Hotel Haus Freiburg in Ulcinj

Hotel Haus Freiburg sits on a hill above Ulcinj on Montenegro's southern coast, looking out over the sea and surrounding pine forest. Its setting in a quiet residential area keeps it away from the crowds and noise of the town centre, while the nearest beach is about a ten-minute walk downhill. This particular listing is a one-bedroom room for two guests, with one bed and a private bathroom — a straightforward fit for couples or a pair of friends using Ulcinj as a base for the beaches and old town. Rooms come with a balcony or terrace facing the sea, air conditioning, digital satellite television, Wi-Fi, a minibar and private parking. On site, an outdoor pool occupies a sunny terrace where staff serve cocktails and pizzas, and the restaurant offers international dishes — fish, meat, vegetarian plates, pizza, pasta and desserts — with half-board and à la carte options.

About the area

Pine woods cover the hill at Pinješ, and the air is the first thing most guests notice — resinous, a little cooler than the seafront, and free of the traffic noise that collects along the coast road below. This is a quiet residential quarter of villas and gardens on the slope above the water, with sea views over the treetops and a ten-minute walk down to the nearest beach. Ulcinj's mild, dry climate and its pine cover have long given the town a reputation as an easy place to breathe, and this hillside is where that reputation comes from.

The walk down leads to the harbour, Mala plaža and the lanes climbing into the fortified Old Town, two thousand years of walls above the sea with viewpoints looking south along the sand. North along the coast the road runs to Valdanos, a sheltered bay wrapped in one of the largest old olive groves on the Adriatic, and on to the small pebble beaches at Kruče and Utjeha. South, Velika plaža starts a few kilometres out of town — twelve kilometres of dark sand with the salt-pan lagoons and their flamingos behind it, and the Bojana river and Ada Bojana at the far end. Spring and October here are warm, green and almost empty.