A total of four bidders turned up for the Dutch auction, which saw the price fall from the opening EUR 2.48m that the receiver sought for the complex nestled in picturesque surroundings of the Julian Alps in north-western Slovenia.

Receiver Sara Pušenjak said the buyer - Alpe Adria Turizem - was a Slovenian company which runs Hotel Cubo in Ljubljana. Information available online suggests it is also the owner of a hotel and camp in the lakeside resort of Bohinj.

Long considered one of Slovenia's most beautiful hotels, the facility has fallen victim to the financial troubles of its former owner HIT Bovec, a subsidiary of gaming and tourism chain HIT.

The revival of tourism in Bovec and its once-proud hotel with around 120 rooms depends heavily on the outcome of efforts to restart skiing on the nearby Kanin slopes.

Indeed, the collapse of the hotel's previous owner came hot on the heels of the closure of the slopes, prompted by a 2012 accident in which two empty gondolas plunged to the ground due to gusts of wind.

In April the municipality of Bovec stepped up efforts to resurrect Slovenia's only high-altitude ski facility by acquiring the gondola from the main creditor of the former ski resort operator.

The municipality still faces an uphill task in negotiating the acquisition of other ski infrastructure, including the ski lifts.

The goal is to get the ski resort up and running for the coming winter season. To this end it has launched talks with a Russian investor that has taken part in bidding for the ski resort in the past.