One&Only Portonovi
Montenegro is no stranger to luxury hotels, but One&Only Portonovi – the ultra-luxury hotel group’s first ever resort in Europe – is perhaps the finest yet. Resplendent at the entrance of Boka Bay, a fjord-like idyll on the Adriatic Sea, the resort offers chic waterfront villas, world-class dining, a pioneering Chenot spa and spectacular sea views from almost every angle.
Described as the jewel of Montenegro’s riviera, One&Only Portonovi is unashamedly sumptuous, with one of the few private sandy beaches in the country, a yacht-filled marina, and private jetties off its Signature Villas. From here you can cast off into the Bay of Kotor, a stunning, sheltered inlet cradled by craggy mountains.
The resort’s rooms, suites and villas all have an inherent sense of space and privacy, connecting with the outdoors via floor-to-ceiling windows, balconies or terraces, with ground-floor rooms leading directly into the gardens. Two-bedroom suites are perfect for families. The three-bedroom Villa One forms its own escapist world, complete with bar, wine cave, spa room, garden and hydrotherapy pool, while the ten Signature Villas are unrivalled in Montenegro.
A selection of bars and restaurants draws on local ingredients, with Sabia by Michelin-star chef Giorgio Locatelli leading the way. The Chenot spa, with its indoor pool, saunas and white marble hammam, makes One&Only Portonovi as attractive in winter as it is in summer. While its highly individualised detox programmes must rank the hotel among the best wellness destinations in Europe.
Excursions, meanwhile, have been carefully curated by the in-house team. They range in scope from afternoon tea in an 18th-century palace, hosted by the aristocratic family who still live there, to motoring along the coast in a Rolls Royce Silver Shadow, stopping at empty beaches to run into the waves. You can hike in verdant forests or visit fresco-filled churches in medieval towns like Perast and Kotor. And Croatia’s Dubrovnik, one of the best-preserved medieval cities in the world, is just over an hour away across the border.
