Lone - Unique Design Hotel

"Lone is definitely one of the greatest Hotels I have seen in a long time. It's a perfect mixture of modern architecture, great design, pure pleasure & relaxation - and all of this at a great spot."

Facts

- medium-sized five star Design Hotel in Rovinj (Croatia)

- located next to the sea and near the picturesque old town of Rovinj

- spa, lounge and different restaurants

- kids welcome, miniclub available

- conference center

Design

A minimalistic and modern architectural concept from 3LHD has been realised very stringent, beginning with the building itself (stunning! reminding a bit of big ocean liner...) to the great artwork of the menus and brochures, bringing nature inside with hanging gardens, involving artwork by Ivana Franke and Silvio Vuijcic and ending with the selection of the beautiful, fitting designer furniture from e.g. Moroso and the architects working together with the designer team Numen/ForUse. We loved the Tio Lounge Chairs (Massproduction) in the Lobby Bar, great design and sooooo comfortable. There are different styles of restaurants available (including a Sushi Bar - awesome Tuna Carpaccio) and a overwhelming Spa (fully in black and very straight). At the moment the pool of the neighbour Hotel can be used, but in 2013 Lone gets its own huge pool area (I've already seen first pictures - convincing!), which fits to the style of the Hotel and makes the "Lone Experience" completely perfect.

Around

The hotel is surrounded by a beautiful forest which borders the sea (with lots of great little inlets). It's perfect for taking a walk, running, cycling, swimming, snorkeling and catching little crabs and shrimps. On the other side you can walk next to the sea on a nice promenade to the old town of Rovinj - which not only looks stunning but where you can find lots of nice restaurants and bars and also the harbour. Taste the ice cream at one of the gelaterias!

Conclusion

Lone is definitely one of the greatest Hotels I have seen in a long time. It's a perfect mixture of modern architecture, great design, pure pleasure & relaxation - and all of this at a great spot. All the people have been very friendly and supportive. Lone can wholeheartedly be recommended also to families with kids - Stokke chairs are available... ;-) Enjoying great food or pure relaxtion in the Hotel, going to one of  the beautiful and romantic beaches in the inlets nearby or walking on the promenade to the wonderful old town of Rovinj - anyway you will experience awesome holidays!

Lone Design Hotel: Lone represents a design-focused synergy of functionality, harmony and elegance. Featuring an impeccable blend of beauty, style and cultural heritage, the hotel is a year-round leisure and business destination.

Hotel Lone is Maistra’s new, five-star design hotel, situated in the Zlatni Rt [Golden Cape] forest park, just ten minutes from the centre of Rovinj, one of the most picturesque towns on the Adriatic.

As an embodiment of urban style, Lone features 236 well-appointed rooms and 12 comfortable suites. All of the accommodation units of the six-story seaside hotel nested in the forest park of Zlatni rt afford a spectacular view of the surroundings. The interior decoration embodiesthe basic aesthetic values this hotel, with simple lines and functionality merging with the appeal of the surroundings. The playful arrangement of mirrors, glass walls and indoor areas visually extending towards spacious terraces is present in all of the rooms and suites.

Slow food or delicious canapés, regional or Central-European cuisine, a fusion between traditional and modern Mediterranean specialities - restaurants in the Lone hotel are an endless source of imagination and diverse aromas.

lone - unique design hotel

book online
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7 Wonders

Introduction/Theme

7 Wonders is basically a card game with lots of civilization building aspects. Despite the fact that it is played quite fast (about 30 minutes), it offers some fine strategic depths. It has won lots of prices yet and is actually ranked #12 on boardgamegeek.com.

Components

The game comes with little boards, lots of nice cards as well as coins and markers. The components are of premium quality and will last many, many plays without being harmed. Also the layout is well done and adds to the atmosphere of this civilization building game.

Gameplay

7 Wonders lasts for three ages, each one consisting of six turns. In each age seven cards are dealt to the player whereas each player chooses one card per turn and then passes his hand on to his neighbour for the next turn. Depending on the respective card one out of three actions can be chosen. You can either sell your card to get money, you can build a construct (or produce resources) or you can work on building your wonder. The constructs can be military, scientific, civilian, commercial or guilds and different conditions lead to different amounts of victory points - with the one finally having the most victory points winning the game.

