Valamar, the largest tourism company in Croatia, has expanded its portfolio with a hotel accommodation brand intended for modern tourists in search of a more dynamic holiday, freedom of choice, and authentic experiences. Studio Sonda signed the concept, branding, visual identity, and creative direction, while the architecture and interior design were carried out by the architecture studio Tissa. So far, two unique [PLACES] hotels have been realized in this way: in Makarska and Starigrad on the island of Hvar, each according to the peculiarities of the destination it is located in.

[PLACES] by Valamar is the result of an interdisciplinary merge of history, architecture, and design, and the first hotel brand offering the guest the opportunity to become one with the destination. Unlike classic facilities that try to keep the guests within their walls, the [PLACES] concept does the exact opposite: it tells the guests about the small local secrets of the destination, invites them to mingle, and stimulates their curiosity.

Visual identity

As the brand is intended for modern, urban users, the logo and the visual identity contain square brackets as symbols of modern communication. At the same time, given that this type of bracket is often used to clarify certain situations (captions), it was logical to use it as an element of visual identity in the hotel branding, whose intention is to clarify the destination in more detail. The logo is then superimposed with a pattern of lines that provide additional dynamism, and the inscriptions that include the term [PLACES] serve to connect the spatial installations and communication materials into a unified whole.

The visual identity is completed by spatial installations and interventions that showcase the destination and are interwoven with the hotel’s offer. Before decorating the facility, all curiosities about the destination are carefully researched and then interpreted through the interior and exterior design, hotel offers, digital applications, and employee education. The attractions of the destination have been reinterpreted in a modern way, bringing charm to the space and creating new experiences for the user. In this way, [PLACES] becomes a unique tourist product that helps preserve and develop the destination.

HVAR [PLACESHOTEL] by Valamar

The possibility to become one with the Hvar destination is offered to the guest already upon entering HVAR [PLACESHOTEL]. Through wallpapers, framed prints, short texts, and photos of the destination, the guest is exposed to details and interesting facts about Hvar, from how the island got its name and why it is called the sunniest island, to how to make the most of those hours of sunshine, which sunsets to catch and which viewpoints to visit, and all while drinking an original lavender cocktail from Hvar producers. Upon arrival at the reception, with an Instagram point and a QR code, the guest can leave a permanent fingerprint as a testimony of their stay on the island, a kind of homage to Mr. Vučetić, the inventor of equipment for taking and archiving fingerprints, who was born on Hvar. The hotel restaurant, in addition to decorations and stories about authentic Mediterranean plants and dishes from the Hvar area, which are part of the gastronomic offer, also offers original recipes of Hvar dishes that can be photographed and thus taken home. The hotel is also decorated with an interesting music point dedicated to the first disco opened in the former Yugoslavia, precisely in Hvar, where visitors can learn all about its history and use their phones to listen to local hits of those times, but also find out where they can visit some of the more famous discos of today. Of course, those from Hvar.

DALMACIJA [PLACESHOTEL] by Valamar

The same principle of interpretation of the Dalmatian region, from the reception to the hotel rooms, was also applied in Valamar’s pearl DALMACIJA [PLACESHOTEL]. The geographical uniqueness of the destination, which abounds in natural beauty, the most imposing being the mountain Biokovo, has become the basis of visual storytelling translated into interventions and applications in the space. The unforgettable combination of sea and mountains is conveyed to the guest through the color of the interior, materials such as stone and marble, sea and mountain motifs, and specific plant and animal species that inhabit this region. From Biokovo’s wild horses, the Dalmatian dog, sea shells of purple dye murex, and Peter’s ear to seagulls, the guest is drawn into a specific Dalmatian microcosm where the locals know more about themselves than Google does. Each story is presented through a mini-gallery that visually shows Dalmatian peculiarities, with accompanying text.n The Dalmatian state of mind is evoked through light installations with simple typography on which the words “fjaka” (indolence), “pomalo”(take it easy), or “gušt”(pleasure) are written, which the guest can easily remember and apply in everyday speech. The guest can even learn how to seduce in a Dalmatian way with a story about seagulls and “seagulling”, and visit the monument in the center of Makarska dedicated to this specific style of seduction.

Credits:
Creative direction, concept, design, copywriting: Jelena Fiškuš and Sean Poropat
Design: Sanda Maričić, Martina Sirotić, Martina Ukić
Account Manager: Rafaela Kerin
Architecture and Interior Design: Tissa

HVAR [PLACESHOTEL] by Valamar
Creative direction, concept, design, copywriting: Jelena Fiškuš and Sean Poropat
Design: Sanda Maričić, Martina Sirotić, Martina Ukić
Account Manager: Rafaela Kerin
Wallpaper illustration: Tihomir Tikulin
Architecture and Interior Design: Tissa
Uniforms: Juraj Zigman
Support in collecting information: Tourist Board of the Old Town of Hvar (info&photos), Hvar Heritage Museum (postcards and photos)

DALMACIJA [PLACESHOTEL] by Valamar
Creative direction, concept, design, copywriting: Jelena Fiškuš and Sean Poropat
Design: Sanda Maričić, Martina Sirotić, Marina Štefančić and Aleksandar Živanov
Copywrite: Viktor Slavić
Account Manager: Rafaela Kerin
Architecture and Interior Design: Tissa
Photography of the horse: Bernard Mihaljević
Uniforms: Juraj Zigman
Support in collecting information: TZ Makarska, Public Institution Nature Park Biokovo