Sveti Stefan: The Tiny Montenegrin Island That Once Hosted Sophia Loren and Elizabeth Taylor

Sveti Stefan sits just off Montenegro's Budva Riviera, a fortified islet connected to the mainland by a narrow strip of sand, its terracotta roofs and stone walls dating back to a 15th-century fishing village. Its transformation into one of the Adriatic's more storied resorts began in the 1950s, when Yugoslavia's government resettled the villagers and converted the entire islet into a state-run hotel, its cottages turned into suites while keeping the original stone walls largely intact.

A Cold War-era celebrity magnet

Through the 1960s and 1970s, the resort became a fixture on the Yugoslav coast's circuit for Western visitors, drawing figures including Sophia Loren, Elizabeth Taylor and Kirk Douglas during a period when the country's Adriatic coastline was an unusual bridge between East and West. Its profile as a discreet, self-contained retreat, an entire fortified village rather than a conventional hotel building, was part of what set it apart from other coastal resorts of the era.

From state resort to Aman property

After a period of decline through the Yugoslav wars and the 1990s, the islet was redeveloped and reopened in 2010 as Aman Sveti Stefan, part of the Aman Resorts group, alongside the neighbouring Villa Milocer, a former royal summer residence. The wider Budva Riviera has since built up a modern reputation of its own as a summer stop for the yacht-owning crowd cruising the Adriatic between Croatia and Greece.

Traveller tips

• The islet itself is a private hotel; the mainland beaches either side of the causeway, including Milocer beach, remain open to the public for a view of the island up close.
• Podgorica and Tivat both have international airports within roughly an hour's drive of Budva.
• July and August are peak season on this stretch of coast; late spring and early autumn bring quieter beaches and milder heat.
• Budva's own old town, a short drive north, is worth pairing with a Sveti Stefan visit for a walled-city contrast.