RADIO GRAND40 Grand Years
40 years of modern tourism in Kopaonik
This year, inseparable from each other, both the Grand Hotel and the Kopaonik National Park celebrate 40 years of existence and 40 years of modern tourism on this mountain.
For 40 years, the largest and most celebrated, Grand Hotel, has been the pearl in the heart of the Silver Mountain. The pride of the Serbian hotel industry and a status symbol for generations is an inseparable part of family memories, a witness to gatherings and partings, first ski steps, growing up, making acquaintances, business deals, adventures and enjoyment. An ideal starting point for an unforgettable day on skis, indulging in the experience of Kopaonik and a pastime to remember. Today, Kopaonik can boast about the fact that it is on par with the renowned European mountain destinations, with its facilities and offer. Along the way, the Grand Hotel has always been the driving force, dictating trends and continuously investing in new facilities and services. We are witnessing an accelerated development and progress of this destination, not only in the winter months but also in the segment of summer tourism where MK Resort and Grand Hotel have played a crucial role in promoting Kopaonik by investing great efforts in the promotion of natural values and attractions of this mountain, the promotion of active vacations and stay in nature, as well as advocating for the development of tourist resort infrastructure and sustainable development.
The era of modern tourism in Kopaonik began in 1980, when the then Government of the Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia launched a project for the development of the Kopaonik area, after the devastating earthquake that hit this region. Only a year later, the Karavan Hotel was built – today’s Grand Hotel – opened the doors for fashionable, and above all ski tourism, which up to that point had been shyly represented thanks to young enthusiasts and mountaineering associations. That same year, the Assembly of Serbia declared a part of Kopaonik a National Park, and the International Ski Federation granted this mountain the status of an International Ski Center. Although the Grand Hotel has always been ahead of its time, in 2008, with privatization by the MK Group, it gained its glamorous new guise and became the hotel that we know today. Thanks to capital investments and an efficient business strategy, with the application of global standards, the entire hospitality complex, led by the Grand Hotel, was revitalized in a short period of time, while the destination itself reclaimed its position on the map of the most popular ski resorts in the region.
Grand has retained its authenticity and charm to this day even though it was built in the original “Kopaonik Architectural Style”. This implies construction techniques adapted to climatic and landscape conditions and local folklore traditions, with a humane and pleasant ambiance that cultivates the values of traditional warmth in hoteliering.
The soul of the hotel has always been its guests and its legendary hosts who welcomed the most celebrated people of their time from public life, art, culture, entertainment, sports, politics, diplomacy, and clergy, along with numerous domestic and foreign guests. As the epicenter of social life on the mountain, Grand Hotel is the initiator and host of many events and manifestations such as the Ski Opening, Music Week, Kopaonik Business Forum, Kopaonik School of Natural Law, that are now traditionally held in Kopaonik. Grand’s rooms have always been the ideal scenery for grand celebrations, and often it was the guests themselves who created an atmosphere to remember for all visitors.
In the year when it celebrates 40 years of existence, Grand Hotel will mark, in the best possible way, a jubilee that is equally important for Kopaonik and the Serbian tourism industry. The new hotel will shine in a new guise at the beginning of the winter season, thanks to a capital investment worth 20 million euros, which will provide a completely new luxury atmosphere for all visitors, as well as new facilities. In the same way that worldly charm intertwines with the “pulse” of the mountain, so will the traditional hospitality of the most celebrated hotel in Kopaonik be embraced by a refined and luxurious approach to the new needs of its guest.
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