THRONE GOALS
Douglas Patient is Game for new challenges in Croatia
DID I know a downward dog from a tree? No, but by the end of the yoga class I felt like a pro. OK, maybe that was stretching it a bit, but I certainly couldn’t have picked a more perfect spot for my first ever lesson at Croatia’s TUI Blue Jadran hotel.
Located in the stunning resort of Tucepi on Croatia’s Dalmatian coast, overlooking a magnificent beach and fragrant pine forest, the designer hotel is part of TUI’S lifestyle brand.
I had chosen the beginners’ yoga session from a wellness menu designed with TV presenter and fitness icon Davina Mccall.
Booking it was easy on the handy TUI Blue app which encouraged me to try out other new activities.
Pilates was more intense than I had expected, working muscles I never knew
I possessed. Despite aching muscles, I raised the bar with a hardcore high-intensity training class. Trying paddleboarding in the quiet cove next to the hotel was more of a challenge.
But it’s not all workout and no play. At the hotel’s spa, a full-body massage eased those sore muscles and sent me drifting blissfully off to cloud nine.
Set between the Adriatic sea and the Biokovo mountains, the hotel on the Croatian coast was built in 1948, closing its doors to guests in 1989, a couple of years before the Croatian War of Independence.
Reopening after a multi-millionpound makeover in 2017, behind its historic facade lie 161 stylish rooms and suites, two bars and two restaurants, plus swimming pools including an infinity pool with spectacular sea views.
At the buffet restaurant, which serves traditional dishes, I got my first taste of scorpionfish – minus the poisonous spines.
On an evening trip to Tucepi town, we tucked into tasty beef steak and freshly caught fish at Konoba Ranc restaurant set in an old olive grove.
The next day, we drove 55 miles up to Split, Dalmatia’s biggest city. A tuktuk tour is the best way to see the old town, dominated by Diocletian’s Palace, built by the eponymous Roman emperor in the third century. The UNESCO world heritage site is a must-see for history buffs and Game of Thrones fans will recognise the fortress as part of the city of Meereen. Being a big Thrones fan, it was exciting to walk through the basements of the palace where Daenerys kept her dragons.
While on an islandhopping boat trip from Split we landed on beautiful Brac island. There was ample time for swimming and snorkelling – and an inflatable assault course – off picturesque Golden Horn beach in Bol, followed by lunch in the quaint port of Milna. It was worth stopping off at Hvar to take in the picture-postcard views from the island’s medieval hilltop fort.
Back at the hotel there was time for a wine-tasting session which I’d booked on the app – Grasevina and Posip are highly recommended – before ending the evening at the Pink Cricket restaurant. Then it was straight on to the app to book my next exercise class to work off those calories!