From Fortress to Luxury Retreat: Mamula Island Gets New Life as a Picturesque Getaway
The enviable Montenegro hotel combines history and refinement on a tiny Adriatic islet.
Photo by Mark Anthony Fox
If you’ve ever wished you could run away to a peaceful European island, a new destination awaits in the Adriatic Sea. Opened this spring, luxury getaway Mamula Island is already making waves from its location on a tiny islet just 200 metres across in Montenegro’s Bay of Kotor.
The historic 19th-century fortress was painstakingly restored for its new life as a singular retreat for those looking to lose themselves in the warm breeze of the Mediterranean. Originally called Mamula Fortress after the Austro-Hungarian general Lazar Mamula who helped create it, the resort was reimagined by Lisbon-based MCM Architecture and Design and Montenegrin conservation and architecture studio Projektor, along with close collaboration with local heritage authorities, to include 32 rooms and suites, a spa, three outdoor pools, three restaurants, and four bars. In establishing the hotel, its owners took prioritized renewing it to its former glory for overnight and day guests alike.
Photo by Mark Anthony Fox
Photo by Mark Anthony Fox
Photo by Mark Anthony Fox
The accommodations are divided into two categories depending on their location in the compound: the Heritage suites in the old part of the fort feature original stonework, while the newly built rooms and suites are in the addition, with floor-to-ceiling windows and private terraces.
Designed by Piotr Wisniewski of Berlin interior design firm weStudio, each of the cheerful midcentury-inspired rooms is decorated with bespoke furniture and pieces by local craftsmen and artists and enjoys ocean views. Particularly stunning are the award-winning Sky Suites, where guests can wake up beneath century-old frescos adorning the curved ceilings. With ceremonial bathtubs or Jacuzzis, lounge areas, and fireplaces, the suites embody laidback.
Photo by Rebecca Hope
Photo by Mark Anthony Fox
Photo by Mark Anthony Fox
Despite the islet’s diminutive size, there’s no shortage of dining options. For uninterrupted relaxation, the Pool Deck, at the centre of the fortress and with three elegant pools, offers a rotating menu of sharing plates, appetizers, aperitifs, and more. Guests and day visitors can also have a picnic basket full of Côte d’Azur-inspired bites and sips delivered directly to their beachside sunbed beyond the fortress’s walls.
Outdoor terrace dining at the Sun Deck is accompanied by Balearic beats on weekend afternoons when the culinary team barbecues. For a slightly more elevated dining experience, an Italian restaurant with an adventurous menu and sweeping views of the Adriatic Sea occupies the top level of the west wing of the hotel. Post- or predinner drinks can be taken at the speakeasy-style Pinea Bar, where mixologists whip up homemade infusions and craft cocktails. If you have a bit of time and are keen to learn more from the mixology experts, try the hour-long Pinea Mixology Experience.
Photo by Mark Anthony Fox
Photo by Mark Anthony Fox
Though the whole island is offers serenity, the Spa Tower—with thick stone walls, a circular atrium, and the original well—is the ideal place for those seeking an extra dose of chill. A menu of massages, facials, and body treatments is served up in the two rooms and couples suite, or guests can indulge in the Finnish sauna, herbal sauna, steam room, halo-therapy room, and aqua floating tank.
A stay in a 170-year-old fortress wouldn’t be complete without a history lesson. For this, the Historical and Memorial Gallery takes guests through the location’s storied past, including its use by Austrians and Italians during the two world wars as a prison.
As Mamula Island enters a new, happier chapter of its life, the resort promises to bring relaxed vibes and memorable island stays for many years to come.
Photo by Mark Anthony Fox
