My wife and I are considering where to stay in Bellagio. We've narrowed it down to either the Hotel Du Lac or the Hotel Belvedere. We know it's hillside vs. lakeside. Would appreciate input from anyone whose stayed at either location.

There are a ton of reports on both hotels - - generally favorable. I think you can search "lac" or "belvedere" (one at a time - - single word searches work best here).<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

We stayed at Hotel Belevedere last May and loved it. The view was breathtaking from our terrace and it was just a short walk into town. The breakfast was outstanding but the dinner was just so-so.<BR>Have a great time.<BR><BR>

I totally agree with Carol about the Belvedere (including her comments the dining there). The view is indeed magnificent. Ask for a lakeside room on an upper floor.<BR>I wouldn't be too concerned about the average dining experience there. For restaurants, I recommend Bilacus on Salita Serbelloni 30/32. It's between the hotel and the waterfront. Sit in the outdoor area.

PS: One of the best things about the Belvedere is its helpful, friendly and competent staff.

We stayed at the Belvedere in 1997 and absolutely loved it. Our room was wonderful. We also enjoyed being at the top of the hill with a beautiful vista. An advantage to that is you eliminate the noise from the town below. <BR><BR>Our room was on the 1st floor (in US terms it would be the 2nd floor, one above ground). These rooms had huge patios instead of smaller balconies. We loved that! It is a bit of a hike up to the hotel from the main street of Bellagio, but it's worth it in my opinion for the view (keep in mind that your view will not be of Bellagio, but will be of the town on the opposite side of the penninsula - I forget the name, but it is still picturesque).

Forgot to mention in my previous email...I agree with Howard that Ristorante Bilacus is excellent. If you'd like to see some photos of our trip to Bellagio, they are at www.lunadesigns.com/travels/.

topping<BR>

We just booked into the Hotel Belvedere for our trip to Bellagio as well. Just to let you know, they give you a 5% discount for paying by cash or traveller's cheques. That could add up to say, a "free meal" depending on how long you are there.

Another vote for the Belvedere.<BR>

I had a bit of trouble trying to get a firm commitment from the Belvedere what kind of room I'd have. We are going the end of August so knew that it will be full occupancy and not much choice once we get there. I made requests of specific types based on the posts like those above, but they wouldn't go beyond saying it would be a "deluxe" room or something like that. I also received a comment from someone who had a problem with the walk back to the hotel at night being very dark. The women even stepped in a hole or off the path or something and had a sprained ankle for the trip. I'm not sure that this is really an issue or not, however. We booked for this summer at Du Lac as they guaranteed us a top floor room facing the lake with balcony. We'll see if we made the right decision.

Sorry forgot to mention that one of my concerns about specific type of room at the Belvedere was that one person mentioned they were on the first (second?) floor but faced right into trees so that they really never had a view at all. I was trying to assure myself that if I were going to stay up on the hill that I'd really have a nice view, but couldn't get an answer from the hotel.

We loved Hotel du Lac. Our room overlooked the lake and was lovely. The staff couldn't have been nicer and the restaurant was wonderful, elegant and inexpensive.

Patrick, if my memory is serving me correctly, I don't believe you'd have a problem with trees blocking your view of the lake. even if you were on the lowest floor of the Belvedere.

Have been to Bellagio, but didn't stay at either hotel. Wherever you stay, please note, that if you choose a room that overlooks the main street that runs along the lake or the side streets that feed it it will be noisy at nigh and in the morning. Italians are night owls. We stayed at Hotel Florence. We could not sleep at night. People were up late sitting at the lakeside cafes and strolling the streets. Very early the next morning cars and motorcycles were making their way along the front street to catch the ferry. The noise was terrible. By the way, always keep a ferry schedule with you. We visited Lugano one day and returned late in the evening to find that we missed the ferry by seconds. We drove to the next town and waited for an hour for the next one. Lugano is a great lakeside town. It is much livlier than Bellagio. It's nice to visit for a change of pace. Also, have dinner at the lakeside restauranct at Hotel Florence. It is probably, the most romatic dinner I have ever had.