Splendido Mare, A Belmond Hotel, Portofino

"This June, tourists can travel to the Italian riviera in style. The Belmond Venice-Simplon Orient Express is launching a new route from Paris to Portofino that will offer some of the best coastal views of Europe."

"Two are indisputably better than one with Belmond’s dual offerings in pretty Portofino, the Belmond Hotel Splendido set high above the cove, and the Belmond Splendido Mare taking pride of place on the harborfront. The 70-room Splendido, on a steep, craggy hill overlooking the area’s fabled turquoise waters, was a 16th century monastery known for withstanding attacks from Saracen pirates. Meanwhile, the 16-room Mare sits on the Piazzetta, a respite from the lively Ligurian harbor. At the Splendido, fragrant wisteria and straight-backed juniper bushes flank the winding cobblestone walkways, and a narrow, gleaming pool hangs perilously over the waves below. Many rooms come with terra-cotta-tiled terraces where you can take your morning cappuccino, and some have stunning panoramic views of the cove. The wellness center offers “Muscle Melt” massages and treatments with Sicilian sea salt and turmeric-laced poultices; while at the restaurant, La Terrazza, local seafood rightly dominates the menu. The Splendido Mare, meanwhile, offers stylish modern rooms, intimate restaurant Chuflay, and even a gelateria right on the Piazzetta." - Julia Buckley

"In a pastel villa that presides over pine-covered slopes and the deep blue waters of the Ligurian Sea,Belmond Hotel Splendido was a 16th-century monastery before it became a cliff-side luxury hotel at the turn of the 20thcentury. Today, it is one of Portofino’s most iconic resorts, with 70 sunlit rooms (think herringbone hardwood floors, marble baths, and wrought iron terraces) that have hosted the Duke of Windsor, Ava Gardner, and Catherine Deneuve. You’ll get the VIP treatment while sipping champagne on a sunset cruise aboard the hotel’s Chris-Craft Corsair 36, dining on seabream ceviche at La Terrazza, or indulging in a chamomile footbath at the spa. A shuttle can run you down to intimate sister property Splendido Mare, which overlooks the central Piazzetta and is a dressed-up version of a fishing village pied-à-terre, with 16 whitewashed rooms and its own buzzy restaurant."

"In a pastel villa that presides over pine-covered slopes and the deep blue waters of the Ligurian Sea,Belmond Hotel Splendido was a 16th-century monastery before it became a cliff-side luxury hotel at the turn of the 20thcentury. Today, it is one of Portofino’s most iconic resorts, with 70 sunlit rooms (think herringbone hardwood floors, marble baths, and wrought iron terraces) that have hosted the Duke of Windsor, Ava Gardner, and Catherine Deneuve. You’ll get the VIP treatment while sipping champagne on a sunset cruise aboard the hotel’s Chris-Craft Corsair 36, dining on seabream ceviche at La Terrazza, or indulging in a chamomile footbath at the spa. A shuttle can run you down to intimate sister property Splendido Mare, which overlooks the central Piazzetta and is a dressed-up version of a fishing village pied-à-terre, with 16 whitewashed rooms and its own buzzy restaurant."