You can already go glamping in a clear bubble tent in Bali, a Conestoga wagon in a national park in Utah, or a glass igloo with a view of the northern lights in Finland. And now you can add glamping next door to a chocolate factory to your travel wish list.
The Chocolate Village by the River—the official name of this new glamping resort—opened last November along the Drava River in northeastern Slovenia mere steps from the Teta Frida chocolate factory. In a country that is becoming more popular for its food scene, Teta Frida is known within Slovenia for its handcrafted chocolates using natural and sustainably sourced cocoa from western Africa.
Billed as a “heaven for chocoholics” on its website, the Chocolate Village is so close to the factory that the air at the resort smells like chocolate. But you’ll do much more than just sniff the sweet air there. After checking in, guests can take part in a chocolate-making workshop, or indulge in a tasting of Teta Frida’s products. There is also the on-site Chocolate Cafe, which serves ice cream and other chocolate desserts. If you need something salty to balance out all of that sweetness, the resort’s Gourmet Cellar offers local wine and snacks like meat and cheese boards.
With a view like this, no wonder this chocolate factory wanted to invite others to spend the night on site.
Courtesy of Chocolate Village by the River
If consuming chocolate is not enough for you, you can also partake in a chocolate massage, and each cabin is outfitted with chocolate toothpaste, chocolate soap, and chocolate shampoo. There is also a swimming pool (no, it’s not chocolate filled), as well as a hot tub and Finnish sauna located in a tree house on the property.
The village’s 11 glamping sites come in three styles named after different kinds of cocoa. There’s the tree house–like Criollo cabins for two people and two-story Forastero houses that can sleep up to four guests. The Trinitario houses are similar in size to the Forastero cabins, but they also come with a private Jacuzzi right outside. Because these glamping sites are all enclosed cabins, the village is open year round so you can even bundle up with a hot chocolate in front of an open fire during the winter.
The Chocolate Village by the River is open year round.
Courtesy of Chocolate Village by the River
Guests can sign up for chocolate-making workshops on site.
Courtesy of Chocolate Village by the River
How to get to the Chocolate Village by the River
The Chocolate Village is an 11-minute drive west from the center of Maribor, Slovenia’s second largest city located in the northeastern part of the country.
Because Maribor doesn’t have an international airport, most travelers who want to visit the chocolate glamping village will need to make a road trip out of it. The Slovenian capital of Ljubljana is only a 90-minute drive southwest of the glamping site—although travelers flying from the United States will need to connect through another airport in Europe since no airlines fly directly to the city from the United States. If you’d like to fly nonstop, Austrian Airlines has several direct routes from the United States to Vienna, which is only about a three-hour drive away.
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