Fourteen rooms a metre from the piazzetta, the harbour-front sister of the Splendido up on the hill, returned in 2022 to a stripped, salt-bleached vocabulary by Martin Brudnizki, the most coveted address in Portofino at sea level.
"The harbour is a stage and Splendido Mare has the seats in the first row. Fourteen rooms, all with the piazzetta or the marina at the window, in a property that was rebuilt around the idea of arriving by boat rather than by car. It is the most intimate Belmond in Italy."
Splendido Mare opened in its current form in 1969 as the harbour-front annexe to the Belmond Splendido up on Salita Baratta, a wartime monastery turned grand hotel in 1901. The two properties share the Belmond flag, the same general manager and, since 2022, a single design vocabulary; the difference is that Splendido Mare sits at sea level on Calata Marconi, three doors from the dinghy dock, while the parent hotel looks down on it all from the cliff above.
The 2022 redesign was led by Martin Brudnizki, the London based interior architect whose work for Soho House and Annabel's defines the contemporary clubby register. At Splendido Mare he stripped the property back to its Ligurian bones, lime-washed walls, terrazzo floors, panelling in salt-cured oak, and dressed the rooms in a palette of bleached linen, pale coral, and faded sea green. Hand-blocked wallpapers by Pierre Frey, custom rattan headboards, and lacquered Murano fixtures supply the surface interest. The result is intentionally less formal than the parent property, more beach house than grand hotel, and reads as the deliberate counterpoint Belmond intended.
There are 14 keys across four floors, all with private terraces and most with direct line of sight onto the piazzetta or the marina. The Signature Junior Suite on the corner above DaV Mare is the most photographed room in the village, with a wraparound balcony that takes in the whole bay. Bathrooms are clad in arabescato marble and run to deep freestanding tubs in the upper categories. There is no spa and no pool on site; guests use the cliff pool, gym and Dior spa at the Splendido up the hill, a four minute shuttle ride at any hour.
Dining is the property's loudest signature. DaV Mare is the harbour-front restaurant, a Davide Oldani collaboration that opened with the 2022 refit, serving a tight Ligurian menu of trofie al pesto, anchovies under Brudnizki's striped awnings on the marina edge. The cocktail bar inside spills onto the same terrace and stays open late. Service across the property runs warm and Italian, the staff to room ratio is roughly three to one, and the general manager is on the floor most evenings. For honeymooners, anniversary couples, and anyone who proposes in Portofino, this is the address that puts the most theatre in the smallest footprint.
Splendido Mare is the Portofino honeymoon address for couples who want the harbour at the window rather than the cliff above it. The 14-room scale guarantees a private property even at peak; the Signature Junior Suite gives the bridal couple a wraparound terrace over the piazzetta; the in-house tender service runs unbroken between the hotel and the smaller coves at Paraggi and San Fruttuoso for a private boat day. Pair the room with dinner on the DaV Mare terrace and the trip writes itself.
For an anniversary in Portofino, Splendido Mare is the right call when the milestone is intimate rather than grand. The harbour level position keeps the property in the village in a way the cliffside parent hotel cannot. Junior Suites for a long weekend, the Signature Junior Suite for a major year, and the option to book a private aperitivo on the cocktail terrace before the harbour fills with the evening crowd.
If the question is whether to propose at sunset on a harbour-front terrace in the most photographed village in the Mediterranean, this is the property to do it from. Reserve the corner table on the DaV Mare terrace, time the moment for the 8:30 PM golden light onto the pastel houses, and ask the front desk to time a private tender pickup for after. Few rooms in Europe stage a proposal as cleanly as this one.
Calata Marconi 16
16034 Portofino
Italy
On the harbour front, 60 metres from the piazzetta; Genoa airport 40 minutes by car, Santa Margherita Ligure rail station 20 minutes by taxi or shuttle
14 rooms and suites
Classic doubles from EUR 2,800/night
Junior Suites from EUR 4,200/night
Signature Junior Suite from EUR 6,500/night
Open mid-March to mid-November
Check-in: 3:00 PM
Check-out: 12:00 PM
Opened 1969; 2022 redesign by Martin Brudnizki; member of LVMH Belmond portfolio
DaV Mare restaurant by Davide Oldani
Cocktail bar with harbour terrace
Shuttle access to Splendido cliff pool, Dior spa and gym
Private water taxi and tender service
Complimentary WiFi throughout
Closed December to mid-March
From EUR 2,800/night. The Signature Junior Suite and corner harbour rooms book six to nine months ahead for July, August and the May to June shoulder; rates ease in late September and October when the village quiets but the sea stays warm.
Check Availability →The parent property, a 1901 monastery turned grand hotel on the cliff above the bay, cliff pool, Dior spa, the address.
A 22-room four-star on the slope above the harbour with a private sea terrace and beach access at Niasca.
A 12-room three-star on Via Dritto in the village core, the warmest value-grade room in Portofino.
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