Sealed Libertas, Bellevue Next

After the economic inspector of the State Inspectorate determined in September that the Hotel Libertas Rixos in Dubrovnik had commenced operations without obtaining a decision on meeting the prescribed conditions and hotel categorization from the Ministry of the Sea, Tourism, Transport and Development, the facility has been sealed.

In addition to the aforementioned penalty, the State Inspectorate will propose a protective measure for the confiscation of unlawfully acquired property benefits obtained through the violation. The hotel management was not prepared to comment on the latest circumstances regarding the closure of Libertas, and Rixos spokesperson Maja Jukić stated for Hina that the management will most likely hold a press conference tomorrow, or at the latest in two or three days, to address the State Inspectorate’s measure and plans regarding Libertas.

The Turkish company Rixos Hotels purchased this hotel from the Bulgarian company Moultigroup in March 2004 and invested 40 million euros in its renovation. Thus, this hotel, one of the largest in Dubrovnik and among the most luxurious on the Adriatic, was supposed to be put into trial operation in September, and finally at the end of the year. Unofficially, it is learned that the inspection will revisit the hotel in thirty days, by which time the management should obtain the occupancy permit, which is in the process of being acquired, and rectify the deficiencies, primarily the noise problem caused by the hotel generators, which the neighborhood of Libertas has frequently complained about and announced a lawsuit against state authorities.

Libertas, which has been out of use since 1991 due to war devastation, is the ninth member of Rixos, which already has eight high-category hotels. The Turkish owner intended to open the hotel much earlier, announcing it several times, but the opening was delayed due to extensive construction work, the demands of interior design, and obtaining documentation. Libertas Rixos has 14 floors, nearly two hundred employees, 315 rooms and apartments in two buildings covering about 45,000 square meters, and a conference center with nine halls with 1,200 seats.

The hotel is only a 15-minute walk from the old town center and is the first neighbor to the high-category Bellevue owned by Goran Štrok, or the Adriatic Luxury Hotels group, which is expected to experience the same fate, as learned from the State Inspectorate, on October 30. Unlike Libertas, Bellevue started operating at this time last year based on a temporary categorization decision, which expired in June this year. In six inspections conducted at that hotel, the Inspectorate confirmed that the prohibition decision from June was not implemented, and that the hotel has unlawfully gained property benefits of about 20 million kuna to date. In the case of Bellevue, among the “identified deficiencies,” the most contentious is the panoramic elevator, which was built outside the official plans. (H)