SerpApi.Org
Drifting up to One&Only Portonovi in a private speedboat feels like being in a Bond movie.
Terracotta-roofed villas, shimmering pools and ocean views welcome you, while manicured lawns and blooming flowers promise a well-maintained paradise.
This luxury hotel on the Bay of Kotor, in Montenegro, has just been named one of the world’s top 10 best hotels in the prestigious La Liste Awards, which collects data from hundreds of international guides, travel publications and customer reviews across 7,300 hotels in 200 countries.
Hotels are given a score out of 100, and One&Only Portnovi was awarded the highest score of 99.5 in a 10-way tie for first place.
The Balkan property featured alongside glittering names such as Badrutt’s Palace Hotel in St Moritz, La Réserve Paris, the Mandarin Oriental Bangkok and The Peninsula Shanghai.
But as a travel writer who stays at some of the best hotels in the business, I can’t say I entirely agree.
Call me fastidious, but if you’re going to spend thousands (and thousands) of your hard earned pounds, you’re entitled to expect something really special.
I’m talking the opulence of the foodhall at Atlantis, The Royal, or the hidden wilderness retreat of Four Seasons Tamarindo in Costalegre.
The Isola delle Rose, perhaps, a private island which is the exclusive home of the five-star 40-acre JW Marriott Venice Resort & Spa, worth a visit for the garden-to-table dining experience alone.
Of course, One&Only Portnovi has its selling points: exceptional fusion food, wonderful service and a world-class wellness programme, not to mention 20 (!) swimming pools.
It was the smaller details that felt a little overlooked.
Champagne problems
One&Only Portonovi is a 122-room and villa property, and the hotel group’s first resort in Europe, joining locations in Mexico, Montana, Dubai, Rwanda, Mauritius and the Maldives, to name a few.
I stayed for two nights and had a couple of issues, the first being how exposed my room was.
The Portonovi room, which sets you back about £1,600 a night in summer, faces directly into the rooms opposite.
That in itself is not a problem. But the (granted, beautiful) floor-to-ceiling windows meant I had to keep the curtains closed whenever I washed or changed, lest unsuspecting strangers get an eyeful.
A privacy curtain is provided, but it might as well not be: you can see through it. It left me feeling I couldn’t fully relax.
It’s a shame when you also have a wonderful view of the sea that can’t be fully be enjoyed, for fear of a beady-eyed neighbour.
Another issue was the bathtub.
No matter what I did, I could not get the water to stop draining, which made a chilled-out soak impossible.
I mentioned it to other guests, and I wasn’t the only one who had this problem.
Metro has approached the hotel about all of this, but has not received a response.
Finally, perhaps reviewing for a living has left me spoiled, but the breakfast buffet at La Veranda wasn’t as you’d hope for the price tag.
There’s a few stations of fresh fruit, traditional Montenegrin cold meat and cheese cuts, cooked breakfast options and a juice bar, but if you look at the five-star competition, it doesn’t cut it.
Take Atlantis, The Royal, which was named sixth best in the world in the prestigious World’s 50 Best Hotels 2025 ranking.
This has 17 live cooking stations, with a whole room for made-to-order juices alone.
Stations include dim-sum, English breakfast, gluten-free, vegan, fresh bread, pizza, fish, tarts and pastries, fresh fruit, a house-blend made-to-order coffee bar… you’re not just paying for food, you’re paying for the performance of seeing it made.
That being said, everything was allergy labelled, which even in five-star hotels can be a rarity, and the service was delightful.
A self-improvement holiday
All of that said, One&Only Portonovi has plenty going for it.
You’re truly spoiled the hotel’s Chenot Espace, the place to be for wellness.
This spa runs a health-optimising program that offers pioneering treatments that would satisfy everyone from biohackers to mere mortals looking for a facial.
You’ll undergo medical consultations, advanced diagnostic tests, a low-calorie plantbased nutritional plan, and targeted therapeutic treatments, all carried out under strict medical supervision.
Programmed can last up to a week, although there are options for a single day of treatment and anything in between, just be prepared to pay extra, since the week-long Advanced Detox plan will set you back £3,602 plus a 10% service charge, on top of your accommodation.
Exceptional food
The food at One&Only Portonovi, though, is where it truly excels.
Tapasake, a waterfront Mediterranean-Japanese fusion restaurant served a sushi smorgasbord I still dream about.
Spicy edamame, crispy rice with beef tartare that I can only describe as a deep-fried delight, salmon nigiri, and sashimi are just some of the dishes you can look forward to, alongside top-drawer service and cocktails.
Sabia, the hotel’s Italian restaurant, is just as good. This beachside Italian serves excellent costolette de agnello alla scottadito (lamb rack), ravioli capresi and classic desserts such as panna cotta and tiramisu.
My only note is that it would be nice if the gluten-free pasta had also been handmade.
Mine didn’t look quite as appetising as everyone else’s.
Final thoughts…
Maybe I am picky, and maybe that’s because I could never afford to stay on my own dime at this kind of hotels.
If I were to ever consider saving for months to pay for such an experience, to be frank, I’d want to want for nothing.
Regardless, this isn’t to say the hotel isn’t wonderful. There is plenty to write home about.
But given there are 339,091 hotel and resort businesses around the world, a top 10 accolade is a bit too generous for me.
If that makes me a diva, so be it.
Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing [email protected]
Your exclusive seven-day guide to travelling with confidence.
