Sveti Stefan

The Sveti Stefan resort is crammed on a tiny little offshore speck of land that once held an itty-bitty village, having converted the cram of historic buildings into exclusive lodging for its guests. 

The little island off of the Montenegro coast is only a little over a mile around making space on the isle a hot commodity. Originally a coastal defense was established on the land which eventually grew into a small village that was home to around 400 citizens, who built houses on every available inch of the island making it look as though they might fall right off the edge into the Adriatic. When the country came under communist rule plans were made to turn the area into a tourist spot and the villagers were relocated to the mainland by the government in order to make room for the new resort. A thin isthmus was built to connect the island to the mainland and all of the old houses were converted into singular lodgings, and the Sveti Stefan (which is the name of the resort, not the island) was born. 

The vacation spot had its ups and downs over the years, losing much of its luster during the 1990s in the face of government turmoil. However in 2007 a 30-year lease was set up by the Aman hotel group. The group refurbished the island and once again brought it up to an exclusive 5-star standard.

However the COVID-19 pandemic cast it's shadow over luxury tourism in the area just as it did all over the world and the Resort once again closed it's gates in early 2020 and ongoing legal battles over the privacy and ownership over the adjacent beaches prolong the closures with no announced reopening plans as of 2024.