One&Only Portonovi, luxury at the mouth of the Bay of Kotor

Anyone searching for «One and Only Montenegro» is after this hotel. One&Only Portonovi sits at Kumbor, on the Herceg Novi shore just inside the Bay of Kotor, within Portonovi, a resort of apartments, villas, marina and beach that the Herceg Novi tourist board measures at 26 hectares and 1.8 km of shoreline. To me it’s the most polished hotel in the municipality.

What the hotel promises

The details of its facilities come from its website, which I read in an archive.org copy saved on 4 September 2026, as the live site doesn’t respond to automated reading. There it highlights two badges, a Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star rating and EarthCheck Gold environmental certification, and describes villas, suites and rooms with indoor-outdoor living and views over the bay and the mountains. It puts itself an hour from Dubrovnik, close enough to make Ćilipi a sensible airport choice alongside Tivat.

Eating and unwinding

There’s a lot of choice for one hotel. Sabia serves Italian dishes with bay views; Tapasake, which the hotel calls the heart of the resort, pairs Mediterranean-Japanese fusion with serious mixology; Caminetti, styled on grand Italian residences, is for afternoon tea and cocktails; and there’s a steakhouse with a veranda in the grounds. Wellness centres on the Chenot Espace, a detox retreat with personalised, science-led treatments, which strikes me as the real reason to come.

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

Portonovi around it

Beyond the hotel, the resort adds a marina, pools, a club on its sandy beach and residences let by the night. They range from marina studios to four-bedroom suites of more than 300 m² and villas with private rooftop pools, all with a 24-hour concierge. One category is called Castelnuovo, the Venetian name for Herceg Novi. For a family or a group, they may work out better than a hotel room. The National Tourism Organisation says the marina takes boats from 7 to 70 m, and up to 120 m at some berths, and that Kumbor has a maritime border crossing, so if you’re arriving by yacht you can clear into the country right here. If sailing is your thing, I go into it in sailing in Montenegro.

Who it’s for

For anyone wanting luxury without moving much. Herceg Novi’s old town is a few kilometres down the road, and the bay is best explored by boat rather than by car. From here I’d do one trip to Perast and its islands and another round the mouth of the bay. I don’t quote nightly rates; for those, the reservations line listed by the tourist board is +382 31 691 000. Budget for the €1-a-night municipal tax on top. To compare with more affordable options, hotels in Herceg Novi covers the old town, Igalo and Njivice.

So you do not lose the morning at the ticket office, browse tickets and tours in One&Only Portonovi on GetYourGuide.

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