Global Connect Ltd

GC brings Iceberg into Europe!

2010-09-22T12:36:00.000-07:00

The last 14 months, Global Connect has been working with Canadian Iceberg Vodka to launch the brand within Europe. In April the UK launch was held in London at the Kensington Roof Gardens to great success and reviews. In August GC did 'Iceberg on the beach' - the Croatian launch of the brand which has been called the best event on the Adriatic this summer and "for one night Saint Jacobs beach in Dubrovnik was turned into Saint Tropez". For the event GC used the latest 3D mapping technology to transform the cliffside above the beach into a giant iceberg with the bottle of Iceberg Vodka exploading outwards, floating in mid-air.

The event was covered prime time by the Croatian television channel Nova TV, and the clip can be viewed online.

Iceberg Vodka is made from harvested icebergs that naturally float off the coast of Newfoundland in Canada, yielding some of the purest and cleanest water in the world, dating back 12,000 years. This combined with high quality alcohol made from peaches and cream corn from central Canada results it one of the best rated vodkas in the world. There will be more coming from GC and Iceberg, so please contact us for any additional information, or if you would like to know how Iceberg Vodka can be implemented as a part of your next event.

Dubrovnik within the 5 top 2010 European beaches

2010-09-22T12:34:00.000-07:00

Trivago.co.uk, the online price comparison site, has analyzed the most popular European beach destinations. The top 5 in terms of best online reputation are: 1. Belek, Turkish Riviera, 2. Binz, Germany, 3. Sorrento, Campania, 4. Funchal, Portugal / Madeira, 5. Dubrovnik, Croatia / Dalmatia. The website described Dubrovnik as "One of the top five beach destinations with popular hotels on the Mediterranean."

Another website, Best Vacation Spots Guide, has named Dubrovnik in the list of top 10 urban beaches for 2010. The article advises tourists how to "maximize your holiday time by combining a city break with a sandy break". It goes on to describe Dubrovnik as "Warm azure seas line the Dubrovnik Riviera and most of the seafront hotels in the city have access to beaches. Most are pebble rather than sand but all offer the usual fun in the sun amenities such as cafes, beach bars, kayak hire and swimming pools." St. Jacobs is the most secluded and locally popular beach in Dubrovnik, offering a divine view of all the yachts, cruise ships, Lokrum island and the Dubrovnik Old Town with it's red roofed architecture.

Radisson's most expensive European investment

2010-09-22T12:33:00.001-07:00

The largest and most elaborate Radisson property in Europe to date opened last year. Located 20 minutes from Dubrovnik, the Radisson Blu Resort & Spa Sun Gardens is one of the largest resorts in all of Croatia. It has a main hotel with 200 rooms, along with 207 deluxe furnished apartments of 1, 2 and 3 bedrooms with built in kitchenette and lounge. To compliment the room facilities, the hotel has a full marketplace with fishmonger, butcher, bakery, wine bar, along with 3 outdoor swimming pools, extensive sports and wellness centers, several restaurants, night club, conferencing facilities, beach and even a private marina. With this array of services and facilities, and the Radisson brand behind it, there's no wonder why it's the new hot spot on the Adriatic Dalmatian coastline.

GC's beach event launches 7* hotel in Montenegro

2010-09-22T12:32:00.001-07:00

Global Connect has become known for producing quality events for clients in logistically difficult locations and conditions. Last year we were once again asked to do a beach event on the island of St. Marko in Montenegro's bay of Kotor. The purpose was a celebratory lunch to finalize a deal between the Montenegrin government and Russia's Metropol group for the purchase of St. Marko's island. The project plan is to develop an exclusive seven star complex on the island due to open in 2013, worth over 500 million Euros. The hotel will be located adjacent to the future mega-yacht marina Porto Montenegro.

