Review: Palazzo Drusko Deluxe Rooms, Kotor, Montenegro

July 24, 2020April 18, 2023 Koen 0 Comments

In this review, we will stay at the Palazzo Drusko Deluxe Rooms, a boutique hotel in the city of Kotor in Montenegro.

Arrival

After a beautiful bus ride from Dubrovnik, I found myself at the bus station of Kotor, located just a short five minute walk away from the old town gates.

For my stay in Kotor I had reserved a room at the Palazzo Drusko, a boutique hotel smack in the middle of Kotor’s old town.

I’ve visited Kotor before on two occasions and it was therefore rather easy for me to find the hotel with a wee bit of help from Google Maps and GPS.

Palazzo Drusko is a 600-years-old stone house which was formerly owned by Montenegrin nobility, with the entrance to the building being located in a cul-de-sac.

Before my arrival, I received an email from the hotel that it is best to give a call shortly before my arrival as there might not always be a staff member on site.

Alternatively, I could just walk to the building and ring the interphone, which is connected to the mobile phone of the manager.

This was exactly what I did, and within three minutes the welcoming and cheerful manager arrived in the street to open the door and handle check-in.

It was an extremely easy and straightforward process.

kotor montenegro bus dubrovnik — *From the bus station of Kotor it was a short walk to the marina and the the old town walls. ©Paliparan*

kotor palazzo drusko entrance — *The entrance to Palazzo Drusko is located in a cul-de-sac. ©Paliparan*

Palace

After check-in I was brought to my room, which was called the ‘Merchant’s Room’.

Every room at the Palazzo Drusko is different from the other when it comes to size, facilities and decor, although all of them are styled in the same traditional Montenegrin fashion matching the building’s rich historic tradition.

The history is nowhere more visible than in the public spaces of the building, as the corridors and stairwell were adorned with historical artefacts such as paintings, old weapons and documents.

Although from the outside Palazzo Drusko might have seemed like every other stone building in Kotor’s old town, the rich palatial style was for sure on full view on the inside.

palazzo drusko stairs review — *Staircase at Palazzo Drusko. ©Paliparan*

palazzo drusko stairs — *Climbing up to my room. ©Paliparan*

drusko painting weapon — *The walls at Palazzo Drusko are adorned with old artefacts, paintings and weapons. ©Paliparan*

Merchant’s Room

As I already wrote before, there are several attractive-looking rooms available at Palazzo Drusko and you can select which rooms best fits your wishes during the booking process at third-party booking websites where this boutique hotel is listed.

I booked my stay at Booking.com and paid just 34 euro for a one-night stay in March.

Even though Montenegro is a lot cheaper than Croatia when it comes to prices for both accommodation and food, I thought it was even for Montenegrin standards quite a steal given just how wonderful my room was.

Walking into my room, I was immediately impressed with the warm interior and decor.

The room was decorated in traditional style with 150-years-old furniture and wooden elements, such as the large double bed and closet painted in striking green colours.

The old stone wall on which the flat-screen TV was mounted made a stunning contrast with the whitewashed walls with ornamental patterns painted on them.

The room had plenty of storage space available and featured power sockets throughout the room.

There were two windows looking out over the small cobblestoned streets and courtyard below.

Given it was still March, the heating was fully on when I entered the room.

Of course, there is air-conditioning as well in the room for those visiting in the hotter summer months.

The room also features a small minibar.

merchant's room palazzo drusko review — *The Merchant’s Room at Palazzo Drusko. ©Paliparan*

merchant's room palazzo drusko — *Most of the furniture in the room such as the bed and closet are at least a century old. ©Paliparan*

fridge minibar — *More modern pieces of furniture such as the fridge were neatly concealed in some small corners. ©Paliparan*

*At the room entrance door there are coat hangers. ©Paliparan*

window view merchants room palazzo drusko — *View from the window of the Merchant’s Room. ©Paliparan*

Details

What I loved perhaps most about my room were some of the small little details, such as those around the lovely desk and small seating corner with its red velvet curtains.

On the desk, a complimentary jar of lemon-infused water was placed.

Despite the room being comfortably warm, the water was perfectly chilled and made for a welcome refreshment.

Above the desk was an old radio player modified by the room designers to only play traditional Montenegrin music of decades ago.

Just every single detail in the room seemed to perfectly match the old Palazzo Drusko style, making it ooze tons of charm.

water lemon — *A complimentary jar of lemon-infused water was placed on the desk. ©Paliparan*

palazzo drusko review — *An old radio player was tweaked to only play traditional Montenegrin music. ©Paliparan*

Bathroom

Compared to the room, the bathroom was decidedly more modern in style.

It was certainly large and well-appointed, featuring all amenities you might need such as a hairdryer, soap and small bottles of shampoo and shower gel.

