Villa Miela offers unique experiences to enjoy an escape in nature at Lake Skadar National Park with a small group of like-minded guests.

Rooms

A beautifully renovated stone villa with swimming pool, Villa Miela was a ruin when we first stumbled upon it in 2008. We spent nearly three years restoring the Old House and then added the New House in 2015.

The first guests came to stay in 2011 and the villa has been operating sustainably ever since as an independently run ecolodge – building up some of the best reviews in the area on TripAdvisor and chosen as the Lonely Planet’s “Top Choice” of places to stay in Virpazar.

We call this a lake retreat because the incredible natural beauty and wildlife found here creates a sense of total relaxation and detox from the modern world. Villa Miela’s panoramic views and prime location offer easy access to Lake Skadar’s southern and northern shores as well as Virpazar’s restaurants and shops.

It’s exclusively for guests on our Lake Skadar activity holidays and retreats and ideal for families, couples, solos and small groups. It’s your chance to enjoy the wilds, while still enjoying creature comforts like a comfy bed, cosy sun-lounger or A/C.

Facilities

Both the Old House and the New House have their own kitchen and living room but are considered part of the same "campus", with all villa guests encouraged to move freely between both buildings. There are multiple terraces for catching the sun (and hiding from it), a salt-water swimming pool, a shaded yoga deck that is also a great place for chilling in a hammock and even a boules court at the bottom of the garden. There is a table-tennis table in the New House and both buildings have fast WiFi. There are also fresh figs, plums, quince, mulberries and walnuts to be picked off the trees depending on the season!

Villa Miela also provides mountain bikes and kayaks for use on activity days, and there are three retreat vehicles which our staff will use to drive you on activity days or even just down to the village of Virpazar for dinner.

At a glance

• Four guest bedrooms with private bathroom

• Three guest bedrooms with shared bathroom

• Air-conditioning in all bedrooms

• Swimming pool and orchard gardens

• Shared guest kitchen, living room with TV, DVD and book library

• Free WIFI

• Table tennis table

• Incredible mountain/lake views

• Farmhouse breakfast service

• Large terraces with gas barbecue, sun-loungers

• Yoga/chill deck with hammocks

• Boules court

• Two minute drive or 20 minute walk to the lake shore

• 30 minutes from the coast

• Mountain bikes and kayaks

Villa Miela sits in glorious isolation 1.5km up the road from the village Virpazar, over-looking the fort of Besac. However, it's also only a 25 minute taxi ride from Podgorica Airport and the Adriatic coast can be reached in 25 minutes in the other direction. Tivat Airport is 1hr and 15 minutes away. Virpazar is additionally served by both train and bus whether you're coming from Podgorica or Bar, on the coast.

Virpazar is the gateway to Lake Skadar National Park, a RAMSAR wetland of International Importance and a UNESCO protected Biosphere, and is home to several restaurants and bars serving traditional Montenegrin cuisine. 90% of all our retreat activity days take place no more than a 45 minute car ride away and many can be reached within 15 minutes. There is nowhere in Montenegro that can offer so much variety in such a compact area! Kayaking, stand-up paddle boarding, canyoning, hiking, wild-swimming, waterfall-chasing, wine-tasting and boat trips are all on the menu, each backed up by a series of ever more staggering vistas.

Ben and Emma Heywood are the adventure-loving husband and wife who own and run Villa Miela.

"Having visited more than 60 countries worldwide we’re not easy to impress, but when we landed in Montenegro in 2008 as frivolous travellers without kids, this beautiful country stopped us in our tracks. Its jagged mountains dotted with blue and green lakes could easily be mistaken for the Canadian Rockies while miles of unspoiled wilderness resemble an African game reserve. That first trip planted a seed that became Villa Miela; our children were born and raised here, we learned the local language - we became proper Crnogorski.

Like our family, the travel company we began at the villa has expanded in recent years but we still pride ourselves on being a small, independent business. We personally handle all enquiries and reservations, assisted on the ground by our brilliant villa team. When you book a retreat with us, you’re also officially part of our ever expanding Balkan family and as a family, we take care of one another. That’s why a percentage of our takings go back to the communities we work with. You can learn more about that here."

We look forward to welcoming you to Montenegro!

Your Hosts