In total 93.000 square meters should be built on the 30 acres island, including 240 luxury villas, luxury apartments, a hotel with spa facilities, conference halls and a casino. It is also planned to build shops, art galleries, restaurants, a marina and a yacht club, sport fields, tennis courts, heliport, and many water attractions. All of these at international luxury standards and respecting the environment.

4* Valamar Lacroma opens in Dubrovnik

2010-09-22T12:29:00.001-07:00

A brand new high quality 4-star hotel opened in 2009 and is the largest conference & spa hotels in Dubrovnik with 400+ bedrooms. Offering shops, spa & modern wellness centre, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, tennis & other sports, it's the ideal place to relax and enjoy Dubrovnik. More importantly for GC clients, the property now boasts some of the largest and most modern conferencing space in Croatia. With a main plenary capable of over 1000 PAX in theatre, plenty of breakout and exhibition space, along with a superb food & beverage offer to compliment, Lacroma is now one of the leading properties for one of Croatia's largest hotel chains Valamar.

Croatia - An Ideal Automotive Launch Destination !

2009-04-25T09:01:00.001-07:00

In the Croatian capital of Zagreb, Global Connect is now able to offer automotive clients a brand new testing track for vehicle launches and productions. The AMC (Auto Management Center) is located just outside the Zagreb center and only minutes away from the international airport, offering an area of 80,000sqm and 5 separate modules. Some clients who have used the track include Bentley & Breitling, Volkswagen, Subaru, Skoda, Mazda, as well as Global Connect's most recent project with Lexus.

To compliment the AMC, just 1.5 hours west of Zagreb you will find an established professional race track with a private airport adjacent to it. It holds regular motocross and auto races as well as various European championships and even the World Sidecar Grand Prix.

Adriatic Productions - Audio / Visual & Full Staging

2009-04-25T08:57:00.001-07:00

Our sister company, Adriatic Productions, has teamed up with Croatian National Andro Vidak to offer audio / visual and full staging services to Croatia & Montenegro. Andro has a degree in Sound Engineering and has vast professional experience with music events, festivals, and conference setups. With our investment of time and material towards staging in the last 18 months, we've completed several projects for clients including Pramerica, Land Rover, AUMS Conference, and recently a Lexus Hybrid car launch.

Our Audio / Visual and Full Staging units are fully capable of implementing high quality stages for any style conference, congress or event. Combined with our professional audio / visual engineers and crew, we can tailor make a sound system to compliment your stage, screens, monitors, back screen projectors and provide the accompanying visuals to bring it all together.

Luxury Yacht Marina - Porto Montenegro

2009-04-25T08:54:00.001-07:00

Not far from the Dubrovnik / Montenegro border lays the small town of Tivat, which is seeing some massive investment and development. Investors such as Peter Munk of Canada, and two Rothschild family members have purchased an SFR Yugoslav Naval ship yard which had fallen into disuse. They are now building a luxury yacht marina capable of 650 berth positions - 150 of them for super yachts up to 150m long! The waterfront community will feature a 150-room Four Seasons hotel, 250 condo units, conference center, sports complex and many other facilities. In the near future they also plan to develop an 18-hole golf course nearby. Set to finish in 2010, this development further raises the interest in Montenegro and elevates the status of the entire region. Clients can feel free to contact us for more information and proposal suggestions for Montenegro, or a combined Dubrovnik / Montenegro programme.

Zagreb convention center

2009-04-25T08:50:00.000-07:00

Just outside downtown Zagreb a new convention center has opened, helping to fill the conference venue requirements in Croatia's capital. Centrally located in Europe with great pan-European flights and beyond, Zagreb has become a destination in demand for corporate events and conferences. With their new airport planned and construction beginning soon, Zagreb is hearing their visitors' needs and over achieving them. The aforementioned combined with a range of quality 4 and 5-star hotels, an increase in restaurant venues, and the key flight access gives us a solid package to offer our clients focused on communicating their business objective.

