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This princely albergo on the Ligurian coast was built as a Benedictine monastery and is now adorned with pink azaleas on almost every balcony from which guests can take in postcard views of Portofino Bay, glimmering and viridian. The landscape looks just as it did in the 1960s, when the likes of Elizabeth Taylor and Ava Gardner first checked in to this seaside hideaway. But the hotel has been updated since then; last year, Splendido reopened with the main building completely renovated, after a multi-year floor-by-floor update led by designer Martin Brudnizki, whose signature maximalism takes on a gentler, subtler play—more perfume than syrup—by using lavenders, celadons, and Alice blues to paint the interiors with a pleasingly soft handsomeness. Outside, the redone saltwater pool shimmers with new tiles color-matched to the sea, and the open-air restaurant La Terazza is as perfect a spot as ever, serving trofie al pesto and spritzes on its perch high on the hill. All told, Splendido’s sensibility is elegantly understated, allowing its people and environment to shine. The staff is composed of charismatic good-time ragazzi, and nature seeps so easily into the rooms that sunrise and birdsong became my morning alarms. —Matt Ortile
Address: Viale Baratta, 16, 16034 Portofino GE, Italy
