have 2 separate double bed rooms, 2 bathrooms, plenty of cosy place to chill (armchair with the leg support, yes please!) which makes it perfect for two couples to treat themselves a bit to a fab weekend.







Even though Oranda Village apartments are not exactly like a hotel, they do come with an amazing service which doesn’t make you miss any of the hotel mini luxuries. Bathrobes, slippers, toiletries, even an umbrella (we luckily didn’t need to use them) - it’s all there. And guess what? Feel a bit lazy to make your own breakfast? They’ll send someone to your apartment to take care of it from a to z. Setting the table, making eggs for you, serving it all very nicely and making sure everything is tidied up just afterwards.



Do you want to surprise your dear one for the weekend? Or get away with your friends for a day or two? Put Oranda Village on your list, it’s worth it.

INFO
Oranda Village
Address: Cvetlicni hrib 3C, 3250 Rogaska Slatina, Slovenia
Webpage: http://oranda-village.com/

Grand Hotel Union – A really “Grand” experience

A good friend of mine once told me that she followed the advice of her dad and spent the night in a hotel in her own city. Being a tourist in your hometown can open up so many new possibilities to discover it over and over again. The idea of “staycation” has been on my list for a while. I primarily meant it for Paris, which I like to call my home. However, a perfect opportunity for this opened up during my quick break in Slovenia.

One of the highlights from the last trip to Slovenia was definitely our stay at the Grand Hotel Union. Amazingly located in the mere city center of Ljubljana, only a few steps away from Prešeren Square and the beautiful Triple Bridge, it offers the perfect immersion into the life of a city center local.



Opening the window in the morning, overlooking the Miklošičeva Street, took my breath away. Seeing people heading to the local market, friends meeting for a morning coffee and cyclists riding their bikes around makes you feel something very unique. You just want to run outside and be part of this pleasant hustle and bustle of this lovely city.



But then you turn around and never want to leave the hotel again. This high-end hotel offers simply but beautifully furnished rooms with an amazing attention to details. To mention just two of those – on the table awaits a beautiful package of the superior blend of coffee “Cankar’s Cup of Coffee” (Ivan Cankar, the greatest Slovene writer, was a frequent visitor of the Grand Hotel Union Cafe); the personal care amenities in the bathroom offer a hint of fun with amusing personalized titles. Such details make you feel more at home and less at “just another hotel”.



When the hotel has already won you over with everything of the above, it takes it all to a whole new level with food. Breakfast or lunch there is not just a meal, it is an experience. The hotel makes sure that it is easy for anyone to indulge in the Slovene culinary world while keeping all of the essential international meals. Lunch is served at the garden restaurant Unionski vrt in a pleasant shade of chestnut trees. Could you even ask for more?



Our flight back to Paris was just two hours after our lunch there so we didn’t have the time to enjoy any of their delicious deserts. We’ve heard the cakes are heavenly good at the Café. We know where to go first when we arrive to Ljubljana again!

INFO
Grand Hotel Union
Address: Miklošičeva cesta 1, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Webpage: http://www.union-hotels.eu/

Antiq Palace Hotel & Spa, a boutique hotel in the centre of Ljubljana

If you’ve had some time to discover Ljubljana and its architecture, you’ve probably noticed that a lot of buildings in the old town hide a beautiful courtyard. One of my favourite examples of this is the beautiful building of the Town Hall. If you’ve ever wondered how it was to live in one of those stunning buildings, you should check out the Antiq Palace Hotel & Spa and stay there during your visit in Ljubljana.

This luxury hotel is located in the mere city centre just a step away from the National library and the Novi trg. But what is even more – it is located in a beautiful 16th century palatial city residence that was originally built for nobility. When you enter the building, you enter a whole new world. My favourite part of the hotel is the beautiful inner courtyard. It is so peaceful and makes it a perfect spot for a morning coffee.

This hotel is a boutique hotel with only 18 spacious suites and boutique rooms. Everything there seems to be individually designed and unique for your stay to be as beautiful as possible. The blend of preserved old in a modern context is just stunning. The rooms are full of protected architectural heritage landmarks such as frescoes and architectural details. This all makes it easy to pretend to live in the 16th century’s Ljubljana! Breakfast is as beautiful as everything else in this small luxury hotel, offering champagne and perfectly made coffee among others.

We were staying in a bright spacious suite with high ceilings and an amazing view on the Ljubljana castle. There is this special room in the hotel that showcases all the famous people who stayed at this hotel at some point. It is an interesting way to honor the special place and all the people who have shaped it throughout the past. Last but not least, the staff is extremely nice. They are ready to help you with any question you might have, they offer a great variety of recommendations regarding the landmarks, restaurants and trips. If you are longing for a calm stay in the centre of Ljubljana in a boutique hotel, do give Antiq Palace Hotel & Spa a go, you won't regret it.

INFO
Antiq Palace Hotel & Spa
Address: Gosposka ulica 10, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Webpage: http://www.antiqpalace.com/

Romantic traditional Slovenian restaurant close to Bled

If you've ever googled Slovenia, you've come across the photos of a beautiful small island in the middle of the lake with the stunning Alps in the background and the castle on a cliff, overlooking this beauty. This romantic place is called Bled. It is a must for anyone who visits Slovenia. Some people even prioritize Bled to Ljubljana, so special this place is. You can read more about here, but now I'd rather tell you about this amazing restaurant just a few kilometers away from this place, which makes it a perfect place for lunch or dinner on the way to or from Bled.

Indulging in delicious food at Lectar is an experience that is not to be missed. Put in a traditional Slovenian family house, it makes it a special environment for lunch or dinner, offering a special interior of a traditional Slovenian house from the region, with the stunning view over the Alps in the background, surrounded by the nature.

Before you even have a look at the menu, you realize that this restaurant doesn't only offer traditional Slovenian dishes but also a special environment that unveils to you the way Slovenian people lived their every day lives. The decoration in the restaurant makes this so beautifully and subtly it is almost hard to spot all the details they put attention to. It goes from the table decoration to the old skis that are hung up on the walls. Their pots, kitchen materials and all the little objects give a romantic atmosphere to this restaurant with a lot of tradition.

The choice of food is very rich and goes from the traditional Slovenian dishes to more "ordinary" choices. Apart from good food, a wide selection of premium Slovenian wines offers you a perfect opportunity to try some of those yourself. We started with some delicious mash room and pumpkin soups and then tried a variety of Slovenian typical dishes. We chose meat and fish dishes, blended with hard-boiled buckwheat flour mush (žganci), sauerkraut and delicious rolled dumplings (štruklji), my favorite.

A plus to this great place? Their beautiful Gingerbread Museum! This restaurant has a functioning workshop where products of an old Slovenian craft called »lectarija« are produced. The workshop also functions as a Gingerbread Museum, where visitors can see the process of lect making in person. It is an old tradition that started with a honey-bread bakery and a chandlery in 1766. This is also how the restaurant got its name, Lectar, and the house its symbol – a left heart. The girls in the museum told us a lot of interesting stories related to this tradition and we left with some ginger hearts that will make a beautiful decoration in our apartment.

INFO
LECTAR
Address: Linhartov trg 2, 4240 Radovljica
Webpage: http://www.lectar.com/