Conclusion

Even if it takes some time to go through the rules, the game is very accessible and during your first play you easily understand what's going on - even if you are not that experienced when it comes to board games. So it's a must-have for fans of building games, as despite the quite short playing time lots of aspects of civilization building games are covered. Also it balances complexity and strategy pretty well, so that the game appeals for a broad audience. One of my most played games in the last months... give it a try!

From the publisher: 7 Wonders lasts three ages. In each age, players receive seven cards from a particular deck, choose one of those cards, then pass the remainder to an adjacent player, as in Fairy Tale or a Magic: the Gathering booster draft. Players reveal their cards simultaneously, paying resources if needed or collecting resources or interacting with other players in various ways. (Players have individual boards with special powers on which to organize their cards, and the boards are double-sided as in Bauza's Ghost Stories.) Each player then chooses another card from the deck they were passed, and the process 

repeats until players have six cards in play from that age. After three ages, the game ends.

In essence 7 Wonders is a card development game along the lines of Race for the Galaxy or Dominion. Some cards have immediate effects, while others provide bonuses or upgrades later in the game. Some cards provide discounts on future purchases. Some provide military strength to overpower your neighbors and others give nothing but victory points. Unlike Magic or Fairy Tale, however, each card is played immediately after being drafted, so you'll know which cards your neighbor is receiving and how his choices might affect what you've already built up. Cards are passed left-right-left over the three ages, so you need to keep an eye on the neighbors in both directions.

Though the box of earlier editions is listed as being for 3-7 players, there is an official 2-player variant included in the instructions.

2-7 players, 30 min
author: antoine bauza
published by: asmodee
category: card game, civilization building

7 wonders @ boardgamegeek.com
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Illy Espresso Machine X1 Trio

"For coffee purists, espresso is the quintessential coffee preparation – rich, aromatic and velvety all at once; a natural layer of crema on top belying a full-bodied, yet deftly balanced liquid below. When ideally realized, a small miracle of chemistry and physics: science and art gliding together on air."

The Illy Espresso Machine has been designed by Luca Trazzi and reminds on traditional 50ties design and is a great piece of retro glamour for any household - an eye catcher for people who like plain elegance.

Beside a dispenser for hot water (for tea) and a steaming wand (for capuccino or hot chocolate) the core functionality is of course the preparation of espresso - and this is carried out by the X1 Trio in a very convincing way. By simply turning the filter you can choose between ristretto, regular and lungo and thereby can have your coffee exactly the way you like it most. A feature I really appreciate and use heavily!

This machine supports the E.S.E pod standard, which means you can basically use the pods of each and every company which produces E.S.E pods. I can especially recommend the regular roasted Illy pods (Espresso Servings with the red Illy logo), which fit excellent to this fine Espresso Machine and provide you with a perfect result of a cup of black gold. They are well-balanced, tasting strong but smooth and come in a vacuum packed can.

You should daily allow yourself this overwhelming experience.

From the manufacturer: Don’t be surprised if guests start snapping pictures of your X1 Trio E.S.E. machine. Architectural and home furnishing magazines regularly do. A striking yet clean design by renowned Italian architect Luca Trazzi may have something to do with it.

In the cup, there’s yet more beauty. The X1 makes preparing an espresso sized as you prefer a simple pleasure: ristretto (short), regular or lungo (long). One slight turn of the filter system, and the choice is yours.

Add the sheer simplicity of illy’s pioneering E.S.E. (“Easy Serving Espresso”) pod system, and you have it all: café-quality espresso with remarkable convenience. Each E.S.E. filter pod contains just the right measure of expertly ground and tamped illy coffee — a singular blend of nine, optimal quality Arabica beans, sourced from four continents.

With a steaming wand for cappuccino and automatic descaling for minimal maintenance, there’s yet more to envy. Choose the hue that fits you best: red, white, black, stainless steel, almond, yellow, orange or blue.

