While waiting to see whether the Government and the lessee of the Sveti Stefan - Miločer hotel complex, the company "Adraitic Properties", will agree on whether the city hotel "Sveti Stefan" and Villa Miločer will be opened after four years, the Municipality of Budva has blocked the resort due to unpaid real estate taxes.
The Local Public Revenue Administration has registered a mortgage on the property of the company "Sveti Stefan Hotels", which manages the city's hotel "Sveti Stefan" and Villa Miločer, because it failed to pay real estate tax for last year in the amount of 82 thousand euros.
"Mortgage in the total amount of 82.304,34 euros in favor of the Municipality of Budva. Decision on securing tax claims of the Local Public Revenue Administration of the Municipality of Budva, property of Sveti Stefan hotels," it says in the real estate list that "Vijesti" had access to.
This means that "Sveti Stefan Hotels", a joint-stock company in which the state of Montenegro has a majority stake, as well as the government company HTP "Miločer", which manages part of the Miločersak Park where "Adriatic Properties" is building a new hotel "Kraljičina plaza" and an annex with apartments for the market, have found themselves on the black list of tax debtors of the Municipality of Budva.
Both companies are in an extremely difficult financial situation, because the tenant of the hotel complex, the company of Greek businessman Petros Stathis, has not paid the rent for two full years, since arbitration proceedings were initiated before a tribunal in London, demanding that the Government, as well as the aforementioned companies, pay it one hundred million euros for violating contractual obligations.
The quarterly installment that "Adriatic Properties" is supposed to pay to HTP "Miločer" amounts to 87 thousand euros, while the quarterly rent of 380 thousand euros is not being paid to the company "Sveti Stefan Hotels", the owner of the city-hotel Sveti Stefan and Villa Miločer.
The residents of Sveti Stefan held a protest rally in front of the Budva Municipality building the day before yesterday, demanding that they participate in negotiations between the Government and the tenant regarding the opening of the Grad Hotel, believing that they must be presented with all the details of a possible agreement.
Allegedly, the two sides could reach an agreement to open "Svetac" this summer, and to put the arbitration proceedings on hold for half a year, during which time all mutual problems could be resolved.
The company “Adriatic Properties” has been keeping the city-hotel Sveti Stefan and Villa Miločer closed for the fourth summer, while it has suspended the construction of the new hotel “Kraljičina plaža” since the arbitration proceedings began. Without an agreement on the functioning of the Queen's Beach and the path between that beach and the spa center in Miločer Park, the hotel operator “Aman” did not want to open the city-hotel Sveti Stefan, because they cannot guarantee the safety and privacy of guests.
In early February, the most successful tennis player in the history of the white sport, Novak Djokovic, tried to help remove the padlock from the Sveti Stefan city-hotel, which has been closed since 2021.
After talking with Prime Minister Milojko Spajić, he told "Vijesti" that this was the main reason he was in Montenegro, emphasizing that he would use his name and influence to solve the problem.
The global ambassador of the company "Aman" explained that they had conducted "initial discussions" and were informed "about everything", emphasizing that they were trying to work for the "general interest" of Montenegro and that they hoped that a solution to the problem would be "on the horizon" very soon.
The popular "Saint" is celebrating its 65th birthday this summer, since the small fishing village of Paštrov, a medieval fortress that resisted invaders for centuries, was transformed into a fashionable summer resort by the decision of the then communist authorities.
It was the use of Queen's Beach, which had been closed to the public for decades and reserved exclusively for hotel guests and the political elite, that led to the closure of "Svec". The city-hotel was closed in 2021 after locals broke the fence on Queen's Beach, and the Public Company for Coastal Zone Management ordered its removal, freeing up the paths in Miločer Park for use.
After the incident in the summer of 2021, Adriatic Properties sought guarantees from the state that it would not happen again, but they did not receive them. The state then initiated arbitration proceedings in a London court, arguing that the contract had been breached, and Adriatic Properties then retaliated by demanding one hundred million euros in damages.
The Commercial Court recognized the decision of the Court of Arbitration in London, and ordered the company "Sveti Stefan Hotels" and the Government to pay 522 thousand British pounds, or 620 thousand euros, to the company "Adriatic Properties", the lessee of the elite resort of Sveti Stefan-Miločer, for the costs of the proceedings before the international tribunal.
The Protector of Property and Legal Interests of Montenegro, Bojana Ćirović, has filed an appeal with the Court of Appeal against the decision of the Commercial Court.
“Sveti Stefan Hotels”, a joint-stock company in which the state of Montenegro has a majority stake, as well as the government company HTP “Miločer”, which manages part of the Miločer park where “Adriatic Properties” is building a new hotel “Kraljičina plaža” and an annex with apartments for the market, have been blacklisted by the Municipality of Budva as tax debtors. Both companies are in an extremely difficult financial situation, because the tenant of the hotel complex, the company of Greek businessman Petros Stathis, has not paid the rent for two full years, since the arbitration proceedings were initiated before the tribunal in London
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