bodhijack

4 nights in june. metropole $690, silvio $432. both lakeview with balcony. per silvio "800 meters to bellagio center". that is less than 1/2 mile. we will have a car if walk is too tedious or for going to town at night. 2 posters say it is a 10-15 minute "pleasant" walk. the question is: is it worth saving $250 by staying at silvio, or conversely, is the metropole location worth the extra $250?

Neopolitan

Our hotel (DuLac) refused to allow us to walk to Silvio where we had a dinner reservation. The said it was dangerous. When we went through the narrow tunnel in the taxi and saw how it was on a blind curve, we couldn't imagine how a person could survive if he happened to be walking through at the same time a car happened to come around the corner and fly through it. We could have driven our car, but instead we left it parked in a private garage for our whole stay, finding a parking place would have been more difficult that just taking a taxi.

Our meal at Silvio was wonderful, but I personally wouldn't stay there. We liked being "in the center" where we walked in and out of our hotel a lot. That's why this summer we're staying at the Metropole with a room that literally "hangs over" the lake and has a balcony.
We'll probably go to Silvios one night for dinner. It was very nice.

Neopolitan

Oh and by the way, to each his own, but I've never considered walking on a very busy road with no sidewalks "a pleasant walk". Period.

bodhijack

thanks neopolitan! we,too,have a "lake-front balcony" room at the metropole in june. do they all "hang over" the lake, or should we ask for a special room?

nessundorma

Funny, but I forgot all about that tunnel. All I remember was how hot it was walking up that hill. And it was defintely longer than 15 minutes from the center of Bellagio.

Jean

Definitely stay in Bellagio. But why the Metropole? Is it that vision of the lake literally under your window? I suppose that sounds romantic, but I found the Metropole a bit more shabby than chic. I much prefer the Florence for about the same rate.

Neopolitan

I was going to stay at the Florence. Yes, it is very pretty, but for a room facing the lake with a balcony it is about half again as much as one at the Metropole and more importantly -- the Florence has no air conditioning.
Incidentally the rooms at the Metropole were all redone in the last year or two.
Yes the lakeFRONT rooms at the Metropole do literally hang over the water, and there is no traffic (vehicular or pedestrian) below your windows or balcony.

alison

i didn't think the metropole had air conditioning. check their website; nothing there (that I saw) about a/c. but the terraces do sound wonderful!

Ralstonlan

We stayed at the Florence at the end of August and had a gorgeous room overlooking the lake. There was always a breeze off the lake and we never found the need for air conditionong. It is the second time we have stayed there and would not hesitate to stay there again.

Neopolitan

You are right. There is no AC at the Metropole either. I guess what I was saying was that if I'm going to pay 50% more for my room, then I really want AC.
When we stayed at Du Lac which was actually in September, we were quite glad we had AC as it was pretty humid that week. We visited the Florence, and while it was lovely, it felt very "stuffy" humidity and heat wise even in the lobby. We talked about it with a nice clerk there who said that the rooms were cooler with the windows open. But since those windows look right out into the streeet with both kinds of traffic below, I wasn't so sure how that would work out at say 7 AM when I might still be trying to sleep. I'm hoping that with large French doors opening from my room right up to the actual lake, the lack of AC won't be a problem.

BTilke

I've stayed at the Florence in a room over the street (for a lake view) during a busy week-end and at 7 am in didn't strike me as particularly noisy. A few Italians talking to each other, some minor getting-the-day-started noise, but it wasn't raucous. I did get a very good breeze in my room and didn't wish for AC; however, when I was up the road a bit in Lugano in 2003, during the heat wave, the lack of AC was a real problem. Lake Como is known for its evening breeze, though.

Traviata

Neopolitan,

You are right in saying "there is no traffic (vehicular or pedestrian) below your windows", but..there is the ferry landing....we stayed at the Metropole several years ago when it was "shabby", but not "chic"...I recall the ferry stopping very close by our TEENY balcony...this was not a problem for me as I was up at the crack of dawn to watch Bellagio come to life..I sat on that TEENY balcony and enjoyed watching the locals board the ferry on their way to work...I would check soundproofing if you think that chug, chug, chugging would be an issue...likely in the renovation, this would be resolved, but I would want to know...

TNTraveler

Do not stay at teh Silvio! Horrible hard as rock beds and way too out of the way!!!!! It was one of the worst places we have ever stayed.

bodhijack

thank you all for your input. i think we will stick to the metropole because we want to be on the lake and in-town. the florence is appreciably more expensive. re silvio, it w/b nice to save the $$$, but it seems way out of town..........

europhile

Just wanted to say that I specifically asked the Metropole whether they had air conditioning in the rooms (we're considering it for this June, too), and they said yes. Maybe this was recently added? I don't know. Does one generally need AC in June? I can understand July/August, but maybe it's better in June.

Neopolitan

Very interesting. I have just sent an email to the Metropole asking them to confirm whether there is or is not air-conditioning.

Frankly, I'm not so worried about it in June, especially with a room that totally opens up to the lake. I can't imagine that those cold lake temperatures and an always present breeze from the lake wouldn't take care of the room in all but the absolute worst of heat waves.

Maddy

My understanding from a conversation just a few weeks ago with the Metropole is that only the terrace rooms have air conditioning. All others have a fan.

And if there is a heatwave, yes you will need air conditioning. I was in Bellagio during the heatwave in 2003 and it was extremely hot and humid. The only time the lake made it feel cooler was when I was on the ferry. Walking around Bellagio and Varenna during those couple of days was pretty brutal.

europhile

That makes sense with what they told me because we are considering a terrace room. I think I will go ahead and book it. It looks like a great location.

jabez

Three years ago we were there during June and one of Europe's greatest heat waves. Our room (on the lake) was really never hot. The evenings even needed a light blanket. The only negative was the haze altered much of the mountain views.
The place we stayed at (LaPergola) was (IMO) nicer than Silvio's and the rooms nicer than Metropole's(we checked out them rooms while there),but Metropole's location is better.No matter what,I think that staying at Bellagio "demands" a lake view room.

Neopolitan

Maddy, during that unusual heat wave, did it stay hot and miserable at night? It was quite warm when we were there during the day, but at night we had to close our doors as it got fairly chilly -- and we were at Du Lac, back from the water and it had air conditioning, which we turned off at night. I remember leaving a restaurant briefly to run back to our room and get sweaters as we were sitting outside at night on a day when it had been in the 80s during the day. I'm not too concerned with the daytime as I doubt we'd be sitting in our room much during the day.