DOLCE VITA DECOR

Watch your Instagram feeds: This summer, they will be full of Martin Brudnizki’s reimagining of Belmond’s Splendido hotel. By ELISA LIPSKY-KARASZ

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High above the crystalline waters of Portofino, Italy—overlooking a jewel of a harbor so tiny it’s hard to conceive how megayachts bearing the likes of Madonna, Kim Kardashian, and Leonardo DiCaprio can jostle in for a berth—there is a drive that winds even higher up the steep mountainside. It’s so tight that when two cars meet, it often means one must make a choice. But at the top, reward comes as a burst of pure glory: an endless view of the sunlit, impossibly picturesque horizon from the terrace of the Splendido hotel, spritz in hand.

Now, after years of painstaking renovation, the grande dame of Portofino is ready for her close-up. Belmond, the ultraluxe travel company that has taken over as steward of the historic hotel, engaged A-List designer Martin Brudnizki to reimagine the spaces. This summer his vision is finally complete, including the reopening of the legendary Splendido bar.