Heritage Grand Perast, staying in Smekja Palace

On Perast’s waterfront one building outdoes all the others in size and presence, right by the little harbour. It’s Smekja Palace, and today it’s a hotel. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to sleep in the house of a family of admirals with the bay’s islands outside your window, here’s your chance. Below is what it offers, according to what the hotel itself publishes.

Smekja Palace

The National Tourism Organisation counts it among the largest and most striking buildings in the Bay of Kotor. It was built in 1764 as the home of the Smekjas, a dynasty of sea captains, admirals and merchants who helped shape the region’s seafaring history. It keeps its stone walls, generous balconies, the family crest and a Latin inscription on the façade.

The hotel’s website adds that the palace has two parts, an older one from 1764 between the sea road and the old road, and another begun that year and finished in 1936 to the same plan, style and stone. The hotel also uses the neighbouring Grado building.

The rooms

All have Wi-Fi, a minibar, tea and coffee things, a flat-screen TV, an iron and a hairdryer, says the website. Five room types are listed, from the Perast Superior at 25 to 32 m² to the Kamelia Deluxe at 28 to 48 m², by way of the Jadran rooms with a garden and the Heritage Premium Sea View Suite. The Superiors are on the ground floor of the Grado building and the first floor of the palace, handy if someone in your party has limited mobility. No nightly rates are published, and I won’t guess them.

If you are staying the night, see the best hotel deals in Perast for your dates: the well-placed rooms go fast.

Spa and water

The spa is called Cataleya and offers massages, facials and body treatments, a hammam, Finnish sauna, Turkish bath and an indoor pool for swimming year-round. Outside there’s an outdoor pool and a beach club with water sports. The National Tourism Organisation points out you can arrive at the palace by water too, by kayak, sailing boat or catamaran, which tells you a lot about the setting.

Three restaurants

Riva, by the water, serves Mediterranean and international food from 8:00 to 23:00, with seafood and Montenegrin dishes. Panoramic is the breakfast room, 7:30 to 10:30, with views across the bay and its islands. Piazza, on the square, opens from 8:00 until midnight. Riva and Piazza both take non-residents, so even if you’re staying elsewhere in Perast you can dine here; the hotel recommends booking.

So you do not lose the morning at the ticket office, browse tickets and tours in Heritage Grand Perast on GetYourGuide.

Who’s it for?

Anyone wanting the Perast treat without giving up a spa and pool. For something smaller and more homely, I compare options under hotels in Perast. For the trip out to Our Lady of the Rocks, the boats are a few steps from the door.

If you are staying the night, see the best hotel deals in Perast for your dates: the well-placed rooms go fast.