“The FIS hotel is located in nature, the extinction of bees and their importance for the humankind have been talked about very often recently so we wanted to do something for nature and got inspired by bees that are kept on roofs of buildings in Prague and Bratislava. The bees in our hives are placed on grid constructions on the roof of the fitness centre in the back hotel section, in the direction of the car park so that they have direct access to the forest. The project has been made in cooperation with the Civic association ApisCarpatica, which brought the bees to our hotel on Sunday,“ said Erika Fočarová, the general manager of the FIS hotel in Štrbské Pleso.
“The high altitude won´t hurt the bees. The roof offers good conditions full of sunshine and the hives are east-facing for the bees to fly out. The bees can find many nectar sources among the plants here, which is very stimulating for them,” added Jana Znášiková from the ApisCarpatica association.
The bees will be taken care of and checked by a professional bee keeper once a week. During the winter, they will be kept in the hives which are thermally insulated and can be covered with more wooden boards in the case of extreme weather. Miss Znášiková thinks that a late spring arrival is much worse than the winter in the Tatras. She said it was very difficult to estimate what the production would be like this summer. “Two bee colonies have been very active already so if this summer is not too cold, we might even see some honey during this trial season,” concluded Miss Znášiková.
The hives have been made by a Slovak beekeeping company – Lupták and painted with ecological colours by the hotel staff. The motifs and ornaments have been created by Mária Roháľová, a frequent hotel guest. Miss Fočarová says they are not afraid they might be visited by an unwanted furry beast. “The hives are placed high on a roof without a ladder so we hope they won´t attract any bears,” the hotel general manager explained.
The “Bees in the mountains” project at the FIS hotel will also include an educational trail with information boards and interesting details about bees and their significance, wooden benches, a sculpture with a bee motif, a climbing frame for children and a relaxing educational zone.
The hotel plans to offer special bee keeping weekends too – mean not only for those who want to become bee keepers but also for children who will have a chance to test themselves at a training hive or make their own bee wax candles. Hotel guests will be offered honey massages, cosmetics and various honey products. They can also taste the delicious Tatra honey and an original honey dessert. Please read more on www.hotelfis.sk.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Tatry mountain resorts, a.s. (TMR) is the leader in tourism in Central and Eastern Europe; it owns and operates attractive mountain resorts, amusement parks, restaurant facilities, sports services, shops and hotels. In the Low Tatras TMR owns and operates the resort Jasná Nízke Tatry and hotels Wellness hotel Grand Jasná, Boutique Hotel Tri Studničky, Chalets Jasná De Luxe, Hotel Srdiečko, and Hotel Rotunda. TMR is also the owner of Aquapark Tatralandia, the largest Slovak aquapark with year-round operation, which besides water entertainment includes Tropical Paradise, a special tropical indoor hall with sea water, as well as Fun Park, and accommodation in bungalows and apartments of Holiday Village Tatralandia. In the High Tatras TMR owns and operates the resort Vysoké Tatry with mountain areas of Tatranská Lomnica, Starý Smokovec, and Štrbské Pleso, which TMR co-manages. In the High Tatras TMR also owns hotels Grandhotel Praha Tatranská Lomnica, Grandhotel Starý Smokovec, Hotel FIS Štrbské Pleso and Mountain hotel Hrebienok. TMR also owns a 9.5 % share in Melida, a.s., which leases and operates the resort Špindlerův Mlýn in the Czech Republic. TMR also leases and operates the ski resort Ještěd. In Poland TMR owns a 97% share in the mountain resort Szczyrkowski Ośrodek Narciarski S.A. (SON), a 75% share in a company that owns and operates Silesian Amusement Park (Śląskie Wesołe Miasteczko) and a 7.3% share in an amusementeducational project via the Polish company Korona Ziemi Sp. z.o.o. TMR also owns and leases hotels Slovakia, Kosodrevina, Liptov and Ski&Fun Záhradky a Bungalovy to third parties. By the end of 2017, more than EUR 300 mil. had been invested into development and modernisation of TMR’s resorts. TMR shares are traded on three European stock exchanges – in Bratislava, Prague, and Warsaw.