Porto Montenego, the glamorous marina destination masterplanned and designed by ReardonSmith, welcomed its first residents, visitors and superyachts in the summer of 2010. Since then, the practice has continued to work on successive phases of residential, retail and hotel development.
Dubbed “The new port of cool” by the Financial Times, the original phase focused on waterfront apartments, restaurants, and boutiques clustered around the first-class, 350-berth marina. The architectural design referenced traditional local architecture together with the urban planning principles of “place legibility” to create a unique resort for holidaymakers, a home for crews and their families and a destination for local people year-round. Phase Two included the design of the resort’s first hotel, the Regent Porto Montenegro which will be opening in 2014. Inspired by the exquisite houses that grace the Adriatic coastline, the hotel has been planned to give its guests an exclusive connection to sea and marina; at grade, the experience flows seamlessly from sea onto gardens with submerged pools and then into the interior. The hotel includes 46 serviced residences and four penthouses for private purchase, designed to be locked down into various configurations and returned to the hotel as additional rental accommodation. Meanwhile, several other phases of residential parcels have been brought onto the market, all of which are rapidly selling off-plan. The most recent of these are the Ksenija Residences offering a direct water frontage and exceptional panoramas across the Bay of Kotor.
A small and bustling town is emerging between sea and mountains which is clearly within the local design vernacular but is also genuinely new and suited to modern lifestyles.