Sveti Stefan – How a Greek tycoon is reviving Marilyn Monroe’s favourite hideaway.

You may not know where it is but the chances are you’ve seen it in a magazine.

Sveti Stefan, the picturesque islet on the coast of Montenegro is indisputably stunning in print but surprisingly less so in reality. Perhaps it’s because the glossy images give the impression of idyllic remoteness whereas Sveti Stefan is really a building site flanked by a huge crane.

A former fishing village, Sveti Stefan became a luxury hotel in the 1950s attracting Hollywood stars and international royalty. Regular guests included Richard Burton & Elizabeth Taylor, Sophia Loren and Marilyn Monroe. It closed in 2006 and the Montenegro Government set about finding a top luxury hotel group to partner it as part of the State’s mission to turn the tiny country into a global tourist phenomenon. Aman Resorts won and took charge in 2007 with the task of returning Sveti Stefan to its former position as one of Europe’s top hotels.

The venture hit funding problems with the global economic downturn and Greek shipping tycoon, Victor Restis, came to the rescue, taking over the lease and giving Aman a new target opening date of summer 2010.

The original hotel had 118 rooms but Aman is reducing this to a mere 47, six being suites with private pools. The Aman plans include a Spa, two restaurants and two swimming pools, one outside and one in, although rock issues are creating excavation problems.

As part of the package Aman secured Villa Milocer, the former summer residence of Queen Marija of Yugoslavia and subsequently claimed by President Tito as his summer retreat. Aman refurbished Milocer and opened it as an 8-suite hotel in December 2008.

A few hundred metres from Sveti Stefan, Hotel Milocer has 6 suites, with a further two ‘Queen Marija’ suites forming the ground and upper floor of a detached annexe sitting to the side and rear of the hotel. The Marija Suites are more of an apartment than a hotel suite, with a large bedroom, sitting room and dining area. The back of the suite is taken up with a very cleverly designed bathroom / dressing room and one of the best shower rooms I’ve encountered. The furnishings are of a high standard, particularly the dark red leather chairs and stools. There are large plasma TVs in both sitting room and bedroom, desks in the dining room and hall, ample power sockets and excellent complimentary WiFi connectivity. Three ‘French doors’ open on to a private terrace with seating. The décor and ambience however do not reflect the local culture and are a reproduction of Aman’s trademark style.

Dining during the summer months is underneath a canopy of vines at the front of the hotel, but the inside dining room is dire, totally devoid of character and ambience. It really does need a rethink. The food and wine are surprisingly fairly priced when compared with prices in the small tavernas of Przno. Milocer’s Sea Food Risotto was excellent and only a few Euros more than the risotto in Langust, Przno’s much lauded restaurant. However, when the fish in the Bouillabaisse at Milocer arrived uncooked one evening the Maitre’d was all at sea. Rather than deal with the situation there and then he muttered something about ‘making it up tomorrow’. There was no tomorrow. We didn’t eat at Milocer again, preferring to dine by the tiny fishing boats in Przno.

Hotel Milocer has two beaches although the beach directly in front of the hotel is public with an area sectioned off for hotel guests. The Queen Marija beach is a small bay between the hotel and Przno which is the exclusive property of the hotel and is the place to spend your day. Hotel staff are on hand to provide drinks etc. but their main role seems to be to stop the locals and other tourists from setting up camp on the beach…and that is the big problem with Aman’s Sveti Stefan venture.

Would you buy a beautiful, exclusive property if it had a public footpath slap bang through the middle of it? I doubt it very much.

Both the Queen Marija Beach and Hotel Milocer sit on the main footpath between Przno and Sveti Stefan. As you dine under the vines of Hotel Milocer droves of tourists wander by, stopping to gawp and take pictures. Signs inform pedestrians that the path which passes The Queen’s beach is for hotel guests only but all ignore it. Even the toilets by the private beach ‘for the exclusive use of hotel guests’ are utilised by passers by. When I asked the hotel manager if the footpath could be moved or closed he sheepishly admitted that was not a possibility. I suspect this may prove to be a big turn-off for potential guests in the future.

Many security guards patrol the grounds day and night as if the Queen is still in residence. The infrastructure for a hotel with a capacity of 16 guests is extraordinary as is the ratio of staff to guests. The Montenegro Tribune talks of staggering figures – a 30 year lease with a rent of €2.1m a year + a total development budget of €80m with €30m of that being allocated to the Sveti Stefan hotel.

It's hard to believe that the Sveti Stefan project will ever show a profit, but does Mr Restis care? Whatever his motive, Sveti Stefan will definitely be worth a look.

Hotel Milocer
Sveti Stefan 85315
Montenegro

+(382) 33 420 000

Link to website