Mr. Massimiliano Zanardi as General Manager, One&Only Portonovi in Montenegro, will be based in Montenegro and is responsible for developing the overall guest experience for the resort, as well as building the team and entire operation of One&Only Portonovi.
Mr. Zanardi joins One&Only with over 20 years of experience in the luxury hospitality industry, most recently as the General Manager of Ritz-Carlton in Istanbul, Turkey. During his tenure, he helped the property reach #1 as Hewitt’s Best Employer (Turkey) and also achieved the best Gallup scores amongst all international properties within the group. Max joined Ritz-Carlton in 2001 and has held various leadership roles at different properties within the company. This includes locations under the management of The Ritz-Carlton such as The Ritz-Carlton Powerscourt, Ireland; Hotel Arts Barcelona; and The Penha Longa Hotel & Golf Resort Sintra, Portugal. Apart from his operational expertise, Massimiliano brings along the experience of 10 pre-openings, ownership transition management, as well as the development of new business initiatives and operations standards. Having started his career in Food and Beverage, Max has accumulated over two decades of industry experience. His strong foundation in food and beverage, his decade-long experience in the luxury hospitality segment, and his involvement in numerous pre-openings will ensure that he can successfully oversee the pre-opening phase of One&Only Portonovi in Montenegro.
Mr. Michael Posch, General Manager of Portonovi Resort Management Company, will also be based in Montenegro and is responsible for developing and implementing the operations strategy, building the team and for leading and managing overall operations of growing Portonovi Resort, a high-end luxury scheduled to open in 2017.
Mr. Posch brings with him 24 years of experience in the hospitality industry, and comes onboard after his successful career at Regent Porto Montenegro, where he was overlooking the pre-opening and very successful opening as General Manager. He achieved several awards already within the first year after the opening – one out of them was the World Luxury Hotel Award 2015. Coming from food & beverage to sales to operations, Mr. Posch has a demonstrated expertise across all operations in luxury hotels. After graduating from the College for Tourism Management in Austria his beginnings are connected to one of the most famous global hospitality groups – Hilton Hotels. He has been involved with the opening of the Festival Center at the Estrel Hotel, the largest convention hotel and entertainment center in Europe. As a part of the Intercontinental Hotels Group team, he was responsible for overseeing the refurbishment of an entire floor into a new convention area and looked after the room sales at their hotel in Munich.
He proved his management and sales skills by being part of the Estrel Hotel in Berlin, as Director of Sales, and the Leonardo Royal Hotel Berlin, for which he did the opening and took over as General Manager. He was responsible for the leading of hotel operations as well as sales and strategic positioning of the hotel and its conference facilities both domestically and internationally.
The first phase of the development is due to be completed in 2017 with One&Only Portonovi planned for opening in 2018.
Jean-Michel Gathy and the team from Denniston International Architects are responsible for the architecture and interiors, as well as the design of the exterior spaces surrounding the resort. One&Only has worked with Jean-Michel Gathy on many projects, most recently One&Only Reethi Rah where he was tasked with keeping three words in mind – luxury, space and privacy to ensure ultimate luxury is provided to guests, and the same will apply for One&Only in Montenegro.
One&Only Portonovi will boast approximately 120 luxurious guest rooms, suites and villas, dining and retail options, and a wellness and vitality centre in partnership with world-renowned wellness brand, Espace Chenot Health Wellness Spa, which will provide guests with an unrivalled destination wellness experience. Redefining luxury in the region, One&Only Portonovi will set a new level of guest experience through the impeccable service and offering, and will showcase the beauty of Montenegro’s natural elements.
Portonovi will also feature a selection of properties from luxurious, spacious townhouses set in the heart of its Mediterranean-style village, to stylish villas in its landscaped gardens, to sleek penthouse apartments overlooking a state-of-the-art, 220 berth superyacht marina. It sits at the narrowest and most exclusive part of the pristine Bay of Boka Kotorska. This stunning location is also the perfect place from which yachts can explore Montenegro’s stunning 300 kilometre coastline, as well offering the quickest access for yachts to the Adriatic. Both Dubrovnik and Tivat International Airport are located less than an hour’s drive from Portonovi. Both airports have significant airlift from destinations across Europe, along with facilities for private jets.
