Horrible histories

I recently met a journalist incensed about Banyan Tree’s debut European hotel. Just opened for its first full season, Montenegro’s Mamula Island is a former islet fort, reimagined for five-star escapism, moated by Unesco-listed Kotor Bay. Lovely. There’s just one thing: the fort was an infamous political prison under Mussolini. Around 130 people died there. Banyan Tree hadn’t acknowledged this, the journalist raged.

Certainly, there was no mention in the launch release on 30 June. I contacted Samantha Strawford of agency Pepper & Seed, which handles the group’s UK press. “While this information isn’t in the release because that focuses on what’s new, it is readily available and the history is respected throughout the property and integrated into the guest experience,” she said. A precondition of the hotel was a memorial museum and access granted annually to local residents. Strawford called the hotel a “regeneration… [which] honours the island’s complex history and generates jobs for the local community”.

Scratch most surfaces in Europe and you’ll uncover history at odds with tourism’s vibes. How do you handle this? Respectful prose or keep stum and hope no one notices? For me, it depends on why you visit somewhere. If the appeal is historical I’d expect a mention. “We let you out in the morning,” managers joked when I stayed in Colditz Castle youth hostel. But you’ll search in vain for references to a brutal World War II prison camp on Croatia’s Pag island. Why would anyone include them? Pag is visited primarily for pipsqueak resorts and beach clubs.

Little tarnishes a luxury launch like mention of murder, so it’s unsurprising Banyan Tree glossed over things in publicity. If I’d been writing about Mamula Island from its press release, the onus toresearch was mine. Yet I would’ve appreciated a heads-up if I’d initiated contact with the agency, just to mitigate any potential pile-on from readers. I expect any reference in copy would’ve been limited to “former World War II prison” – what more is there to say in a hotel story? – but my respect for the PR would’ve soared. For what it’s worth, I think Pepper & Seed got this spot on. Strawford’s response was pitch-perfect and journalists on a trip in early June were told about the museum.

It turned out my raging journalist was against a hotel on Mamula Island period. I wholly disagreed – what else do you do with such places except hotels or private residences? That debate, however, is not your problem.