GC's Ecological Programme

2009-04-25T08:41:00.000-07:00

We at Global Connect are renowned for our bespoke programmes - offerings unavailable through any other Croatian or Montenegrin DMC ! Some of these include our highly successful Digital Dubrovnik, Island Recon Mission, and our Istrian Truffle Hunt. We have now created another gem we call the Ecological Programme. The main day includes a boat ride to a nearby island where groups are assigned a map, instructions and a list of ingredients they need to collect on their way to the lunch destination. When they arrive to the beach venue, a fisherman will take each group out to catch their lunch. Once that is done a personal chef will be assigned to each group for a cooking lesson on how the fresh ingredients will be combined with the Adriatic sea-food. Some other aspects of this programme can include a short bike ride from the airport to the hotel, tree planting around the country, and even rebuilding parts of the community still in need of attention. Contact us for more information and a full proposal.

GC Promo video - see our quality in action !

2008-10-01T09:54:00.000-07:00

There's no need to say much here, just that we had a professional crew film an elaborate event on a remote island/beach near Dubrovnik, Croatia. We had 14 days of site preparation, most of which was garbage collection, equipment transportation & setup of the volleyball courts - all of which was done by hand ! The group was 120 PAX for lunch which was a Michelin level BBQ, complimented by a DJ from the UK and the warm Adriatic sun. If you want to get an idea of the Global Connect DMC quality and our team in action, it's worth the short wait to view the video, if we do say so ourselves !

Concept PCO - first of its kind in Croatia

2008-10-01T09:52:00.000-07:00

Earlier this year, Global Connect partnered with Croatian national Tatjana John to form a new company specializing in the sector of Professional Conference Organization (PCO). The business was quick to confirm clients in its first year, indicating the demand for this venture at this time. With Tatjana's industry experience, natural leadership drive and fluency in English, French, Italian and Croatian; she is now the director in her own company - Concept Croatia

We've gone green !

2008-10-01T09:51:00.000-07:00

Technically we have been green for a while, we're just now announcing it. You know the drill: recycling everything from batteries to plastic to paper, reducing plastic bag use, avoiding unnecessary printing...etc. We will also be implementing optional carbon offset fees on proposals which will go towards replanting trees that are heavily needed in Croatia after the massive fires the last two years. Ask us about our new "Green day" and "Ying Yang" programmes which are currently being fine tuned.

New staff - Tea Gjivic

2008-10-01T09:48:00.000-07:00

Check out GC's newest team member in the accounting department ! Tea (pronounced Teya) started earlier this year and the fit with our team dynamics was seamless. Tea has a degree in economics from Dubrovnik University and speaks Croatian, English & Italian. She mainly handles the finance side of business, but don't be surprised if you see her out on some of the events.

GC explores the raw potential of Bosnia

2008-10-01T09:46:00.000-07:00

The GC directors recently went on a research motocross trip across Bosnia....and have the bruises to show for it ! Such raw, untapped potential with stunning landscape and scenery definitely puts this destination on our radar for future development. We currently offer the aforementioned motocross excursion, river rafting, and potentially rifle shooting ! These would only be available for smaller groups, so please send us a request for more information.

Check out a short video of the GC directors on motocross !

Istria - truffles and wine in Northern Croatia

2008-10-01T09:42:00.000-07:00

If you were to take the 2-hour hydrofoil boat directly across from Venice, you would reach the picturesque town of Rovinj in Istria. This region in North Western Croatia use to be a part of Italy, its influences still apparent in the towns, buildings, cuisine and language. Istria is a famous wine region and also known for their truffles, for which the town of Motovun currently holds the world record for the largest truffle.

Global Connect is partnered with local hotel group Maistra who are poised to be the dominant supplier in the region. They just opened Monte Mulini, a brand new 5* property with their second 5* Lone opening in 2009 with its spacious conference facilities. Flight access to the region is very good with 4 airports in the surrounding area - Zagreb, Pula, Trieste & Venice. Inquire about our GC truffle hunt & race track programmes.

