A Century of Stars

Hotel Splendido  |  Splendido Mare  |  Portofino Village

Originally a monastery, the four-story building was attacked with such frequency in the sixteenth century by Saracen pirates that the monks abandoned it to the sheep that roamed the coastal hills.

In the nineteenth century, Baron Baratta revived the wreck, converting it into a family summer house.  It had been built on an east-west axis, following the contour of the hill, so that as well as having views of the sea from all its principal windows, it also had the sun all day.

In 1901 Mr. Ruggero Valentini, the pioneer of tourism at Portofino, transformed Villa Baratta into the Grand Hotel Splendid.  Since the beginning the hotel has played host to the most famous and noble families in Europe and the cream of the international jet-set.

The Duke of Windsor was the first person to sign the visitors' book at the Hotel Splendido in Portofino.  His name is scrawled next to that of Wallis, his wife.

In 1952 they were the first in a long list of illustrious visitors who came to cushion themselves against the uncomfortable realities of life.

Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, Clark Gable, Ava Gardner, Catherine Deneuve, Liza Minelli and Rex Harrison all stayed at the Splendido.  In the Fifties and the Sixties, Harrison, who had a villa on the slopes above the Splendido, transferred la Dolce Vita from Rome to Portofino, where he played it out on the hotel's celebrated terrace, at his villa and in the bars and restaurants of the little port.

Some were Harrison's guests, at his villa; the rest occupied most of the Splendido's bedrooms and suites, each of which has its own balcony or terrace, overlooking the cove of Portofino and the Gulf.

Today the Splendido still has a patrician air. It is not a grand hotel in the conventional sense, it has none of the sumptuous fantasy of the Ritz and it doesn't pretend to be a setting for elaborate social rituals.  Instead it is quietly democratic.  The principal reception rooms are furnished with old looking glasses, gilt console tables and Persian rug, the dining room serves food based on local, even peasant, tradition - fresh fish, home made pasta and lots of local aromatic herbs.

The gardens run down the slopes beneath the hotel to the sea, bushes of lavender and wild herbs grow thickly under old olive trees and tangles of bougainvillaea obscure the paths and overhang secluded garden benches.

In 1985 Orient-Express Hotels bought the Hotel and started a pluriennal project of renovation.  All rooms have since been completely redecorated and refurbished.

The Indoor Restaurant and the Piano Bar have been re-positioned and decorated in a ligurian-mediterranean design that complements the style of the Hotel.  Both border the terrace and enjoy an immediate link with the outside and a beautiful view over the entire bay of Portofino.

In 2003, a new harmonious new amenity has been added to the hotel, reserved for the guests of our two hotels: The Health & Wellbeing Center.  This luminous oasis of refinement, surrounded by pine and olive trees, offers a Panoramic view of the Mediterranean.

The newly restructured and refurbished Presidential Suite offers three magnificent spacious terraces overlooking Portofino’s cove and Tigullio. Charming, tastefully appointed in delicate pastel colors that complements the breathtaking view of the Bay.