Five-star One MICHELIN Key Buje, northern Istria, well outside Rovinj, Rovinj
San Canzian Hotel & Residences
Twenty-four rooms in a hamlet of stone houses above Buje, in a village that had shrunk to three inhabitants, with an infinity pool facing the Istrian hills.
Opens the hotel's own website. We have no arrangement with the hotel.
- MICHELIN
- One Key, 2025 and 2026
- Rooms
- 24 rooms, suites and a villa
- Opened
- August 2019
- From the airport
- About 75 to 80 km from Pula or Trieste
The hotel
A village brought back.
Mužolini Donji is a hillside hamlet near Buje, in the north-west of Istria, raised on the site of a medieval fortification. Like many inland villages it emptied as people left for the towns, until only three inhabitants remained. Leopold Botteri, a former journalist who now makes olive oil, came across it and first bought the estate as a holiday home for himself and his friends.
The architect Boris Ružić turned the stone houses into a hotel, keeping their old fabric and adding modern materials and colour. Rooms mix restored antiques with designer chairs, and the art on the walls is by Duje Botteri. San Canzian opened on 1 August 2019. From the hamlet the views run over the hills towards the sea. The MICHELIN Guide gave it one Key in 2025 and again in 2026.
- Infinity pool Set over the Istrian countryside, with a pool bar beside it.
- The spa A candlelit pool, a Finnish sauna and massages with oil pressed from the hotel's own olive grove.
- The cellar A walk-in wine cellar of more than six hundred labels, with a bar alongside the restaurant.
Rooms & suites
Stone walls and antique furniture.
No two rooms are alike. Each mixes old Istrian building methods with modern fittings and art made for the hotel.
- Rooms Superior, Deluxe and Executive rooms King-size beds; the Executive rooms sleep three.
- Suites Romantic, Family and Maisonette suites The Maisonette Suite, the largest, sleeps five.
- Villa Three Bedroom Villa Sleeps six, with a private pool.
Dining
From the garden and the cellar.
Restaurant as listed by the hotel. Shown for information.
- Luciano Istrian, from the hotel's gardens and local farms Chef Pavo Klarić
Good to know
Before you go.
- Season The hotel closes from mid-November to mid-March.
- Arrival Check-in from 3 pm, check-out by noon.
- Children Welcome at any age; family rooms and suites sleep four or five.
- Pets Accepted, for an extra fee.
Getting there
Flying to Rovinj.
Pula Airport is about 75 to 80 kilometres south and Trieste about the same distance north, in Italy; either is roughly an hour by car by our estimate. Private jets can use either airport.
- Milan 50 min
- Munich 55 min
- Zurich 1 h 00
- Paris 1 h 35
- London 2 h 05
Questions
What guests ask first.
- Does San Canzian have a MICHELIN Key?
- Yes, one Key, in the 2025 and 2026 selections for Croatia.
- Is San Canzian open all year?
- No. It closes from mid-November to mid-March.
- How far is the beach?
- The coast between Umag and Novigrad is about ten kilometres from Buje.
- Can SkyCourtage arrange the flight to Rovinj?
- Yes. We arrange Business and First Class seats on scheduled airlines and private jet charter to Rovinj, with one final price, our margin included. The hotel is booked with the hotel or through our booking partner.
Also in Rovinj
Other hotels worth the trip.
Staying at San Canzian Hotel & Residences?
Book the room, then the flight.
Rates and availability come from the hotel itself. For the journey to Rovinj, a Business or First Class seat or an aircraft of your own: tell us the date and we come back with one final price, our margin included.
Opens the hotel's own website. We have no arrangement with the hotel.