Lake Como Accommodations
 

Ok, I guess I probably can't stay in Bellagio by default as the poster Jean pointed out. I looked quickly online on the suggestions on Tripadvisor and on this forum and things seem pretty booked up for early Sept. (I've not called the hotels directly).

On Venere it looks like I can still book Il Perlo Panorama. It looks like a poster here (Michael) has stayed here. I'm hesitant because it's 3km out of town. I won't have a car. Could you comment?

Could someone quickly provide a list of backup options? Stay in a different town, etc.?

Normally I'm more prepared but I've waited too long and don't have much time to do all the research required.

Thanks!

On Venere there is also a choice for "Lake Como" which includes a lot of towns on the lake. What are your dates exactly?

Could you please tell us why you "can't stay in Bellagio by default."

Thinking of probably Sept. 2-4.

I can't stay in Bellagio by default because it looks like the most popular hotels are booked.

But I'm planning to call in the morning. Also after looking some more, I've found a few options in Bellagio, but the Tripadvisor reviews are not the best.

Surprisingly, Hotel du Lac has availability. I've booked a room with a lake view at 190 euros for now.

Maybe I can look around more. Cancellation is 14 days.

Ok, called Metropole and booked via e-mail at 144 euros a night.

What's the half-board option, by the way? They offer that for 30 more euros, which I didn't take. I assume that's lunch or something? Anyway I doubt it makes sense since my arrival the first day will be late.

Thanks!

Half board commits you to eating dinner at the hotel. The cost is usually exclusive of wine. If the hotel prides itself on its kitchen, and many do (or is the only hotel in town) it's a good option. In Bellagio, you'll have other options, and if you'd rather eat at the hotel once you see the menu and space, you can.

That seems awfully cheap, no? I mean 30 euros extra for dinner? Or is this that per person?

The e-mail reads "Euro 144,00 per night per room including breakfast or Euro 174,00 including half board."

So sounds like I can opt for dinner for 30 euros for two.

I guess if I want I can tell them I only need half board for night #2 if I don't get in early enough for night #1.

Thanks!

I suspect its per person, and it is cheap (even per person) for Bellagio. You might find you get a limited menu. That sometimes happens.

People will disagree, my experience of Bellagio and that general area of Lago di Como is that the food is not fantastic. I wouldn't invest a lot in finding the "best" restaurant. If you like the view from the restaurant, or enjoy the pleasure of just walking upstairs after dinner, go for it. But I would think you can add it on there. E-mail them and ask.

Thanks. I'll follow up with them once I finalize all my hotels and itinerary. There's a lot I need to do.

By the way, in case people are curious, Belvedere didn't have availability as of this morning. So they are probably the most popular.

I didn't try Florence that's been recommended here. I figured that Metropole will be fine. They promised a front lake view.

I agree with fall06 about the food in Bellagio. Very disappointing almost everywhere we went. Unbelievably, the best place we found was a tiny pizzeria tucked away on a small pedestrian street between town the Hotel Belvedere.

We've never been disappointed with any of our many meals at Bilacus in Bellagio. Dining on their outdoor terrace on a warm summer evening is one my favorite memories. (Reservations recommended; your hotel can call for you.) The restaurant at the Florence Hotel is also pretty good but a bit more formal.

111op, the Metropole is fine. I wouldn't go for the half-board because I don't like to be locked into a pre-paid dinner unless I've been to the place before.

The Hotel Florence is nicer, more expensive and always my first choice. The du Lac in Bellagio would be in the same category as the Florence.

Did you look in Varenna? I can recommend the Hotel du Lac (Varenna). It has a terrace with gorgeous views of the lake. The breakfast room has the same view.

Not too many stay at Il Perlo because of the distance from town, but the walk is very pleasant and Il Perlo's location is very quiet and uncrowded. You'd have to cab there from the Bellagio ferry dock.

The Hotel Belvedere is an uphill walk from the ferry landing. With luggage and a late-ish arrival, you'd probably want to cab there from the Bellagio ferry dock.