The Merchant’s Room has a large spa bath with Jacuzzi function, which certainly made for a relaxing evening back in my hotel room after a long day exploring every nook and cranny of Kotor.

merchant's room palazzo drusko bathroom — *The bathroom featured a large spa bath. ©Paliparan*

bathroom detail palazzo drusko — *Bathroom detail. ©Paliparan*

spa bath palazzo drusko — *Chilling with a glass of wine in the spa bath. ©Paliparan*

Breakfast

After a great night of sleep in the comfortable bed I woke up relatively early in the morning.

Palazzo Drusko unfortunately does not serve breakfast, although guests can use a communal kitchen on the ground level of the building.

Instead, I just walked the short distance out of the nearest old town gate to a local bakery to get some breakfast, buying a typical Balkan breakfast of cream cheese-filled burek (filo dough pastry) and some yoghurt.

As the weather was absolutely gorgeous this winter morning, there was no better place to eat the breakfast than sitting on an old stone wall overlooking the bridge over the river to one of the old town gates.

palazzo drusko kotor — *From Palazzo Drusko, it was just a short five-minute walk out of one of the old town gates to the nearest bakery. ©Paliparan*

burek yoghurt — *Burek and yoghurt for a typical Balkan breakfast. ©Paliparan*

Service

To conclude the Palazzo Drusko review I do have to highlight the great service as well of this boutique hotel.

Although I had few interactions with any of the staff apart from check-in and check-out, they were at all times hospitable and friendly.

For questions about Kotor or for local sightseeing arrangements, the Palazzo Drusko staff is extremely knowledgeable and can be of great help.

I certainly appreciated the welcome email they sent to me right after I had checked in, as it contained numerous of tips for my stay in Kotor, including some recommended local restaurants and bars.

In short

Palazzo Drusko must be Montenegro’s finest boutique hotel, perhaps even one of Europe’s best.

It has everything which you might look for in a boutique hotel, from tons of local charm, a rich history to modern-day room facilities to ensure a comfortable stay.

I loved the little details in the public spaces of the hotel and in my room.

The old furniture, paintings and artefacts surely help to create a charming, cosy and homely environment throughout the entire building.

The attention to detail is also visible in the service, whether it are the helpful local sightseeing tips or the little extras such as the complimentary jar of lemon-infused water.

Just to think of it that I only paid 34 euro for the night makes it an even more mind-blowing experience.

Admittedly, that is the low-season price and visiting in the high-season month of August will for sure see higher room rates.

But given the quality of the rooms, the Palazzo Drusko is certainly extremely great value for money.

I had such a lovely stay at Palazzo Drusko that just this little gem of a boutique hotel is already reason enough for me to consider travelling back to Kotor, which by itself is already a wonderful destination.

If I would find myself back in the area, I wouldn’t even consider staying somewhere else but the Palazzo Drusko, which I just cannot recommend enough.

Trip report index

This article is part of the ‘An Adriatic Adventure: Off-Season Travel to Dubrovnik, Montenegro and a Bit of Bavaria‘ trip report, which consists of the following chapters:

1. Review: MasterCard Business Lounge Bucharest Otopeni Airport
2. Review: Aegean Airlines Economy Class Bucharest to Athens (Airbus A320)
3. Review: Aegean Business Lounge Athens Airport Hall A (Non-Schengen)
4. Review: Olympic Air Economy Class Athens to Dubrovnik (Bombardier Dash 8-400)
5. Review: Apartments Festa, Old Town of Dubrovnik
6. A Dubrovnik Winter Trip: Off-Season Travel Away from the Tourist Crowds
7. Review: Dubrovnik (Croatia) to Kotor (Montenegro) by Bus
8. Review: Palazzo Drusko Deluxe Rooms, Kotor, Montenegro (current chapter)
9. Kotor, Montenegro: Old Town Charm in Europe’s Most Spectacular Scenery
10. Cetinje – The Old Royal Capital of Montenegro
11. Review: Ramada by Wyndham Podgorica, Montenegro
12. Podgorica: Is the Capital of Montenegro Worth a Visit?
13. Review: Wizz Air Podgorica to Memmingen (Airbus A320)
14. Memmingen: More Than Just a Low-Cost Airport Close to Munich
15. The Bavaria Ticket: Unlimited Train Travel Across the German State of Bayern
16. Review: Michel Hotel Landshut, Bavaria, Germany
17. Landshut: Bavaria Off The Beaten Track
18. Review: Air France/KLM Lounge Munich Airport
19. Review: Air France Economy Class Munich to Paris CDG (Airbus A319)
20. Review: Air France Business Lounge Paris CDG Airport Terminal 2E – Hall L
21. Review: Air France Economy Class Paris CDG to Bucharest (Airbus A320)