Without an agreement on the functioning of Kraljičina Beach and the path between that beach and the spa center in Miločerski Park, the hotel operator "Aman" will not open the "Sveti Stefan" hotel in the city, because they cannot guarantee the guests' safety and privacy.
This was told to "Vijesti" by the company "Adriatic Properties", which is the tenant of the elite resort Sveti Stefan - Miločer.
This practically continues the agony surrounding the trademark of Montenegrin tourism, which has been under lock and key for three years, since the arbitration procedure was initiated before the international court in London weighing a hundred million euros.
It was the use of the Queen's beach, which for decades was closed to the public, reserved exclusively for hotel guests and the political elite, that led to the closure of the popular Svec.
Namely, the city hotel was closed three summers ago after the locals broke the fence on Kraljičina beach, and the Public Company for the Management of Marine Assets ordered its removal, and the paths in Miločerski Park were freed for use.
Aman, as they told Vijesta, then decided to close the island, as well as Villa Miločer, because the state could not provide them with a guarantee and ensure the safety and privacy of guests on at least one beach of the hotel complex.
Namely, the hotel complex includes the hotels Sveti Stefan, Villa Miločer and the former hotel "Queen's Beach", which was demolished and a new annex hotel with 60 apartments for sale is being built in its place.
At the same time, the complex opens onto three beaches - Kraljiča beach, Velika miločerska beach (Kraljeva beach) and the right Svetostefan beach.
"Last year, we reached a temporary agreement on the functioning of Kraljičina Beach, so we opened it. For this season, we don't have an agreement for that either," they said in "Aman" News.
After the incident happened in the summer of 2021, "Adriatic Properties", as they said, asked for guarantees from the state that this would not happen again, but they did not get them.
Then the state initiated arbitration proceedings. It was repeatedly reported in the media that the arbitration in London for a hundred million euros was initiated by the lessee, in fact the state filed a lawsuit first, and then "Adriatic Properties" retaliated.
Although for its part the Government states that the lease agreement concluded 17 years ago with the tenant defined everything regarding the use of the hotel complex, it is obvious that a lot of it is not, which is why we have now reached an impasse.
We remind you that the tenant of the city hotel "Sveti Stefan" and Villa Miločer, the company "Adriatic Properties", accepted the Government's proposal to put the arbitration proceedings before the International Tribunal in London on hold for three months, during which time it will open an elite resort.
The agreement is that in those three months, the two parties will resolve all mutual problems they have through negotiations and come out of the arbitration procedure by agreement.
The hotel complex was closed before the summer of 2021, after which the popular Svec was locked for two years, and last year the island was partially open, but only for visitors.
However, even though it was the Government's proposal, the fifth since January, since the tenant insisted on reaching an agreement and getting out of the dispute, a few days ago the Government replied that they do not accept the temporary justification of the city hotel.
Deputy Prime Minister Nik Đeljošaj told Vijesti that he will propose to the Government to terminate the contract with the company "Adriatic Properties" if the hotel does not start operating this season.
"According to the lease agreement, the most beautiful thing this country has was given to 'Adriatic'. That contract is in force, according to it the hotels must be open, there is no option not to be open, and that very symbolic rent must be paid," he said.
He said that no one will be allowed to get a privileged status and that "he sees our country as a place where he will be able to do what he thinks, that is, what he may have done once, but it was treated differently".
"We will not fulfill any additional requests beyond the lease agreement, because we do not have the right to do so, and I also think that the requests are not realistic, what we could hear from the tenant. And all the information that we are proposing something - we did not propose anything as a state, we just listened to the other side," said Đeljošaj.
He said that this season is a chance for the tenant to open the hotel and honor the contract.
"The tenant has no more attempts to play with the state, with something that is our most valuable asset, and we will put an end to it," he said.
Citizens threaten a blockade
A group of citizens "Initiative for the return of the city of Sveti Stefan to the ownership of the state" launched a petition to save Sveti Stefan a few days ago, and called on the authorities to prevent further deterioration of the pearl of Montenegrin tourism and enable its opening.
They propose, through an agreement with the tenant, and if that is not possible, then through the termination of the contract - that the city-hotel Sveti Stefan, which was built in the past by their ancestors, be opened.
"That the city hotel should be opened in such a way that one street in the city - hotel, from the main entrance to the restaurant terrace across the square in front of St. Stephen's Church, would be passable for guests, tourists and citizens of Montenegro, with a possible entrance fee, along which they would be located galleries, workshops, restaurants, souvenir shops and museums with contents that promote local cultural heritage and domestic (Paštrov and Montenegrin) products. We also propose that the city-hotel in this mode be open throughout the year, with the possible closure of hotel-accommodation capacities in the winter period, all with the aim of promoting sustainable tourism that does not depend only on the summer season," the petition states.
Earlier, the residents of the protest held at the end of March warned that if the city hotel is not opened by June 15, they will block the entire settlement.
"Budva Riviera" broke the record for the pre-season
The "Budvanska Riviera" hotel group announced that it achieved outstanding results in the pre-season, surpassing expectations and plans for 18.000 overnight stays.
"In May, 10.000 more overnight stays were achieved compared to May of last year, which was a record", it was announced from this largest state-owned Montenegrin hotel company.
When it comes to the structure of guests, as they point out, the markets of France and Great Britain recorded a record number of arrivals in the pre-season, and a significant increase in the number of guests from the countries of Western Europe, the Baltics, Turkey, Israel and the region was recorded. "We plan to continue with this positive trend during the main season as well, and we can already announce that the season in our hotels will last until mid-November," the hotel group announced.
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