Splendido’s pool catches the Ligurian sunset in burnt sienna and gold
Perched above Portofino's harbour, the resort's swimming pool becomes a sanctuary as daylight fades, its striped umbrellas and calm waters framing one of the Italian Riviera's most enchanting evenings.
AI-assisted voice playback. Starts only when you choose Play.
The pool at Belmond Splendido occupies that precise moment when day surrenders to evening, the water deepening to sapphire as the sky ignites in amber and coral. Red and white striped umbrellas catch the last warmth of light, their fabric saturated with colour, while the Italian Riviera spreads beneath in soft greens and terracotta.
Positioned on the clifftside above Portofino, the pool commands views across the harbour where sailing boats rest at anchor beneath wooded hills. The resort’s principal palazzo, rendered in pale ochre with dark shutters and arched windows, rises behind the terraced gardens, its belle époque architecture integral to the Italian Riviera’s most storied address. Olive and cypress trees frame the scene, their silhouettes blackening as the light turns golden.
This is the interval between afternoon leisure and evening stillness, when guests drift between the water and the loungers, reluctant to abandon the sensory richness of the Ligurian dusk. The pool becomes not merely a place to swim but a vantage from which to witness the sea’s slow transformation from brilliant blue to deepening indigo, the distant islands darkening against a sky blushed with rose and amber.
Belmond Splendido can be reached through Portofino’s harbour village, or by private arrangement from nearby airports. The resort welcomes guests throughout the year, though the Mediterranean season from May through September offers the most resplendent sunsets over the water.
Imagery courtesy of Belmond Splendido (@belmondhotelsplendido).