We tried to stay in the Hotel Milano which Rick Steve's recommends but our reservation got screwed up in the process of international faxing. They found a room for us in the Villa Cipresi which was more expensive but gorgeous.

---

Chris Christensen
Amateur Traveler podcast
http://AmateurTraveler.com

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll stick to Metropole for now. There're a lot of things I need to do -- like book plane tickets. :-)

I didn't look in Varenna because I figured that I'll be there for two days, so probably Bellagio is a bigger town and has more to do.

I'll keep Bilacus in mind. Thanks!

111op: I saw your post mentioning The Belvedere had no vacancy during your stay. Well, at least they were upfront about it. My husband and I were booked to stay at the Hotel Belvedere for 4 nights in 2004. Having CONFIRMED reservations made months in advance and having RE-CONFIRMED a few days before arrival, we arrived after 10 hours of travel from Switzerland (2 trains, and a ferry) to have the woman at the front desk tell us there were no rooms available due to some car race taking place that week, that year. Since she couldn't guarantee when a room would become available, she had booked us into another hotel (I can't remember the name). Can you believe this b.s.? What is a reservation for then? Further, she felt we should be happy because this other hotel was much cheaper. We were then taken to the other hotel which was way inferior - the room was tiny and the lake view was only partial over many old rooftops. After telling her in no uncertain terms how upset I was, we were finally moved back to her hotel the next morning. There was room after all and she upgraded us to a superior room with a bigger balcony. Great hotel and fantastic view. We couldn't get enought of it. The remaining 3 days were wonderful! But buyer beware!

Wow, that's quite a story.

I've never had a hotel renege like that. Also I've not had a hotel charge my card after I've cancelled. I'm always fearing that this will happen some day.

Metropole seems to be very nice based on my dealings with them. E-mails are courteously and promptly answered. That's partly why I think that I'll stick with them rather than spend more time looking at something else. Plus they're 46 euros cheaper than Hotel du Lac.

The Metropole sounds like a plan to me! You will have a wonderful time in Bellagio. The people are very nice and the lake and towns absolutely awesome. Don't forget to visit the villas...We visited Villa Balbianello and Villa Melzi which have beautiful gardens and overlook the lake. BTW, we never opt for half-board because we like to have the freedom to try different restaurants. Have a great trip!

It looks like the Metropole Bellagio is getting good press.

Makes me happy! I booked there for seven nights next May (2008).

I tend to ask a lot of questions in my e-mails and the Metropole staff answered everyone of them - politely and quickly.

Right now, I am satisfied with my decision to stay at the Metropole.

111op, I hope to hear about your stay at this hotel when you return. Have a great trip!

Great, thanks. I'll report back.

I've booked all of my plane tickets as well, but I still have a lot of more hotels and potentially train tickets to book.

Ok, it looks like Metropole has no a/c, but I've not asked them specifically. What's the weather like there in early Sept.? Will this be a problem?

Thanks!

We were in Bellagio from Sept 8th to the 12th. Although the weather wasn't hot, hot like August in NJ, we did need the a/c in our room. It would have been uncomfortable without it. I remember the tempeature was a pleasant high 70's to low/mid 80's in the day, with slightly cooler at night. That's a/c weather for us here in NJ but I don't know how it is in your area. I find the website weather underground .com very useful because you can look up not only the current temperature but also what the temperature was during previous years. Hope this helps!

Thanks. I think I'd want a/c also. But I'll check with my mom to see if she can do without. I'm in NYC, and it's been very hot and I've been leaving my a/c on.

111op, Maybe EVERY room in the Metropole doesn't have A/C because this is how my room rate quote is worded from the hotel:

"If you wish, we can offer you a room with terrace (every room's got its own terrace, separated from the others) and front lake view including breakfast. This kind of room has got air-con."

The previous room rate quote was for a room with a balcony - not a terrace.

(I would never have booked a room without A/C. We have been in Italy twice in May and needed to have the room air-conditioned.)

Maybe you can ask the Metropole if they have an air-conditioned room for you and your mom.

I may be wrong, but I thought the Hotel Florence, lovely and a great location, does not have A/C.