GC's coffee machine - The saga continues....

2008-10-01T09:29:00.000-07:00

Check out the previous coffee post to see where the coffee machine story started.

Well, we've sent back the Lavazza pod coffee machine. It started to jam, overflowed cups, pieces falling off, and making a general mess around the coffee station. We're now using instant coffee, but you've got to give us a little credit as we're using the famous New York coffee Chock full o'Nuts ! There is also a process to getting it just right - white sugar and coffee grounds first, pour in the water as soon as it's boiled, mix, then add 2% fresh milk. So basically in order to have a great cup of coffee, we have to import the grinds from America via visiting friends / family, then synthesize our product using the aforementioned formula, as opposed to the previous, theoretically simple pod-in-machine-done method.

Now look at it this way.....if we're willing to go the extra mile for our morning coffee, just think what we do for our clients!

Hottest new Croatian destination - Island Hvar

2008-03-16T02:20:00.000-07:00

Want to know where the GC team goes for their time off in Croatia? We head over to beautiful Island Hvar ! The combination of pristine sea, wine production, fantastic hotels, restaurants, and night life makes this a fun spot for us to hang out. It is becoming known as the next St Tropez, and in the season you can see the mega yachts and celebrities lining up on the pier.

The hotel chain Suncani Hvar has three of the top 4* hotels in the country: trendy Riva yacht harbour hotel, stylish Adriana marina hotel & spa, and the contemporary Amfora grand beach resort. These hotels cover all type of travel from exclusive VIP, to pure incentive, and even large conference. Elsewhere in town you will find great food at restaurants like Yaksa's fine dinning, and wine to accompany it, from biological island producers like Ivan Dolac, or Plenkovic winery. Not to mention the surrounding islands, beautiful sandy and rock beaches, and the seemingly endless Adriatic as your playground.

Global Connect has some great programmes for this area combining all of the above, so just send us and e-mail to see a proposal or request more information about Island Hvar.

New programmes - GC Truffle Hunt, Island Recon Mission, & Digital Dubrovnik / Budva

2008-03-10T02:09:00.000-07:00

Keeping with our unique style and ever expanding offers, Global Connect has developed three new programmes to offer it's clients.

GC Truffle Hunt is the newest, bringing clients to the truffle region of Istria in Northern Croatia, where guests get to go with experienced hunters and unearth their own white or black "diamonds of the kitchen". This is followed by show cooking with a Croatian top chef, who explains all about truffles, while preparing a meal using the ones found by the group that day. Hotel accommodations are in the beautiful sea-side town of Rovinj, and their new 5* hotel Monte Mulini. This programme is best in the month of October as this is the period for truffle hunting, however variations can be made for other dates in the year.

Island Reconnaissance Mission can take place anywhere on the sea such as Dubrovnik, Hvar, Split, or Kotor in Montenegro. Guests are divided into smaller groups and given high speed boat (RIB's), handheld GPS's, questions to solve, and a skipper to command. The group with the most completed in the shortest time wins, however everyone gets to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the Adriatic, and learn about the respective area as the questions are tailored around the history and surroundings.

Digital Dubrovnik can be considered a land version of the Island Recon. Guests are broken up into teams, given digital cameras, energy bags, and a series of questions and riddles to solve, taking them in and around the walled city of Dubrovnik. This programme works very well as team building, or just a fun way to learn about the city and have a load of funny pictures to bring back in the end ! We also operate this in the smaller walled town of Budva in Montenegro.

Please contact us for a full proposal or more information on any of the above.

