Mamula — Local services in Luštica

Mamula Island by Banyan Tree – A Beautiful Setting Still Finding Its Soul

Mamula Island by Banyan Tree presents a visually captivating retreat—a private islet in the Adriatic with sweeping views, historical architecture, and the exclusivity one expects from a luxury destination. Now under Banyan Tree’s management, the island hotel is preparing for a full transformation in 2026, with a focus on elevated service and immersive wellness.

Currently, however, the experience remains transitional. While the hospitality is warm and the setting undeniably serene, several elements fall short of the Banyan Tree promise—from limited wellness offerings to a lack of refined culinary depth and cohesive design.

More fundamentally, the island’s complex past casts a long shadow. Mamula served as a concentration camp during World War II—something not openly reflected or reconciled in the current guest experience. This historical weight presents a challenging contrast to the island’s positioning as a place of healing and restoration. For some guests, the memory of human suffering may complicate the attempt to fully relax or connect with the setting as a wellness sanctuary.

In conclusion, Mamula Island remains a place of remarkable beauty and potential, but also of unresolved tragedy. It is a 3-star experience today—with the hope that future iterations will strike a more respectful and balanced narrative between luxury, memory,...

Turning Mamula Island—a former concentration camp—into a luxury hotel is not only tasteless but profoundly unethical. During World War II, over 2,000 people were imprisoned there under Italian fascist rule, and more than 100 perished from starvation, torture, and inhumane conditions within.

Elsewhere in Europe, former camps have been turned into memorials or museums to honor the victims. Here, however, Montenegro leased the fortress to foreign investors for 49 years to build a spa, VIP suites, and a fine-dining resort. Survivors’ families rightly point out: ‘No one else in the world has turned a concentration camp into a hotel’—and yet that is exactly what happened on Mamula.

If you want to sleep in a place where countless innocent men and women were tortured and took their last breath, this is the perfect destination. A shameful example of turning

a site of immense suffering into a playground for the wealthy. Imagine enjoying SPA where people have been tortured.

Some people just do not know...

From what I read, the island has been sold on a long term lease to a Swiss hotel company and is inaccessible to the public. The location will be converted into a 5 star hotel, completely out of the economical reach of most citizens and residents. This is very disappointing and seems to represent a wider 'gentrification' and 'privatisation' of coastal Montenegro by the authorities at the expense of maintaining important sites of national historical significance. It's disappointing, short sighted and will have a negative...