Ah, I guess that's it:

"double room with front lake view and balcony from [] to [](2 nights) at the price of Euro 144,00 per night per room including buffet breakfast."

So I guess this one must not have a/c.

I'll e-mail them back and see if they can confirm this.

I got the impression that they don't have a/c because I checked the website and they don't mention a/c. Also someone on Tripadvisor complained there was no a/c.

But sounds like some rooms do have a/c, so let me ask them how much it is.

Thanks!

By the way, can someone comment on the code for taxis? What is that exactly? It seems really curious.

Thanks.

last september we booked last minute, and ended up with one night in Belagio and 5 nights in Verenna. We really preferred Verenna (spelling may not be right) since there were about 90% less tourists! We had a lovely hotel on the lake, with a deck to swim from..I think it was Hotel del Lago. Enjoy!

111op & i_am_kane,

If a room with a terrace is available at tne Metropole (and if you can afford it, of course)I would grab it. The extra space it gives you is well worth the extra cost in my opinion.

If you've checked out the Metropole's reviews on TripAdvisor you might have seen my photos already, but here's a link just in case;

http://tinyurl.com/2bgjxm

And here's a link to my trip report here on Fodors which includes more information;

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34598121

Jim

Thanks Jim. I read your review quickly. Interesting how inflation has made prices creep up. So you paid 110 euros? But sounds like you were there in low season -- April 2005?

I've been absolutely stunned by how high Venice hotel prices are. I still haven't booked anything, but I can't seem to find anything decent under 150 euros.

Hello 111op, Il Perlo Panorama is quite a walk, I would not have walked that road to town. The hotel was nice though and I believe they did have a car that would take you to town and pick you up. The hosts (at Il Perlo Panorama) are very friendly and informative, I would ask them if they have any ideas for you. Good luck, we were there last year and had a very nice time. Shirley, Waukesha

Just returned from Bellagio (2 weeks ago)and stayed at the Belvedere. It was cold and needde jackets and sweaters not A/C. But we loved Bellagio. However, I must garee the food was fair even at Bilacus and Barchetta supposedly the "best" restaurants there.

Jim,

Yes, I saw your photo of the terrace on tripadvisor, and that's what convinced me to book a room with the terrace.

I was told by the hotel that there are only five rooms with a terrace.

Did you have A/C in your room, because I can't remember your comments.

I was at Lake Como last year and stayed at the Hotel du Lac in Varenna and loved it. Overall, I enjoyed staying in Varenna over Bellagio. In Bellagio, our favorite restaurant was Bilacus.

A note: Just because a hotel says they have air conditioning doesn't mean it's available. Depending on the time of year, they may have heat, they may have air-con, or neither.

luvtotravel,

You wrote "A note: Just because a hotel says they have air conditioning doesn't mean it's available."

I can attest to that! We were staying at the Capo di Monte in Sorrento, Italy and it was a heatwave in May reaching almost 90 degrees.

This is a lovely 4-star hotel that has A/C. They would not or could not turn the A/C on because it had not been serviced for the season.

The hotel provided a table fan, and the room was still unbearable. I remember tossing and turning all night, leaving the patio doors open, which meant listening to the vespas flying up and down Via Capo all night.

111op & i_am_kane,

To be honest I couldn't remember whether our room had a/c or not - we were there very early in the season, though (the first weekend in April) so it wasn't really an issue.

I've had a look through some of my photos, however, and I've noticed what appears to be an a/c unit on the outside wall of our room on the terrace so I suppose it did have a/c.

Only the rooms on the first floor have terraces - one of my TripAdvisor photos (see my link above) has a view of the hotel from the lake & you can see that the terraces are actually laid across the roof of the hotel restaurant. My recollection is that the rooms at each end of the first floor (as you look from the lake) had slightly smaller terraces than those in between, although I couldn't swear to that.

If it's any help we had room 110 which had a full size terrace - I <i>think</i> it's the one 2nd from the right in my picture.

Jim

Thanks. Metropole wrote back to say the room I booked has no a/c.

There're four rooms there with a/c. I was told that the one I booked has electric fans. I think it should be fine and I told them to keep me posted.