Luxury hotel Rixos Libertas opens in Dubrovnik

2008-02-16T02:03:00.000-08:00

After many delays and a few unforeseen issues, the hotel Rixos Libertas is now fully open in Dubrovnik. In it's prime, the old Libertas hotel was a favourite for travelers, and for locals as well. It is now fully refurbished by the Turkish luxury hotel chain Rixos, and includes a fantastic two level spa with adjoining spa suites. With around 250 rooms, all sea-view, with a balcony, and modern design and decor, this property is becoming increasingly used by Global Connect for it's incentive and conference groups. Plans are also waiting approval for an attached annex building, which would bring the total room count to over 300 !

Let GC use it's strong partnership with the hotel to bring you the best rates for your event.

Haute cuisine arrives in Croatia

2008-02-15T02:01:00.000-08:00

The summer of 2007 saw the opening of a much needed, and well implemented new restaurant in Dubrovnik. Gil's Cuisine & Pop Lounge has set the bar for quality, presentation, and style in all of Croatia. This restaurant is one to watch out for on the international level as the concept and food designer is a michelin star rated chef.

They purchased and transformed Restaurant Labirint attached to the city walls of the Old Town into a funky, bright, stylish, energetic and comfortable new venue. It's upper terrace and lounge bar have a view to the sea and city, their cocktails are fresh and inventive, and their sushi menu available in the pop lounge will leave you wanting more.

It could be the multi-levels, private caves, bonsai trees, mind-blowing food, vibrant purple colour theme, or just the relaxed atmosphere, but Gil's will definitely be a highlight for all guests.

The GC office gets a new coffee machine

2008-02-14T01:40:00.000-08:00

In an effort to reduce costs, we finally closed our tab at the adjacent cafe to the Global Connect office. It was decided that in-house coffee was needed, so procurement of a Lavazza espresso machine, which uses pods instead of loose ground beans, was accepted. The switch was very easy, and the coffee surprisingly good, prompting comments around the office such "Hey, this isn't bad" and "What's this blinking light mean?".

Shortly after we realized that tea pods can be used, and thus the hot beverage circle was complete. For clients this means a constantly awake and alert team. Refreshed, hydrated, and on their toes to meet the toughest demands and requests. It also means a fresh cup of coffee or tea (lemon only) the next time you come around. Although we can't promise there will always being milk.

Visit us at Confex 2008, stand Y860 !

2008-01-15T02:16:00.000-08:00

It has been a year already, and it is time for part of our team to head for Earl's Court in London for Confex 2008. We are once again happy to be sharing a stand under Harry Fine Associates, with our DMC colleagues from Greece, Italy, Romania, and Turkey. Along with our own covered countries of Croatia and Montenegro, this combination always attracts many potential clients who can easily find all they need to run an event in any of our countries.

Global Connect is happy to provide sample proposals on the spot, discuss new developments in our area, ideas for future events, or just have a chat with old clients and friends. Stop by and say hello at stand Y860, or if you are not at Confex, please send us an e-mail, or give us a call for anything you need in Croatia and Montenegro !

Global Connect Montenegro launches James Bond programme

2007-07-01T10:09:00.000-07:00

Enjoy an evening of glamour & gambling at Casino Royale in Montenegro where guests will be served martinis by beautiful Bond Girls while bluffing their way to fortune at the card table. Absorb yourself into the world of sophistication as you mingle with spies and millionaires.

We prepare an active day for guests in the Bay of Kotor where they have to complete various missions, gathering items and money in preparation for an evening of high stakes gambling.

International attention and individual attraction are apparent within the tourism community and mainstream culture. This is evident in the newest installment to the James Bond franchise entitled Casino Royale, in which the intriguing and enthralling name of Montenegro is chosen for the main sequence of the film. Portraying it as a gambling paradise, untouched and unspoiled haven for the elite. Their views are on track with the direction Montenegro is taking.

