On the Adriatic Sea, wedged on the thin sliver of Croatia that is hemmed to the north by Bosnia-Herzegovina and to the southeast by Montenegro, the small, walled city of Dubrovnik is a wonder to behold. An UNESCO site and one of the real jewels of the planet, Dubrovnik is a gorgeous, red-roofed city high that is on style and historicism. Its climate is mild most of the year and very warm in the summer, and there are beaches within walking distance of practically everywhere. Meeting venues in Dubrovnik are mostly found outside of the city walls; within the old city are small, boutique hotels, and competition to snag rooms in them often is acute.
Dubrovnik International Airport (DBV) is in the suburb of Cilipi, 10 miles southeast of the city center. Service from such European cities as London, Frankfurt, Moscow and Istanbul run all year, but a fair percentage of the air traffic here is seasonal.
There is no dedicated convention, exposition or conference center, so hotel venues in Dubrovnik are the place to meet. These include the 244-room Grand Hotel Park, which has three meeting rooms, the largest able to host 220 persons; the 180-room Valamar Dubrovnik President, with reception space for up to 220 persons; 146-room Lero, with space for up to 140 persons; and the 104-room Petka, which has room for meetings of up to 250 persons, as well as a restaurant with 200 seats inside (50 more outside). The adjacent, sibling 91-room Bellevue and 308-room Dubrovnik Palace are excellent choices with a combined meeting space able to host up to 1,000 persons. Hilton also has a hotel here, and for a taste of luxury within those ancient Dubrovnik walls, book the 19-room Pucic Palace.
There is much scope for hosting innovative events. Perhaps the most exciting is taking the Dubrovnik Cable Car. It starts right outside the city walls and not only gives groups the best view of Dubrovnik but also lifts them high into the sky toward a restaurant and an amphitheater that can be rented out and seats 120 persons. In the walled city is the Dubrovnik Events Center, which has lots of warm wood, attractive beams, two exhibition spaces measuring approximately 1,500 square feet each and a small cinema.
Dubrovnik cuisine is known for its mixing of local, Greek, French and Italian flavors and ideas. Excellent restaurants here include Nautika, which sits just outside the walled city, occupies the former home of the Dubrovnik School of Maritime Studies and once hosted Pope John Paul II, while Gil's, in the walled city, even has private cave rooms for groups burrowed deep into the city's ancient barricades, as well as the indoor, purple and pink "Pop Lounge" with outdoor, group tents.
