A 16th-century Benedictine monastery turned 61-key Italian Riviera hotel on the cliff above the harbour, the postwar Hollywood booking of choice, a saltwater pool with the harbour 200 metres below, and the address that made Portofino what it is.
"The Splendido is not a hotel one explains. The cliff position, the saltwater pool above the harbour, the frescoes in the suites, and the names in the guest book (Bogart, Burton, Bowie) do the work. Once a year it justifies the rate without trying. Twice a decade it justifies the entire idea of a grand hotel."
The building that is now the Splendido was raised in the sixteenth century as a Benedictine monastery on the cliff above Portofino's natural harbour, on a piece of ground that had been used since Roman times as a watchpoint over the Tigullio. In the eighteenth century it passed into private ownership and in the mid-nineteenth century became the summer residence of Baron Carlo Baratta, after whom the access road, the cocktail bar, and a small chapel inside the property are still named. The Splendido opened as a hotel in 1901, was requisitioned during the Second World War, and was relaunched in 1951 by the Belmond group's predecessor, James Sherwood's Orient-Express Hotels, in time to catch the wave of postwar Hollywood that took Portofino from a fishing village to an international resort within a decade. Belmond, now owned by LVMH, has run the property since.
The hotel is 61 rooms and suites across the monastery's original four floors and a more recent rear annexe. The 2022 refurbishment by interior designer Martin Brudnizki refreshed every category without disturbing the property's Ligurian vocabulary, ivory walls, pale yellow trim, hand-painted floral motifs on the doors and headboards, terrazzo bathroom floors, and a soft palette of sea blues and yellows. Standard rooms run from 26 to 32 square metres; the Junior Suites at 45 square metres and the Splendido Suites at 55 to 75 square metres are the categories worth paying for, particularly those facing south over the bay rather than north into the wooded hillside. Every room has a private terrace or balcony; many of the suites have outdoor sitting rooms larger than the indoor rooms.
The saltwater pool, cut into the terrace 200 metres directly above the harbour, is the property's signature visual asset and one of the most photographed pools in Europe for legitimate reasons. The deck holds an outdoor bar, a small light-lunch grill, and the loungers that featured in fifty years of Hollywood production stills. La Terrazza, the main dining room, runs an Italian seasonal menu under chef Corrado Corti with terrace seating across the south-facing balcony; Chuflay, the pool restaurant, is the casual midday and evening room. Baratta Sedici, the cocktail bar named for the original baron, is the property's after-dinner room and one of the strongest bar programmes on the Ligurian coast. The wellness offer is small and considered, a 1,000 square metre spa with a covered pool, a Finnish sauna, and treatment rooms run on the Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella product line.
Service is the property's strongest asset and the metric on which it sits above every other Italian Riviera comparable. The team is largely Ligurian, the operating personality is the warm-formal Italian mode at its best, and the property runs a 2.5-to-1 staff-to-guest ratio in season. The Splendido is seasonal, open from late March through October, with a deep winter closure used for refurbishment. The hotel's sister property, Splendido Mare on the harbour-front, is the lower-altitude alternative for guests who want to be on the marina rather than above it; the two properties share concierge and tender service, and a guest at either is welcome at the pool and bars of both.
For an Italian Riviera honeymoon at the highest end of the rate band, the Splendido is the definitive booking. Book a Splendido Suite with a south-facing terrace for seven to ten nights, schedule the property's private wooden tender (a 1958 Riva that the hotel restored in 2019) for a day at the Cinque Terre, and arrange a dinner ashore at Da U Batti in the harbour through the concierge desk. The saltwater pool is the property's couple set piece for late-afternoon swims; book a half-day couples treatment at the spa for the second day of the trip.
For a milestone anniversary, the Splendido is the only Italian Riviera property that delivers the full postwar grand-hotel theatre alongside genuinely up-to-date room product. Book a Splendido Suite for a long weekend, schedule a private dinner on the suite terrace at sunset (the kitchen runs a serious menu in-room without an inflated charge), and arrange a Riva to Santa Margherita for the morning following. The 2022 refurbishment finally cleared the last of the dated edges off the property, and the room rate at this category remains the best honest gauge of the Ligurian luxury market.
The Splendido proposal works best on the small terrace at the end of the pool deck, with the harbour visible 200 metres below and the bay running out to Punta del Capo on the right. Book a Splendido Suite, schedule the moment for the half-hour after sunset, and pre-arrange a private dinner at La Terrazza afterwards. The team handles flowers, champagne, photographer, and (for the genuinely extravagant) a quartet from the Conservatorio di Genova on twenty-four hours' notice.
Salita Baratta 16
16034 Portofino
Italy
Genoa Cristoforo Colombo Airport 38 km (50 minutes by car); Santa Margherita rail station 6 km; Portofino harbour 350 metres downhill (electric shuttle service runs every 20 minutes)
61 rooms and suites
Classic doubles from EUR 1,950/night
Sea-view Deluxe doubles from EUR 3,490/night
Splendido Suites from EUR 6,500/night
Signature Suite to EUR 14,000/night
Check-in: 3:00 PM
Check-out: 12:00 PM
Seasonal: late March through October
Building 16th century; Belmond since 1951; refurbished 2022
Saltwater pool above the harbour
La Terrazza dining room
Chuflay pool restaurant
Baratta Sedici cocktail bar
1,000 sqm spa, indoor pool, sauna
Vintage 1958 Riva tender for guest use
From EUR 1,950 / night. Sea-view rooms and Splendido Suites book nine to twelve months ahead for July and August peak; shoulder weeks in late April, May, late September, and October deliver the property at its quietest and most comfortable.
View Rates & Dates →The Splendido's harbour-front sister, a 14-room boutique directly on the marina, the right alternative for travellers who want to be at sea level rather than above it.
A 24-room family-run four-star at the entrance to Portofino's natural park, the quietest mid-tier booking on the peninsula.
A nine-room small hotel in a converted villa thirty seconds from the Piazzetta, the village's most-village booking.
Last updated June 11, 2026
A ranked shortlist, a special offer worth booking, and the overpriced stay to skip. Straight from the editors.