by Even if you have never played a round of golf in your life, you will immediately sense that The Peaks is something very special as soon as you step onto the freshly laid green.
Montenegro’s first golf course is located on the Luštica peninsula and every hole has a view of the southern Adriatic Sea. This makes it one of the select international golf courses that have a view of the sea from every hole. As the sun sets, the black mountains that give the country its name emerge in their striking silhouette.
With warm weather all year round and a golf course with stunning views under construction, developer Orascom hopes to turn Montenegro’s coast into a golf destination for the whole family.
To accommodate second home owners seeking the ultimate door-to-golf experience, The Peaks will comprise a series of brand new hillside residential neighbourhoods. Apartments, townhouses and villas will be built between the golf courses, along with swimming pools and a social gathering place in the form of a clubhouse.
Currently under construction is Botanika, a neighborhood designed to blend into the natural landscape. Infinity pools and sunken fire pits will line the grounds of three- and four-bedroom villas measuring up to 440 square meters.
The 215 square metre townhouses have private pools and outdoor dining areas, while the apartments have access to a communal outdoor pool. The architectural style promises a contemporary take on traditional Montenegrin design, using local stone for the facades and featuring lush plantings.
The Peaks will be perched above Luštica Bay, an already established and thriving seaside resort. The Mediterranean-style apartments and the five-star hotel The Chedi will overlook a marina surrounded by shops, bars and restaurants. Buying a home in The Peaks will provide access to all the amenities of Luštica Bay, including private sandy beaches, the Kids Club and regular events along the promenade.
Since it is difficult for foreigners to get a mortgage in Montenegro, Orascom offers buyers at The Peaks a plan where they can pay in interest-free installments over four years.
As soon as the keys are available, the residents can also rent out their property to other holidaymakers through Luštica Bay’s own program and thus potentially earn a nice little extra income.
The course itself was designed by Gary Player, the gregarious professional golfer who still swings his clubs at 88. Aware that golf has a reputation for being thirsty and space-consuming, the developers are committed to developing this green space with care in mind, both in terms of water conservation and habitat protection. A golf academy will also offer free lessons to local youth at the country’s premier course.
Just two decades ago, the area was a largely uninhabited military training ground. Orascom has carefully planned every part of the larger project, which represents one of the largest new developments in Southeast Europe and is transforming a five-kilometer stretch of coastline.
Further inland lies Centrale, a deliberately laid out town with banks and a school, a central piazza and apartment complexes bordering green spaces, and streets where children can wander safely.
The tenth smallest country in the world, Montenegro has become a popular holiday destination, attracting travelers with incredible scenery and affordable luxury accommodation.
For those looking for more than just beaches and rounds of golf, The Peaks is a good base for day trips to the historic towns and islands clustered around the Bay of Kotor, also known as Boka Bay – Montenegro’s much warmer answer to the UNESCO-listed fjords of Norway.
There’s the medieval walled town of Kotor, where churches and mosques stand side by side in narrow streets where cats are so photogenic they have their own calendar. If you want to avoid the crowds of grockles that arrive during the day from the obscenely large cruise ships that dock at Kotor, you can climb the hundreds of steps lined with votive chapels and make an offering to Our Lady of Healing, built to save the town from the Black Death.
Accessible only by boat is the Church of Our Lady of the Rocks, built on an artificial island by seafaring Montenegrins to celebrate the safe return of sailors. Elaborately etched votive tablets made of silver and pewter commemorate stories of shipwreck survivors, attributed to the intervention of Our Lady herself.
While the sandy beaches and cultural attractions are popular in summer, the opening of the Peaks could boost off-season tourism in Montenegro – the most favourable temperatures for a round of golf are outside of the high season from July to August, when temperatures can reach up to 39 degrees Celsius.
With direct flights from London to Tivat in under three hours, it is a tempting property opportunity for beach lovers, golf fanatics and golf enthusiasts. Watch out!
