San Canzian Village Hotel & Spa
San Canzian
Mužolini Donji 7 HR- 52460 Buje, Croatia
Tel: +385 52 853 897
www.san-canzian.hr
Aesthetics: 10/10
A dark, muted color palette combined with luxe natural materials creates a richly comforting environment at San Canzian. There are 24 rooms in total scattered between multiple buildings and, while there are room categories, no two rooms are the same.
Comfort: 9/10
What I wouldn’t have given for a luxurious soaking tub (perhaps on our spacious terrace?) so I could give San Canzian a 10/10 here…everything else about the property (furniture, mattress, shower products) was so luxe and comfy.
Food: 10/10
Incredible - San Canzian’s Luciano Restaurant is lauded and rightly so - the menu celebrates Istria’s Italian heritage. Ingredients are locally-sourced and dishes are thoughtfully prepared to provide authentic flavors in inventive packaging that carefully steers clear of being precious and lands squarely at perfection. Dietary needs are cheerfully met and alternatives never feel half-hearted.
Bar: 10/10
I wish I could give 20/10 to the bar here - such a pleasure to encounter a professional bar staff in such a remote location. Both bartenders we encountered clearly took their craft seriously and had studied bartending and cocktail crafting in locales such as Amsterdam and were clearly delighted to have such serious cocktail nerds visiting them. Playing Bartender’s Choice has never been so rewarding.
Spa: ?/?
Our schedule was unfortunately a bit too tight to fit in treatments here, but the resort does have a small spa with a lovely-looking menu…we’ll consider this an incentive to visit again asap.
Service: 9/10
Lovely and attentive.
Price Point:
$$
Worth Going Out Of Your Way For:
For sure…not easy to get to from the rest of Croatia, but a relatively easy drive from northern Italy, Slovenia, or Austria. A charming country hotel on a beautiful piece of land, nestled in a region famed for cuisine? Sign. Me. Up.
Narrative:
I was lucky enough to experience San Canzian while on a industry familiarization (FAM) trip, and it’s such a great example of why those trips are worth the time and expense - even as much of a hotel nerd as I am, I’m not sure I would have uncovered this gem on my own.
The downside is that we had only a brief stay at San Canzian, but it’s one I can’t wait to return to and have recommended time and again to clients and friends.
While You’re In The Area:
San Canzian makes a great stop in an itinerary with a focus on Istria’s food and wine scene…you’ll definitely want to plan a stop at Motuvun, Istria’s truffle center, for a meal at Zigante, before moving on to another itinerary stop like Rovinj.
