Portofino is barely a village — a horseshoe of ochre and pink houses around a harbour, a single small square, and hills of olive and pine rising straight behind it. Splendido Mare sits in the middle of that picture rather than looking down on it. It is Belmond's small harbourside hotel, fourteen rooms and suites above the Piazzetta, and it offers something the grander hillside Splendido cannot: you step out of the door and you are in Portofino.
This guide covers the rooms, the food, the beach, the honest trade-offs against its sister hotel, what a night costs in 2026 and how to get there without a parking headache. If you would rather skip straight to prices for your dates, send them through the form on this page.
Where it is, and why the location matters
The hotel occupies a historic building on Via Roma, the short street that opens onto the Piazzetta. Everything in Portofino is within three or four minutes on foot: the boat jetties, the church of San Giorgio on the headland, Castello Brown above, the handful of boutiques and gelaterie. That proximity is the whole proposition. Guests who want a pool terrace and a panorama over the gulf will be happier at Belmond Hotel Splendido on the hill; guests who want to have a negroni in the square, walk fifty metres and go to bed should be here.
Rooms and suites
Fourteen keys in total, styled in a relaxed nautical Riviera register — pale timber, cane, brass, striped fabrics, framed prints of the harbour's mid-century heyday. The categories in short:
- Superior rooms, village view. The entry category, looking over the village lanes rather than the water. The smallest rooms in the hotel and the ones to book if the location matters more than the outlook.
- Junior Suites. Roughly 31–41 m², with Piazzetta, village or harbour views depending on the room. A sitting area, and the best balance of price and space.
- Suites, sea view with balcony. Around 31–51 m², a separate seating area and a balcony over the harbour — the rooms people mean when they picture this hotel. Named suites such as La Vela, La Luce Solare and the Ava Gardner suite fall in the top categories and go first.
Because there are only fourteen rooms, category upgrades on arrival are rare in summer. If a harbour view matters, book it outright rather than hoping.
Eating and drinking: DaV Mare
The hotel's restaurant, DaV Mare, is a collaboration with the Cerea family of Da Vittorio, the three-Michelin-starred restaurant near Bergamo. The format is a seafood trattoria rather than a tasting-menu temple: Ligurian crudo, pasta with the day's catch, fritto misto, and a cocktail bar that spills onto the square at aperitivo hour. Breakfast is normally taken here too, and there is the family's Gelateria San Giorgio a few steps away for the afternoon.
It is open to non-residents and it is genuinely difficult to get into in July and August. We reserve dinner tables at the same time as the room, and we can add the hillside Splendido's restaurants, a Michelin-level dinner along the coast, or a private chef on a boat if you want variety.
The sea, the beach club and the boats
There is no pool at Splendido Mare; guests use the pool, terraces and gardens of Belmond Hotel Splendido above, with a shuttle running between the two. For swimming, the hotel arranges access to Bagni Fiore in the bay of Paraggi — a short hop by boat or car, and one of the most attractive beach clubs on this stretch of coast. Loungers are limited and allocated by the day, so days by the water need booking in advance rather than deciding at breakfast.
The other thing to do here is get on the water. A classic wooden gozzo with a skipper is the local way: a morning around the Portofino headland, the abbey of San Fruttuoso in its own cove, and lunch at anchor. Larger day yachts run down to the Cinque Terre — a long but memorable day — and we arrange all of it as part of the stay.
What to do beyond the village
- San Fruttuoso abbey — reachable only by boat or on foot, a tenth-century abbey on a pebble cove; go early, before the ferries.
- Castello Brown and the lighthouse walk — twenty minutes uphill from the harbour for the view everyone photographs, best at golden hour.
- Santa Margherita Ligure and Camogli — the working neighbouring towns, both good for a market morning and a fish lunch.
- Cinque Terre — a full day by fast boat or private car and train; enjoyable in May, June and September, hard work at the height of August.
- Genoa — under an hour away, with the Palazzi dei Rolli and the old port, and a genuinely different side of Liguria.
Getting there
- Genoa airport — about 50 minutes by private car, the simplest arrival.
- Milan Malpensa or Linate — roughly three hours by road; often the better flight, especially from London.
- Nice — around three and a half hours, useful if you are combining Portofino with the French Riviera.
- By train — high-speed services to Genoa, then a local train to Santa Margherita Ligure and ten minutes by car.
- By boat — a transfer by sea from Santa Margherita or Rapallo, and the best possible first impression.
Portofino restricts vehicle access and parking is scarce and costly, so we normally have your chauffeur drop at the hotel and take the car away, returning it for excursions and departure. We can also arrange a car and driver for the whole stay, or add a private chauffeur for coastal days.
Indicative 2026 rates
- April, May, October: from roughly €900–€1,300 per night for an entry room, breakfast included.
- June and September: around €1,300–€2,000 for rooms and junior suites.
- July and August: sea-view suites frequently €2,000–€3,500 and above, with minimum-stay requirements on peak dates.
- Extras to budget for: Genoa airport transfer from around €280 one way, beach club loungers, boat days from roughly €700 for a half-day gozzo with skipper.
These figures are for planning only; Belmond's rates move with occupancy and season. Send your dates and we will confirm exact prices, availability by room category, and any added value we can attach to the booking.
How we book it
- One itemised proposal covering the room category, transfers, DaV Mare and other restaurant reservations, beach club days and boat excursions.
- Requests placed for harbour-view rooms and quiet floors at the time of booking, not on arrival.
- Multi-stop Italian and Riviera itineraries — Portofino with Lake Como, Florence, the Amalfi Coast or the Côte d'Azur — as a single plan.
- Travel agencies can book the whole itinerary under their own reference; private travellers and companies are equally welcome.
Also planning a European city leg? See our private Paris tours and our luxury train journeys, which pair naturally with a Riviera stay.
Frequently asked questions
Britatlas DMC is an independent travel company and is not the hotel's owner or operator. Room counts, facilities and partnerships described here reflect Belmond's published information for Splendido Mare at the time of writing; prices are indicative for 2026 and confirmed only in a written quote. Photography is Belmond's own promotional imagery of the property.