Boutique Hotel Bellevue opens in Dubrovnik

2007-07-01T10:07:00.000-07:00

The recently renovated Hotel Bellevue, located in the vicinity of the Old Town of Dubrovnik, offers a completely new experience of glamour, luxury and authentic beauty. More than EUR 20 million has been invested in the transformation of this former two-star hotel into a luxurious five-star plus hotel. It has a spectacular cliff top setting 30 metres above the Miramare Bay, a secluded sandy cove between the Old Town of Dubrovnik and the Lapad peninsula. Below the property is their private beach - a corner of paradise in the Adriatic. The hotel has an unusual chic style with a discreet and unpretentious feel. It offers 93 luxurious rooms comprised of 80 standard, 12 exclusive suites and the 'Lovor' royal suite. Imaginative food and an outstanding international cuisine are the main features of the fine-dining restaurant Vapor.

In early December 2006, the luxurious Hotel Bellevue welcomed its first guests, thus commencing a soft opening period of operations.

Source: http://hotel-bellevue.hr/

Aman Resorts signs contract for city-hotel in Montenegro

2007-07-01T10:01:00.000-07:00

After more than one year of negotiations on a long-term lease of hotels St. Stefan, Miloćer and Queen's Beach, Aman Resorts from Singapore has finally signed the contract in Podgorica this month. This luxury resort chain shall pay EUR 1.6 million rent for St. Stefan and Miloćer and EUR 500,000 for Queen's Beach, with investments of at least EUR 40 million. During the first year of reconstruction the annual rent will be EUR 1.96 million, then afterwards it will increase to 2.1 million. After several years it will rise further, not only as a result of harmonization with the inflation rate, but also because the contract stipulates for payment of ten percent of all income if that amount exceeds EUR 2.1 million.

Aman has agreed to take over all 220 employees from the three hotels. They also intend to reconstruct and modernize St. Stefan and Miloćer, while the hotel on Queen's Beach shall be torn down and a new, exclusive property built.

"Aman will return the former shine to Sveti Stefan and (give it) a leading position in the tourism of the Mediterranean", said Adrian Zecha, head of the Aman Resorts board of directors after the signing.

Source: http://sg.news.yahoo.com /

Visit us at IMEX 2007 in Frankfurt, stand F480

2007-07-01T09:59:00.000-07:00

Global Connect Ltd. will be exhibiting this year at IMEX in Franfurt Germany, under the Montenegro National Tourist Office (NTO) pavilion. The growing importance of this worldwide exhibition is apparent within the C&I industry, and we wish to make our presence in Montenegro known as this is the first time marina; and an 18-hole golf course. Porto Mariccio Resort, which is being developed by the real-estate investment firm AB Maris, will be situated between the town of Rovinj and Pula, and near the archipelago of the Brijuni Islands.

The Croatian government applauded such investment and encourages other investors with a multiple-approach, such as golf courses combined with hotels and other facilities.

Montenegro has been within our scope for many years now, since first establishing our company in Croatia in 2002. Now that the infrastructure has improved, high quality service providers are available, new hotels properties are completed and more planned; we feel its the right time to promote, sell, and deliver the newest destination in the world to our discerning clients. For full sample proposals, images and general information about Montenegro, please feel free to contact us.

Source: http://imex-frankfurt.com/

Jack Nicklaus to design his first course in Croatia

2007-07-01T09:57:00.000-07:00

Jack Nicklaus and the world's leading golf course design firm were chosen to bring to life the first integrated resort in Croatia to consist of a luxury hotel that will include a spa, wellness center and meeting facilities; a variety of residential offerings totaling more than 460 units; a 350-berth marina; and an 18-hole golf course. Porto Mariccio Resort, which is being developed by the real-estate investment firm AB Maris, will be situated between the town of Rovinj and Pula, and near the archipelago of the Brijuni Islands.

The Croatian government applauded such investment and encourages other investors with a multiple-approach, such as golf courses combined with hotels and other facilities.

There are 23 golf courses planned in Croatia, 14 of which will be in Istria. The head of tourism in Istria, Denis Ivošević, sees great development to the country's future and emphasizes that those 14 courses are either being planned or developed.

Source: http://nicklaus.com/