TRIO system easily produces short, normal or long espressos
- compatible with any E.S.E. pod
- steaming wand for cappuccino
- dispenses hot water for tea
- intuitive beep and light indicators
- brass boiler
- 1-liter water tank

Manufacturer: Illy
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LEGO Heroica

HEROES RULE!

"The World of HEROICA was a peaceful place of culture and beauty. Now overrun by monsters and in turmoil, the fate of the world now hangs by a thread. Join the heroes and free HEROICA!"

LEGO Heroica is a mixture between a boardgame and an adventure roleplay game, based on LEGO miniatures and bricks. I really like the idea as I'm not only into boardgames and RPGs, I also like building LEGO stuff with my kids a lot. Now I have the possibility to give the kids an introduction to the world of adventure RPGs and solve lots of exciting quests together with them.

In difference to "normal" RPGs in LEGO Heroica you have to start building your adventure world in the known LEGO style first. The miniatures (monsters as well as heroes) are great, also the world itself is exciting and offers lots of details (treasure chests, weapons, gold,...) You have a proposal for a starting setup, which can be adapted to your individual needs and ideas.

The rules are good. Simple, but covering the most important aspects of an adventure game. And for younger kids the rules can be modified easily.

Each player chooses a hero and moves him according to the result of the dice in the Heroica world. You have to find treasure chests, collect gold, buy weapons and - of course - fight monsters and evil forces. Combat is solved by symbols on the dice, and could lead to loosing all of the heroes energy points - depending on the strength of the respective monster. These can be re-gained by magic potions or healing. The final target of the game is to reach a predefined space on the board and to eliminate all evil forces on your way getting there.

There are 4 different sets available at the moment, which can be played stand-alone or combined together:

- Draida Bay: "The Goblin army has seized control of Draida Bay, cutting off supplies to the region. You must take a stand against the Goblins, but can you defeat the powerful Goblin General and take his Crystal of Deflection? An expandable world of adventure for 2 players."

- Waldurk Forest: "Hidden in the ruins of Waldurk Forest, the Dark Druid is restoring his strength. You must use all your skill and power to find your way past his lurking monsters, but can you escape with the Chalice of Life? An expandable world of adventure for 2-3 players."

- Caverns of Nathuz: "Deep inside the Caverns of Nathuz, the Golem Lord has discovered an ancient artifact and is using it to create his own army of monsters. You must fight your way into the caves, but can you recover the Sceptre of Summoning? An expandable world of adventure for 2-3 players."

- Castle Fortaan: "Castle Fortaan has fallen to the Goblin King and his army of monsters. You must find a way past the Goblin horde to defeat the King, but can you discover his secret battle plans and return with the Helmet of Protection? An expandable world of adventure for 2-4 players."


LEGO Heroica is an amazing expansion to the existing LEGO product lines, which goes far beyond just building with bricks and offers lots of possibilities to experience exciting adventures together. I am really looking forward to further expansions of this series.


Producer: LEGO

You can buy this great sets online (see link above) or at your favorite toy shop!
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Runewars

Introduction/Theme
Runewars is an epic fantasy wargame and is re-implementing Battlemist, one of the earliest Fantasy Flight games. This conflict game is much more than a wargame though, covering adventure aspects (heros, quests, treasures,...) as well as area/resource management aspects. The game is set in Terrinoth (!), the same universe used for Runebound and Descent.

Components
The design is stunning and supports the theme and storyline of the game in a great way. The box is extra-large and even if the available space is not used to the max, it is full of tiles for building the map (in 3D!!), cards, markers and nearly 200 beautiful plastic miniatures. Even if Runewars is not one of the simplest games, but the full-color rules booklet makes it quite easy to understand what the game is about.

Gameplay
Four races are part of Runewars and the main goal is to find valuable Dragon Runes. The game lasts six years, each year consisting of four seasons. In each season you have to plan in advance which orders (that are fixed when given once) you want to issue - to decide what should be done (recruit, harvest, fight,...). Combat is resolved by an interesting and simple mechanism, done only by cards. The main focus is on area/resource management, concentrating on your armies and your empire. Nevertheless you need to take care of heros and quests, which is not only fun but also quite important. How you finally set your priorities is up to you, it is great that different approaches can lead to victory.

