FEELING SPLENDIDO

Following a gorgeous multi-year renovation, the historic Splendido—one of the world's most coveted hotels—has reopened, and Tatler got a first look

- By Coco Marett

The drive to Splendido, a Belmond hotel, is a cinematic one—you cruise along Portofino's coastline, dwarfed by the terracotta-hued villas steeped on towering green hillsides. And then, out of nowhere, there it is: the iconic hotel's pastel façade, fronted by greenery-filled terraces, glowing pink in the Mediterranean sun.

When we arrive, the leafy driveway is filled with a fleet of blacked-out Mercedes, porters buzzing around them to organise luggage. In the lobby, well-dressed guests excitedly check in, including a perfectly groomed Pomeranian I notice cooling itself on the black and white Carrara and Lavagna stone flooring. It's a scorcher of a day—we're at the peak of Europe's unprecedented heatwave.

Just weeks before our arrival, the hotel hosted the likes of American actor Jeff Goldblum, French model Tina Kunakey and Australian director Baz Luhrmann to celebrate the reopening of Splendido—to the tune of a charmingly kitsch “I feel Splendido” slogan—following a multiyear, multi-phase renovation by Martin Brudnizki. The founder of Martin Brudnizki Design Studio is behind other beautiful properties, such as Fouquet's New York and Le Grand Mazarin in Paris. “Splendido is an icon, and so our approach to the project was similar to that of a portrait painter: creating a design centred on the building and one that is as much a restoration as a rejuvenation,” the designer says.