The former Benedictine monastery, now the main building of the hotel, is an outstanding cultural monument with a rich history. It stands on the south coast of the Milje peninsula in the picturesque and ever green "Oltra" area, which used to be called "Gasello." In their book published in Regensburg in 1818, the travellers Dr. Heinrich Hoppe and Friederich Hornschuh included passages about botany and raved about the subtropical vegetation in Ankaran. More than one hundred years ago, an Austrian botanical journal (Osterreichische Botanische Zeitschrift Jahrg 1860, p. 245) published an article about the flora in Ankaran.

According to legend, when the Greeks had their colonies in parts of western Istrian coast they sent sea nymphs to Ankaran. Their queen Euformo, whom Zeus robbed of immortality and drove from this beautiful country, prophesized, before she disappeared into the waves of the sea forever, that this would be a place of joyful events.

Archeologists have found magnificent remains of Roman culture and civilization in Ankaran, some of which are kept in the Koper Museum.

In the 9th century, a church consecrated to the Trieste martyr St. Apollinarius was built here on the initiative of the Bishop of Trieste. Two hundred years later in 1072 Trieste’s Bishop Adalger donated the church and all its property to the St. Niccolo Benedictine monastery in Venice. The new owners enlarged their property through gifts and acquisitions not only in Ankaran but also in Koper and along the western Istrian coast to Poreč and also built a monastery. The Benedictines deserve great credit for the successful development of vineyards and olive groves in Ankaran. They supplied wine from the monastery vineyards for the house of Duke Filippo Visconti and the famous Litta family. In the 16th century, the famous wines of this region were exported to Germany as "Lacrimae Christi" (“Tears of Christ”).

The monks once stored olive oil in the huge stone vessels that today are seen in the gardens..

According to a document from the middle of the 16th century, the monastery did not pay taxes for olive oil made with their own oil press. The enormous press was removed from the monastery some years ago.

Over the centuries the Benedictines renovated the monastery several times. The oldest part is still visible in the northwestern section of the building. The residents of Koper named the monastery church “St. Niccolo D Oltra” to distinguish it from their own St. Niccolo, which stood near the Koper harbour. The church tower was finished in 1572 in the Guelf style. In the first half of the 17th century, the monastery acquired much of its final appearance.

The modern building is mentioned in the writings of two bishops from Koper and a bishop from Novigrad, Giacomo Filippo Tommasini; the latter stated, "In the summer, monks from Venice regularly come here for entertainment as the climate in these parts is healthy and they can freely fish on the deserted coast." In 1616, Bishop Zenon of Koper complained about the immoral life of the monks in the monastery.

The monastery existed for almost five centuries, and from the 14th to the 18th century was a treasury of works of art. In 1774, the Venetian Republic closed the monastery and most of the works of art disappeared without a trace.

During the period of Napoleon’s Illyrian Provinces, the monastery functioned as a military hospital. The new owners who converted the monastery for tourism did not substantially alter the architecture of the building although numerous renovations were undertaken. The Convent fountain we see today was built in 1835 by Bonifazio from Piran and Dominik from Korte near Izola. In 1880 the owner added three arches in the facade and a stone staircase in the interior to enable visitors to admire the courtyard and the fountain as we still can enjoy them today.