Our Lake Skadar Activity Base
Welcome to Villa Miela
Villa Miela is the activity base for our media-acclaimed hosted activity holidays at Lake Skadar National Park. A beautifully renovated farmhouse with swimming pool, owned and operated by us, it is the best reviewed holiday accommodation in the area on TripAdvisor and the Lonely Planet’s “Top Choice” of places to stay.
Exclusively for our activity holiday guests, it has panoramic views and a prime location offering easy access to the lake’s southern and northern shores as well as Virpazar’s restaurants and shops. Villa Miela is ideal for families, couples and small groups. Make new friends as you share the facilities or take over the whole complex if your group numbers six or more (a supplement may be charged)!
Rudolf Abraham, award-winning travel writer & photographer, writes: “I can genuinely say there’s nowhere I’d rather stay in this beautiful little corner of Europe than at Villa Miela. Emma and Ben are fantastic hosts, the villa is gorgeous, and Lake Skadar and its surroundings really do offer some of the most gob-smackingly beautiful scenery this country has to offer. This is Montenegro at its very best.”
Please note: we do not offer accommodation-only stays – Villa Miela is the base for our lake activity holidays.
At a glance
- Sleeps 8-10 with 2 double, one twin and one 4-bed dorm room, each with private bathroom
- Shared guest kitchen and open-plan living room with TV, DVD and book library
- Swimming pool and orchard gardens
- Free WIFI
- Incredible views over lake, valley and mountains
- Large terrace with gas barbecue, sun-loungers, hammocks
- Boules court
- Two minute drive or 20 minute walk to the lake shore
- 30 minutes from the coast
- Free use of mountain bikes
- Exclusively for our activity holiday guests
Traditional charm
We spent two years renovating this centuries-old farmhouse and adapting it for modern life, completing the project in 2010. Local people tell us a famous Orthodox saint by the name of Sveti Stefan Stiljanović was born at our villa. It’s certainly fit for a saint now! Be charmed by original character features like metre thick stone walls to keep you cool in the Mediterranean summer, or the stone archway downstairs, once used for fermenting wine and hanging smoked hams.
Modern comforts
With four tastefully decorated bedrooms (each with private bathroom), Villa Miela can sleep up to 10. Exposed stone details and wooden ceilings and floors add to the charm, with locally produced, handmade bedspreads and bathroom soaps also handmade from olive oil. Stunning views are offered up by each bedroom and the open-plan living area. The modern kitchen comes equipped with washing machine and dishwasher and the villa also has free WIFI access.
Amazing views
The villa’s 40 square metre terrace is perfect for dining, sunbathing, reading a book or even spotting eagles hunting on the rocky outcrop above. The panoramic views take in the coastal mountain ranges of Sutorman, Bješkeza and Lokvica, the historic fortress of Besac, Crmnica Valley (one of Montenegro’s most famous wine-producing regions) as well as the lakeside village of Virpazar and the lake itself beyond.
Surrounded by nature
Relax on the sunloungers and drink in the views over the forested hillside! Beyond the terrace, you will find extensive grounds, ideal for kids and adults alike to explore! Discover Villa Miela’s natural spring for a refreshing drink, find wild tortoises in the garden and walk around our orchard where you can pick figs, plums, cherries, mulberries pomegranates and walnuts right off the trees (depending on the season).
A great place to chill out
Enjoy the amazing views from Villa Miela’s swimming pool! It is quite simply the perfect place to relax after an adventure in the National Park or on a day free of activities. Grab a sun-lounger and listen to the best soundtrack this planet can offer – the sounds of nature, the cicadas chirping and the bird-song which emanates from all those trees around us. Temperatures are ideal for outdoor swimming from May through to September.
Idyllic location inside the National Park
Villa Miela is located in a gorgeous spot, clinging to Mount Sutorman in the middle of the picture above. Due to the natural flooding phenomenon Lake Skadar experiences every winter, expanding its borders by some 200 square kms, most properties here are located up in the hills. The lake itself is within easy reach, with central lakeside village Virpazar, its bars, restaurants and shops just a two minute drive, five minute cycle or 20 minute walk away. Villa Miela is also a mere 30 minute drive to the coastal resorts of Bar and Petrovac, 45 minutes from Budva and 1 hour 5 mins from Kotor. It’s also just two hours from the skiing resort of Kolašin.