One&Only Portonovi – the brand's first address in Europe

At the entrance of Boka Bay, where the Adriatic slips through a limestone gorge to form one of Europe's few fjord-like inlets, One&Only Portonovi opened as the brand's first resort on the continent. The group's own announcement of the launch noted that the ultra-luxury address began welcoming guests from 1 May 2021, after a pandemic-related postponement from its original 2020 date. The MICHELIN Guide gives it Two Keys, and its own marketing describes a resort where palatial Venetian-style design meets Montenegrin soul, a combination visible in the gabled terracotta rooflines and colonnaded façades drawn from the baroque palazzos of nearby Kotor and the Venetian-built port of Perast. Spread across a gentle hillside that runs down to a private beach, the resort counts 123 rooms, suites and villas, a Chenot Espace wellness centre built around the teachings of Henri Chenot, and four restaurants spanning Italian, Japanese-Mediterranean and Montenegrin cooking — a serious proposition in a country still establishing its luxury credentials.

01The house

Montenegro's coast had seen plenty of luxury development by the time Kerzner International broke ground here, but none of it carried a One&Only signature. The group's press materials describe the architecture as taking its cues from the culture, history and geography of the destination, with grand façades, majestic colonnades and gabled terracotta rooftops symbolic of Montenegrin building traditions, while interiors draw on the baroque palazzos of Kotor and the Venetian port of Perast across the bay. The site itself sits beside a 238-berth superyacht marina and helipad, adjacent to the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Bay of Kotor, which gives the resort both its address and its outlook.

The opening was delayed: the retreat was originally slated to welcome guests from July 2020 but postponed its launch because of the pandemic, finally opening its doors to the public on 1 May 2021. The resort describes itself today as a luxury beach resort in Boka Bay, positioned where sandy shores meet that Venetian-style design.

02Rooms and suites

Every category faces the water: the resort's own copy promises that every suite faces out onto Boka Bay, with understated yet elegant design that works to bring the outdoors in, built from natural materials and finished with luxurious fittings. Entry-level Portonovi, Garden and Bayview Rooms each measure 66 square metres and sleep up to three guests, while the Panoramic Bayview Room adds a dual-aspect terrace looking toward Montenegro's Black Mountains. Families are catered for with the Portonovi Family Room and Bayview Family Room, both 132 square metres and formed by joining two rooms into one 6-guest layout with connecting terraces.

Insider tip

Around 50 minutes from Tivat airport and an hour from Dubrovnik by private transfer.

At the top of the hierarchy sits Villa One, described by the resort as the crown jewel of One&Only Portonovi, an exclusive beachfront villa with a private hydrotherapy pool, its own garden and sweeping views of the Adriatic. Suite Three, one rung below, adds a further 65 square metres of space over its Suite Two counterpart and comes with a dedicated floor served by its own lift, with views over both bay and mountain.

03Where to eat

Dining is split across four addresses. Sabia opened under Michelin-starred chef Giorgio Locatelli, the resort's original Italian kitchen, and today serves fresh-rolled pastas, hand-crafted pizzas and grilled seafood from a raw bar of carpaccios and crudo on a terrace overlooking the bay and mountains. Tapasake Club, the social heart of the resort inspired by its namesake outposts at One&Only Reethi Rah in the Maldives and One&Only Le Saint Géran in Mauritius, turns the restaurant experience into a stylish pool-club concept combining Mediterranean–Japanese fusion cooking with waterside mixology.

La Veranda takes a more domestic approach, serving both buffet and à la carte home-style Montenegrin cooking, including meat and seafood cooked over hot coals, in the resort's sea-view grounds. Private dining is also woven through the offer: One&Only's team will curate personalised menus and table settings in spectacular locations around the property, from evenings on the sand to breakfast in a villa garden.

04The bar

Caminetti sits at the heart of the lobby, inspired by the warmth of a grand Italian residence. By day it is the resort's spot for afternoon tea and small plates; by evening, warm fireplaces and picturesque bay views turn it into a lounge for coffee, tea and hand-crafted cocktails, taken at a slower pace than the pool scene at Tapasake.

05Spa and wellbeing

Chenot Espace is the resort's defining feature, built in exclusive partnership with Henri Chenot to deliver 360-degree wellness programmes rather than a conventional spa menu. The centre runs on Chenot Lifestyle Biomarkers and advanced diagnostics, so that every treatment and plan is personalised, spanning medical consultations, hydrotherapy using essential oils and hydro-massage, cryotherapy, and the Chenot Diet, designed to cleanse the body at a cellular level. Acupuncture is overseen by resident Traditional Chinese Medicine physician Dr Igor Micunovic, and in October 2026 the pool and wet areas were listed as open from 8am to 8pm, with spa services running 9am to 8pm and the gym open around the clock.

Beyond the spa building, the resort counts six swimming pools of varying temperature and outlook, a private sandy beach, tennis courts and a fully equipped fitness centre with personal training on hand — the kind of spread that lets guests move between hydrotherapy pool, sea and sun terrace without leaving the grounds.

06The neighbourhood

Boka Bay is often described as Europe's only fjord, a sheltered, mountain-ringed inlet on Montenegro's Adriatic coast, and the resort sits right at its entrance, within an hour of Dubrovnik and roughly 50 minutes from Tivat airport by road. The walled towns of Kotor and Perast lie a short boat ride away across the bay, their Venetian bell towers and baroque churches the same ones that inspired the resort's own architecture, while Herceg Novi's old town and Forte Mare fortress sit just along the coast. The adjoining Portonovi marina, with its 238 berths, draws its own yacht-set traffic independent of the hotel.

07Making the most of a stay

One&Only Portonovi holds Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star status, awarded for service as much as setting. Longer stays are rewarded directly: guests booking seven nights in a villa or Private Home can claim credit toward personalised Chenot Espace programmes, while a standard three-night stay currently carries a complimentary fourth night. Sailing is a house specialism — the resort's own experiences pages point guests toward Adriatic sailing trips and day excursions to Dubrovnik — and in 2026 the hotel also became the Montenegro retail home for a capsule collection by Italian nautical-wear label SEASE, a small sign of how seriously the resort takes its yachting crowd.

For a weekend. For a lifetime.