"We did not want to demolish it, on the contrary, we wanted to give it back its past glamour," said Marjan Batagelj, CEO of tourism firm Postojnska jama.

The 45-year-old hotel, which had already received its first guests this spring, offers 80 rooms that are currently fully occupied despite it not being peak season.

Batagelj was surprised at the turnout and said that additional renovation was planned for the hotel, which would offer another 80 rooms as well as a congress hall holding up to 1,000 guests.

According to Batagelj, the hotel was renovated to preserve its legacy and to fit its previous outer look and interior. Renovation costs amounted to EUR 8m. Another EUR 2m is planned in additional renovation in the coming years.

The hotel aims to reach a million overnight stays, the same number it reached before it was closed six years ago.

Hotel Jama was opened in 1971 for visitors of the world-famous Postojna Cave, during a time when former Yugoslavia was undergoing an economic boom.