New investors wanted for resort of the stars
Montenegro’s government is looking to lease the exclusive Sveti Stefan resort on the Adriatic Sea, a former summer mecca for Hollywood stars that has fallen into decline since the Balkan wars of the 1990s.
Tourist Minister Predrag Nenezic on today said the government was offering a 20-30 year lease on the resort to “bring in investors” to the cash-strapped republic and planned officially to launch the tender by the end of the month.
“The government is unhappy with the way things now are at Sveti Stefan,” Nenezic told Montenegro’s private IN Television, without elaborating.
Located 25 miles southeast of Montenegro’s capital, Podgorica, Sveti Stefan is a tiny peninsula dotted with sun-bleached limestone houses and narrow cobblestone streets dating back to a 15th century fishing village.
The village’s old homes were converted into luxury getaways in the 1960s, with exclusive villas and suites that soon became a draw for the rich and famous. Visitors included former West German Chancellor Willy Brandt and Hollywood icons such as Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Sophia Loren and Sylvester Stallone.
Its golden era ended with the break-up of Yugoslavia in the 1990s and the years of war and international sanctions that came with the turmoil.
It was in Sveti Stefan in 1992 that US chess legend Bobby Fischer played his controversial match against the Soviet Union’s Boris Spassky in violation of the US-backed embargo on Yugoslavia.
As possible investors, Nenezic said the government was looking to prestigious international companies with experience in five star and luxury hotels.
