Only in Dubrovnik by Duncan J.D. Smith

Farther Afield (Kupari) 45 A Resort in Ruins Farther Afield (Kupari), the ruined holiday resort of Kupari (note: Kupari can be reached by road or else by foot on the coastal path fromMlini and should only be explored with great care) Five miles south of Old Town is one of the Dubrovnik area’s more curi- ous sights. Just off the busy D8, the Croatian leg of the Adriatic High- way, lies the seaside resort of Kupari – but the visitor won’t find any guests there. Unlike Old Town, which was scrupulously restored after the Croatian War (1991–1995), Kupari’s bombed-out hotels resemble something from a dystopian fantasy film (see nos. 32, 40). This part of the Croatian coast has long traded on its scenic quality. In 1919, it was Kupari’s turn, when a Czech investor built the Grand Hotel on the shoreline. At the time, Croatia had recently seceded from the doomed Austro-Hungarian Empire to become a part of the nascent Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia had become a sovereign state. The elegant architecture of the Grand, a confection of stuccoed brick with neo-Classical flourishes, was a reminder of the time both countries had spent under the Habsburgs. Fast forward now to the 1960s and Croatia is part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Josip Broz Tito (1892–1980), the coun- try’s president and supreme military commander, earmarked Kupari‘s sandy bay as a holiday resort for members of the Yugoslav People’s Army (Jugoslovenska narodna armija). As a result, over the next twenty years five, several huge hotels were thrown up, with almost 1500 beds for officers and their families. Compared to the nostalgic stylings of the Grand, the new con- crete hotels were largely functional. First up was the Goričina, which opened in 1962 with 160 beds. A year later the Pelegrin was built on the Dubrovnik side of the bay. Its 400-plus bedrooms are contained within an inverted Brutalist ziggurat designed by Sarajevo-born archi- tect, David Finci (1931–2017). A series of ramps provided vehicular access to the various levels and a great staircase led directly from the lounge to the beach. Next was the Kupari, built in 1978, which added another 550 beds. Situated alongside the Pelegrin, its hillside-hugging blocks echoed hotels thrown up along the Spanish Costas around the same time. Last on the scene was the Goričina II built in the early 1980s. Adding 350 more beds, it was a response to the fact that the Yugoslav government 96