If you are not sure what you are looking for, you may suddenly overshoot it: the Vander hotel nestles in the narrow Krojaška Street, which runs somewhere between the Maček Café and Town Square. Despite the fact that it provides delicious and hearty lunches at reasonable prices, many simply avoid the hotel, saying they are driven away by its cold interior: various geometric shapes and concrete walls which have an air of exclusivity that a select clientele gives. It is too bad, since the hotel offers a lot.
Last summer, when Aleksander Vujadinovič started Vander, he faced unfavourable economic circumstances as a result of growing financial crisis in Slovenia, which hardly allows anything luxurious. However, an aspiring team with high aims has somehow achieved success. In April this year, the hotel got through to a prestigious list of 154 world’s best new hotels as the only Slovene hotel nominated by the Conde Nast Traveler magazine.
Most Vander’s guests (60%) come from business world (consultants, financial experts, pharmacists and others), while tourist account for 40%. Foreigners who come from all continents – the majority of them from Europe – represent over 90%. Vujadinovič says that quite a few guests who like staying at his hotel are creators: architects, artists, people from marketing, excellent chefs, vintners and several others.
“Our main aim is to encourage co-creation and be part of a community where design, architecture and culture are a source of inspiration for a unique experience in the hospitality industry. This is why, during the crisis, we are increasing investments in service development, we respond to our guests’ needs, organize various cultural and culinary events, and constantly implement new ideas. In short, we are trying to be sensitive to our guests’ needs. Thus, we hope that we are making positive effort, and that guests do not leave the hotel merely with their stomachs full, but also with an unforgettable experience and a wish to come back soon again,” Vujadinovič explains the philosophy of Vander for MMC.
No economizing on facilities
The hotel with 16 rooms decorated in purple and bluish-grey shades was designed by the architectural office Sadar+Vuga. The interior is covered with reflective surfaces (glass, mirrors and Italian marble in three shades) which create an illusion of the space. Architectural elements prevailing in shared facilities are concrete, panes of glass, timber, as well as mosaics of mirrors and stone, which blend and join together four houses in which Vander is situated. Rooms are furnished with pieces produced by Moroso (designer Patricia Urquiola), Little Tulip (designer Pierre Paulin), and Concha Bay. Bedcovers are of the prestigious Italian brand Frette, and lights of Flos and Foscarini. The bathroom is stocked with Molton Brown cosmetics, and the minibar with local specialities, like Kratochwill beer, Movia wine and boutique chocolate praline.
Vander has also a yoga studio, and on its terrace, which offers a panorama of the old part of Ljubljana and Ljubljana Castle, there is a swimming pool (which, “figuratively speaking, runs into Ljubljanica,” Vujadinovič defines the concept), at which barbecue evenings were organized throughout summer. The wine cellar is extraordinarily well-stocked, as befits the hotel with a French chef. The bar is often the central place where social evenings are held, ranging from vine tastings to private parties (recently, one such was organized during EuroBasket 2013).
However, Vander’s ambitions are limitless. In the short term, Vujadinovič has plans to improve the hotel facilities with a well-being centre on the terrace, and with extra facilities for holding events. Besides, he intends to increase the number of rooms and to extend the restaurant.
Excellent culinary delights of the French chef
All this could be yuppieish, but not the chef. Vujadinovič and his Australian wife Amanda (they met at Maček, which is not far away from Vander) offered the Frenchman Benjamin Launay the position of chef – previously, he was chef on call in a TV show Kdo pride na večerjo? (Who is invited to dinner?), which is hosted on national television. The charismatic chef, who is Vujadinovič’s brother-in-law, could hardly fulfil his potential when trying to get it across to the host Anja Tomažin in broken Slovene what he had concocted. At Vander, it is needless to say anything as Launay’s plates speak louder than words. Launay is especially proud of the French-style žlikrofi (filled pasta similar to ravioli), which is the best example of how French and Slovene cuisine can melt.
Launay uses best local ingredients. At the hotel, they try to avoid importing and thus promote Slovene products. “On the other hand, Camembert cannot be replaced with other cheese. Camembert is simply Camembert!” Launay says, with a smile, when asked if there is any ingredient that cannot be found in Slovenia. All Vander’s boutique vinegars (like balsamic and figs), marmalades, sugared almonds, and jelly are domestic products; nothing is imported or bought. Olive oil comes from the Slovene Istria region, sage oil is made by Vander, and prosciutto by Klinc from the Goriška brda region.
Launay cooks fish which is mostly caught in the Adriatic – he has a supplier near Venice. However, he also has reliable suppliers who deliver exotic fish. Lamb, which has become a classic dish served at Vander, is not imported from New Zealand, but is provided by suppliers from Bovec. Lamb thigh is cooked slowly at 80°C for 8 hours; it is served in a pan, with roasted new potatoes, garlic sauce, fresh thyme, wild chicory and seared ceps. Wild chicory, dandelion, and other wild herbs and herbage are delivered by his “wild men of Podčetrtek,” Launay says proudly.
Complete freedom
“I allow our chef total freedom, which is sometimes too great (laughter). However, I believe that if you want to get most of the chef, you need to permit them freedom in creating so that their qualities can be expressed in final products, which is culinary delights,” affirms Vujadinovič when asked how much freedom Launy is given in respect that excellent chefs who work for hotels often lament that they lack freedom of expression and fall into pattern.
Vander adheres to international culinary guidelines also by offering lunches at reasonable prices. Although the price of a dinner menu makes it clear that wandering (as the name of the hotel suggests – in Slovene: vander) is not cheap at all, the hotel offers lunches priced of 10 and 12 euro, the prices which are – with regard to the capital – uncompetitive. Still, “lesser mortals” have reservation about the prices, and rather pay a euro or two less for a McDonald's menu.
Vujadinovič admits that when he started the hotel it was quite a challenge to convince people that quality is not necessarily unaffordable. Nevertheless, at Vander, they are now enthusiastic to see their guests trying the dishes that tempt their taste buds.
Vander also took part in the Restaurant Week event, which took place recently. Besides, it is one of the sponsors of the Ljubljana International Film Festival. For the week before the Feast of St Martin, the hotel has prepared a special Martinmas menu offering a goose filled with geese livers, and must. At the end of November, the hotel will offer a menu A week of wines, roast suckling pigs and plums as part of the Slovenian Wine and Culinary Festival. The hotel will also prepare special menus for Christmas and New Year's Eve.
And how do team members, who come from different ethnic backgrounds (Slovene, Australian and French), work in practice? The hotel manager claims that they cooperate greatly. “We combine French passion, Australian open-mindedness, as well as Slovene boldness and persistence. We are like a three-dimensional fusion! I hope that at Vander all three ingredients work through, and that this three-dimensional effect reflects in both gastronomy and hotel design and services which lay emphasis on treating each individual customer with consideration.”
Kaja Sajovic, translated by D. M.
