A humble family from Romagna with a passion for hospitality and the dream of a lifetime

Hotel San Salvador: a dream come true

It was 1967. Actually, no, let's start earlier.

Giuseppe Poggi, father of Salvatore and Elia Poggi and grandfather of Federico and Stefano, was a sharecrop farmer on a very beautiful and important estate in the Igea Marina countryside. When the landowner decided to get rid of the land and its workers, Joseph saw an opportunity to gradually become the owner of the land he had always looked after, and he went up to his neck in debt.

Grain, beets, potatoes, grapes, wine, working and beef cows, milk, cheese, pigs, rabbits, farmyard animals and a lot of hard work made it possible to pay off the debt and achieve economic stability in the years to come .

Then came the 1950s and tourism. Salvatore and Elia began to do 'seasons' in the first hotels on the Riviera. A difficult life, between the sea and the countryside, full of sacrifices and early morning starts, but also of economic satisfaction. Satisfaction that at the time, along with pride, sacrifice, commitment and many bills of exchange, became the springboard to living their dreams. Those were difficult times, but with a visionary mindset and the right determination you could really achieve anything.

The 1960s arrived and tourism became more and more important even for the small Igea Marina, which at that time was all pinewoods. The sole owner, Vittorio Belli, then decided to sell it in small lots and so today's Bellaria-Igea Marina was born.  The Poggi family didn't just stand by and, despite coming from the countryside , decided to buy a small plot of land... right where San Salvador is now! 

A few years passed before Salvatore met Olga. They were both doing the season at a local hotel. Love blossomed between them and  Olga, with her contagious enthusiasm, became part of the Poggi family project, bringing new stimuli, skills and organisational abilities. 

It was 1967.

The Hotel San Salvador was finally finished. In '68, the first season opened with friends from Italy, but also Germany, Switzerland and France. Friends because, with so many seasons behind them, Salvatore, Olga and Elia had made many friends among the tourists coming to Igea Marina and among the managers of the agencies that organised coaches from all over Europe.

Over the years, the San Salvador has always been a state-of-the-art hotel. Federico is impulsive, cheeky and visionary; Stefano is more rational, calculating and down-to-earth. Together they form a perfect alchemy. This alchemy has ensured that Eco Hotel San Salvador continues to be one of the best hotels in Bellaria-Igea Marina and Rimini. The first in Igea Marina to adopt green policies, long before the environmental issue became so loud and felt by many. 

Today, Eco Hotel San Salvador is a fully-fledged eco-friendly and environmentally friendly hotel, perfect for a holiday that will leave indelible memories in the hearts of all guests, without leaving heavy traces on the Earth.