New hotel, Turkish bath and Roman pools in Sijarinska Banja - Municipality removes all obstacles to arrival of Russian investors

(Sijarinska Banja)

Beauty at the foot of Mount Goljak is one step closer to a new four-star hotel, which has been eagerly awaited for almost five years. As Medvedja Mayor Slobodan Draskovic confirmed to eKapija, all property disputes are finally resolved, and the Russian investor can now kick off the construction of a hotel in the Sijarinska Banja spa resort.

This project was first announced back in the summer 2008, and the hotel, as it was explained to us, should be built right behind the water polo pool in this spa resort.

Wishing to offer tourists as much as possible, last year the municipality hired C.T.D. 3 to prepare a feasibility study for the construction of a hotel in Sijarinska Banja, which is dubbed Vaterpolo Hotel (Water Polo Hotel), and eKapija already wrote about that before. Although we didn't know whether the investor would choose that idea, there is no doubt that the new hotel would contribute a lot to the tourist offer of this spa resort.

And while they are waiting for investors from Russia, people at Gejzer Rehabilitation Center in Sijarinska Banja do not sit idle. The new management has already prepared several projects. They believe that they will soon be able to take pride in a larger number of guests and the season that lasts the whole year long.

Sijarinjska Banja has 18 natural mineral springs whose water is good for the treatment of the most various diseases. What is particularly interesting is a hot water geyser, unique in Europe, which erupts to a height of eight meters. There is a complex of small swimming pools in its vicinity, as well as a water polo pool and courts for basketball, futsal and beach volleyball. However, despite the excellent conditions offered by Gejzer, this rehabilitation center operates at full capacity only in the summer.

Being aware that the tourist season is too short, people at Sijarinska Banja have been looking for a recipe on how to solve this problem - swimming pools for recreational athletes, built in 2006, will be covered during winter months. Dobrica Purevnoci, director of Gejzer Rehabilitation Center, says to eKapija that they have already made plans for the reconstruction of mineral water and healing mud baths.

- We expect the construction of an inflatable cover for swimming pools and locker rooms to start as early as this spring, so these facilities could be in use during the whole year – says our interlocutor.

- The other project, worth about RSD 15 million, involves the rehabilitation of Roman pools and the construction of a Turkish bath and a sauna. Namely, Gejzer already features three Roman pools, each with different thermal water, but two of them have been closed for as many as 15 years. There are also 11 pools that are not in use. We are now preparing a renovation project to put all pools and baths back in operation.

According to Director Purenovic, these works will allow for a substantial increase in the capacity of healing pools, so that much more guests will be able to enjoy the benefits of Gejzer. Also, the plan is to have the building of Gejzer Hotel renovated soon as well as to have its roof reconstructed, installations replaced, etc.

As it was announced earlier, Sijarinska Banja expects to receive support from the state for these investments.

Once all the novelties of Gejzer become available, people at this pearl of the south expects to have guests during the whole year. Our interlocutor expects that the number of overnight stays at this spa resort could grow from current 40,000 to 100,000 per year, adding that the construction of a Russian hotel would make a significant contribution to the tourist offer of this place on the bank of the Jablanica River.

It is expected that the spa resort will get new green areas this year, and the construction of a prefabricated parking lot is also in the pipeline.

Gejzer Hotel offers 277 beds in single, twin and triple rooms and suites, and it also features spaces where people can play chess, spend time during the day or watch TV.

Situated 520 meters above the sea level, Sijarinska Banja is located 50 kilometers away from Leskovac and 330 kilometers away from Belgrade. One can reach this spa resort by first taking the Belgrade-Nis-Leskovac highway and then the Leskovac-Pristina regional road. It is surrounded by thick oak and pine forest spanning as many as 50 square kilometers, which protects it from winds and fogs.

M.S.