Already the pinnacle of luxury hospitality in Portofino, the Splendido has reopened after a multiyear renovation and upgrade — and there’s also an adjunct, five-suite villa that takes the grandeur of this upscale holiday playground to a new zenith.

The observation tower crowning Villa Beatrice offers the freshest breezes, the most exclusive dining table in the region, and a gobsmacking 360-degree view of the area’s natural beauty — and its glitziest homes and harbors.

“It’s such a stunning place and you have a front-row seat to all the yacht watching,” Swedish interior architect Martin Brudnizki says during a tour of the villa, an ornate, terra-cotta-colored gem built in a Gothic Renaissance style — and now zhuzhed up with modern amenities and authentic Ligurian design features. “We knew this would be quite an important villa. There are not that many villas in the world in this kind of location.”

Spendido owner Belmond hosted a weekend of festivities earlier this month to inaugurate the rejuvenation of the iconic 52-room hotel, also exquisitely positioned high in the hills. There’s now a permanent Dior Spa, a terrace-adjacent bar of glowing white onyx, a coffee room, and a completely new décor that feels as fresh and luxurious as it does familiar and reassuring.

“It feels like it always could have been this way,” marvels Dan Ruff, chief executive officer of Belmond, lauding Brudnizki’s invocation of noble Italian living via sun-bleached colors, unexpected materials like wicker for bathroom vanities, and playful references to sea life here and there. “It recognizes the heritage of the place. It also feels super contemporary.”

He calls the hotel “a stage onto Portofino. And I think what he did so brilliantly — and this is hard for some designers to do — but he let his design be a backdrop so you don’t feel overwhelmed in any of the rooms, in any of the public space, because actually, the star is that, right?” he says, pointing to the verdant hills and the idyllic Gulf of Tigullio, at that moment bathed in golden-hour light.

Still, what a backdrop, with details that reveal themselves slowly as guests settle into the “slow luxury” pace that Belmond extols: The medallion-flecked marble floors in the public areas; the floridly hand-painted room numbers and signage; the antique cabinets sheltering minibars and espresso machines.

The Splendido reopened for bookings on June 7, while the Villa Beatrice — with its stepped gardens, plunge pool, private beach, gym and a crescent-shaped terrace bigger than most Portofino restaurants — is inviting stay inquiries from June 29. (Prices for the villa are given upon request and understood to be well into five figures per night. Rooms at the Splendido start at 3,000 euros a night, plus VAT.)

Arguably one of the most picturesque fishing villages in Italy, Portofino has long been a magnet for famous tastemakers including Franca Sozzani and Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, who prize the area’s wall-to-wall sunshine, turquoise waters, cozy bays and historic charm.

To be sure, staff at the Splendido are enthusiastic ambassadors for local delicacies, which include crisp, citrus-tinged white wines, the finest pesto in Italy, worm-like and hand-rolled trofiette pasta, and a local gin gaining international renown with its notes of rosemary and lavender.

Cocktails, breakfast, dinner, tennis, poolside lounging and open-air massages are all served up with Splendido’s famous vistas — which were appreciated by monks when it was a Benedictine monastery in the 16th century; past guests including Ava Gardner, Humphrey Bogart, Elizabeth Taylor and Madonna, and by filmmaker Baz Luhrmann at the opening night bash earlier this month.

“Absolutely love it. It’s one of a kind,” Luhrmann says, hoisting a gin martini with a big green olive. “There’s a family quality to the staff here, and there’s a sort of magic in this idea of slow luxury, not meaning slow and boring, meaning actually being in the moment.”

Catherine Martin, his costume-designer wife, was likewise charmed by it all. “Possibly one of the most romantic and extraordinary places I’ve been to — the position, the softness of the light, the view,” she enthuses. “It’s a very elevated experience, but very relaxed at the same time, which is lovely.”

Actor Jeff Goldblum, who surprised guests by tickling the ivories with his jazz band, scatted a string of superlatives about how the place made him feel, including magnifico, perfecto, Fabio, Marlon Brando, and splendid, of course.

A cohesive décor rooted in the Genoese style was Brudnizki’s goal, hence the furniture painted with flowers, the embroidered textiles, the botanical prints, the colorful Albissola ceramics, and mosaic terrazzo floors known as graniglia. “Fresh, light, summery,” he says.

A flagship of the Belmond portfolio and a beacon for the global jet-set since the ‘50s, the Splendido is the first of many properties being updated and upgraded to meet the demands of discerning travelers, and helping them disconnect, switch off and enjoy the finer things. “It’s becoming more and more important as our lives become faster,” Ruff says.

Acquired by luxury giant LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton in 2018, Belmond operates the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express train and hotels including the Copacabana Palace in Rio de Janeiro, Hotel Cipriani in Venice and Villa San Michele in Florence.

The Splendido has become a showcase for other LVMH properties, including Moët & Chandon vintages at the hotel’s grill restaurant, Aqua di Parma toiletries in all the rooms, and, of course, the Dior Spa, complete with a small boutique selling high-end skin care, perfumes and resort wear and accessories.

Ruff insists he’s not obliged to use LVMH suppliers. “We look at it on a case-by-case basis, and where it fits the property brand, we do it,” he says. “Obviously the benefit of being part of LVMH is incredible. They have this unbelievable collection of really, really desirable brands. But it has to fit.”

And having Dior operate the spa was a “no brainer” in his view. “We talked about Splendido being this glamorous stage overlooking Portofino. Dior is the obvious partner for that.”

Splendido also operates Splendid Mare, a separate 14-room hotel with a retro décor and a different vibe, set in Portofino’s picturesque piazzetta with its row of spice-colored buildings, bustling village life, and bevy of luxury boutiques.

Now Villa Beatrice offers a third option, and it’s the first such private villa in Belmond’s portfolio. “I’m always asked, ‘OK, great, so this is going to be the first of many?’ I wish! But there’s only one Villa Beatrice in the world.”

Built in 1912 by local industrialist Attilio Odero, the villa was used as a summer residence until 2021, when Belmond acquired it, recognizing its exceptional bones and idyllic positioning, with a private lane, no nearby neighbors and a perch that takes in Parragi bay with its luxurious beach clubs, all the nearby villages, and the open sea said to have claimed Percy Bysshe Shelley, who died in a boating accident in 1822. (Lord Byron was also a famous habituee of the region, and the Bay of Poets, aka Porto Venere bay, in La Spezia, was named after him.)

The villa offers four suites, the principle one boasting soaring his-and-hers bathrooms with playful marine creatures set into the marble and stone, a full floor for staff — a butler and private chef are included — and a stone cottage set closer to the water.

“We do a lot of work around the positioning of each of the hotels to understand what they really are, what they stand for, what they’ve always stood for, the history of them, the future of them, and how that red thread should flow through,” Ruff says. “It’s about giving our guests the opportunity to disconnect from their crazy, daily, hectic lives, reconnect with the things that matter to themselves, discover a new pace, and have fun along the way.…We create opportunities, and the guests make their moments.”