Staying at Bolara 60
Bolara 60 is a destination for those seeking rural tranquility and culinary adventure. We invite guests to soak up the surrounding greenery, explore the hilltop villages, walking routes, wineries and traditional restaurants of inland Istria, and join us for dinner, one of our culinary activities, or perhaps in the vegetable garden!
A stay at Bolara 60 includes accommodation in one of our individually furnished rooms in the Kuća (“main house”), with breakfast served communally each day, or the whole use of the Kućica (“small house,” attached), which is self-catering. Either way, you’ll be able to book in for dinners or culinary activities (subject to availability).
We encourage you to explore Istria, or simply relax and enjoy the abundance of nature around us.
Getting here is easy. Click here for a map and information on the nearest airports and travel in the region.
Accommodation at Bolara 60
We have two accommodation options available:
The Kuća
The Kuća (“main house” in Croatian) has three beautiful guest bedrooms available for bed and breakfast bookings (our 4th room, Nocciole, is usually reserved for staff). Click the button below for more information, images and prices.
The Kućica
The Kućica (“small house”) is a self-contained, two-bedroom stone house with its own kitchen and living area, as well as a charming covered terrace, located next to the main house. Click the button below for more information, images and prices.
Group bookings and workshops
Bolara 60 is available for private group bookings for up to 10 people, using three bedrooms in the main house plus two further bedrooms in the Kućica. We welcome enquiries from people planning a workshop, retreat, summer school or other residential educational and creative course, and we can use our experience hosting such groups to help you plan your event.
Your group can use several indoor and outdoor communal spaces, and we can organise a meal schedule which works for you.
Please note that for group bookings, we must usually make a surcharge, usually the value of one night’s accommodation in the Kuća rooms, since we do not have the capacity to turn around all rooms within a day.
Email us to discuss prices and availability for a group booking.
What you’ll find at Bolara 60
Use the virtual tour to navigate through each floor and room of the house, as well as explore our grounds and check out attractions in the area. (And read on below the tour for more information about our communal areas).
Cooking and eating
The large open-plan stone-walled “konoba”- formerly the cow-shed – features a long oak dining table, kitchen and two large traditional fireplaces, one for grilling and roasting, and one for getting cosy in colder months. The room is dug into the hillside and opens out to a large southwest-facing terrace at the back of the main house with lovely views across the Mirna Valley. This terrace is where we serve breakfasts most mornings, and dinners on balmy summer nights.
In warmer months, we also cook in the “ljetna kuhinja” or summer kitchen, the small building alongside the main house. This contains our teaching area, fully equipped kitchen, covered terrace and sizeable larder!
In the open courtyard area between the main building, summer kitchen and vegetable garden, you will find a wood-fired pizza oven, charcoal grill and large stone table for communal cooking and dining.
The Kućica has an indoor kitchen and an outdoor grill on its terrace for guests’ use.
Our large walled vegetable garden allows us to grow and harvest produce for our breakfasts, dinners and snack boards. Guests are very welcome to lend a hand with the weeding! We also cure our own olives for eating, and have chickens for daily, fresh, superb-quality eggs.
Farm and forest
As well as the meadows and gardens, Bolara 60 has its own small patch of forest that our guests are free to explore. The usually dry rocky stream bed down into the valley is particularly pretty, and full of wild asparagus in springtime (once you learn how to recognize it!). We are also reviving some old olive groves up the hill and starting to produce our own olive oil.
There are also several walks to try directly from Bolara 60, including a 45-minute walk up through olive groves and forest to the ridiculously pretty medieval “town” of Grožnjan. From there, you can also access the Parenzana, a beautiful walking and cycling route which winds its way through the hills, once the Austro-Hungarian railway between Trieste and Poreč.
Our neighbours run a working farm growing olives and grapes to make their own delicious olive oil and wine, both of which you can try and buy directly from them. And you may even be able to join in with the grape harvest (September) or olive harvest (October-November) if timing and weather permit. Like many others here, they also keep dogs for truffle hunting.