Conclusion
Although the game is quite deep sometime, it balances the different aspects of the game mechanics in a great way and the downtime is pretty low. The replay value is high as each race has its individual strengths and weaknesses and as the landscape tiles form a different map each game. The well-known designer Corey Konieczka (Starcraft, Middle Earth Quest) has again done a brilliant job.

From the producer: "RuneWars is an epic board game of diplomacy, combat, and quests for two to four players. Designed by Corey Konieczka, RuneWars pits players against each other in a strategic game of battles and area control, where they must gather resources, raise armies, and lay siege to heavily fortified cities.

RuneWars includes over two hundred beautifully rendered cards and as many tokens, as well as nearly two hundred finely-detailed plastic miniatures, but perhaps most exciting are the modular hexagonal map pieces. Featuring stunning three-dimensional mountain terrain, these map pieces ensure that no two games are ever the same!

RuneWars takes place in the same popular fantasy universe as the best-selling board games Runebound and Descent: Journeys in the Dark, and dozens of fan-favorite heroes and monsters play their part. The wars for the dragon runes are beginning, and only one faction will emerge victorious. What would you do to claim the ultimate power?"

2-4 players, 180 min
author: corey konieczka
published by: fantasy flight games, heidelberger spieleverlag
category: fantasy, adventure, miniatures

runewars @ boardgamegeek.com
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LEGO King's Castle

If your kids (and/or you!) are into knights and castles you should have a look at the new LEGO King's Castle, which is part of the great LEGO Kingdoms series. It comes with eight figures (Knight + four soldiers, Dragon Knight + two soldiers), which ensures enough "material" for roleplay-fights between good and evil.

The castle has to be defended against the dangerous Dragon Knights, who are aiming to steal the valuable treasure chest - hidden deeply in the castle. But how will they manage to get over the wind-up front gate? And the catapults might stop them as well from intruding... so it's likely that they will be caught and end-up in the prison chamber.

As known and expected from LEGO the castle set is a high quality product with lots of parts for the castle itself, as well as different accessory parts are included. The castle can be well combined with other products of the fine LEGO Kingdoms series, as well as all other (maybe older) LEGO knights you might already have at home.

Especially in these cold winter days it's a lot of fun to build castles with your children, take different roles and prepare for defending or attacking the castle. And when you are done with the first attack, of course you have to change sides... ;-)

From the Manufacturer: Once upon a time, the King ruled the land and all was good - until the day the Dragon Knight army attacked. Now the valiant King and his soldiers prepare to defend the castle. The catapults are armed, the drawbridge is up and the gate is locked - will the King be victorious? Set includes eight minifigures, wind-up gate and drawbridge and lots of castle accessories.

Contains pieces: 933

Includes 8 minifigures: King and 4 soldiers, 1 Dragon Knight and 2 Dragon Knight soldiers.

3 catapults, King's throne, treasure chest and white horse. Wind-up the castle gate to keep the Dragon knights out! Castle measures 11 inch (27cm) high

Producer: LEGO

You can buy this great Castle online (see link above) or at your favorite toy shop!
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Sherlock

"Sherlock" is a new TV series which is based on the well-known characters Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson - but is transferred to our time. The stories (criminal cases) are exciting, deep, modern and develop quick. Also the filming fits the setting and the episodes come with impressive pictures of London and with adequate timing of the cuts. Highly recommendable - the series also got lots of good critics!

The first season contains three episodes, the DVD/Bluray package comes as usual with bonus material and also with an unaired pilot. At the moment season 2 is in production and should be available sometime 2012.

From the producer: Co-created by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, Sherlock stars Benedict Cumberbatch as the new Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman as his loyal friend, Doctor John Watson. Rupert Graves plays Inspector Lestrade.

The iconic details from Conan Doyle's original books remain – they live at the same address of 221b Baker Street, have the same names and, somewhere out there, Moriarty is waiting for them.

Steven Moffat says: "Conan Doyle's stories were never about frock coats and gas light; they're about brilliant detection, dreadful villains and blood-curdling crimes – and frankly, to hell with the crinoline. Other detectives have cases, Sherlock Holmes has adventures, and that's what matters."

Studio: Polyband
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