Lake Como Dilemma
 

Any comments regarding 3/4 star hotels and advantages of location of Bellagio, Menaggio or Varenna.

Indeed it is a good dilemma. All of those sites are nice. If you want more of everything (shops, tours, hotels, restaurants, people) you probably want to go to Bellagio. If you want a little more peace and quiet, and a little less of all those other things, try Varenna--though in the past couple of years it too has begun to be invaded by tourists. In my mind, Menaggio might as well be Bellagio without the plusher ambience; so go there if you want to see that part of Lake Como. From Menaggio, you can of course get a boat over to Bellagio if you wish.

We stayed last year at the Grand Victoria in Menaggio that was very nice.<BR>Old Grand Hotel luxury was available at the Hotel Serbelloni in Bellagio. Good luck it is beautiful.

Isabella: Go to the top of the Fodor's page. Find the little window lables "text search". Type in "Lake Como". Go to the right side of the page and click on "Find". You will get more posts than you can digest; much of it recent; mine own included. When you have read everything on Lake Como, repeat the procedure using "Bellagio". Then, again, using "Varenna", etc. Good luck.

We just booked the Bella Vista in Menaggio for 3 nights in August. Looks nice to me. I hope I'm right.

THe Bellavista Hotel in Menaggio has a terrific location, right on the water, with a lovely restaurant and swimming pool. The primary drawback is that it lacks air conditioning, which is a real handicap in August. Be prepared to sleep in the buff (or nearly so).

Whichever hotel you decide on, you must make sure to include a drive along the lake to have dinner at one of the most incredible restaraunts I've encountered (trust me on this one - I've dined at enough michelin-starred restaraunts). It's called the Trattoria del Porto, and it's a tiny little mom&pop restaraunt right on the lake. It's rather difficult to find (we drove by it twice!) but well worth it. It's in Careno, which is just south of Bellagio, their tel. number is 031 910 195. Go there! It doesn't seat very many, but it's memorable, especially on a warm night, when you can sit on the patio overlooking the lake. Make sure to ask for a tour of the chapel (it's the most romantic thing I've ever come across- it's small and very old, but very charming). <BR>I've been to Il Gato Nero in Bellagio (which is a lovely town) for dinner. It's quite nice, although there were a lot of loud tourists.<BR>Have a wonderful time there!

Whichever hotel you decide on, you must make sure to include a drive along the lake to have dinner at one of the most incredible restaraunts I've encountered (trust me on this one - I've dined at enough michelin-starred restaraunts). It's called the Trattoria del Porto, and it's a tiny little mom&pop restaraunt right on the lake. It's rather difficult to find (we drove by it twice!) but well worth it. It's in Careno, which is just south of Bellagio, their tel. number is 031 910 195. Go there! It doesn't seat very many, but it's memorable, especially on a warm night, when you can sit on the patio overlooking the lake. Make sure to ask for a tour of the chapel (it's the most romantic thing I've ever come across- it's small and very old, but very charming). <BR>I've been to Il Gato Nero in Bellagio (which is a lovely town) for dinner. It's quite nice, although there were a lot of loud tourists.<BR>Have a wonderful time there!

Many thanks to everyone for assistance. I'm new to forum and I'm amazed at the wealth of information and generosity of participants. I'm still somewhat undecided in staying at Grand Hotel Serbelloni in Bellagio vs. Villa D'Este<BR>Am Ex platinum program is 480 euros at Servelloni vs. 900 euros at Villa D' Este and neither are lake views. I'm hoping to be upgraded per program. Also the Gran Victoria in Menaggio has received great reviews. Any recent visits to these hotels...sorry but staying at a historic hotel with ambience & amenities is important to us.

Add the Grand Hotel Tremezzo to your list at about $200--good luck !

I can only comment on Villa d'Este, as we stayed there last year, but it was the most beautiful, fairy tale experience I've ever had. We stayed at the beginning of the season and we had a lake view room for about $375, so you might just want to see what the rate without the program is. The hotel is gorgeous, not huge, so it feels very personal, the terrace was addictive to read and have a drink. The pool was being prepared to open and it floats right on the lake. I wish my lifestyle included places like this much more often - its the only hotel I've ever cried when I left! It's only about 10 min. driving from Como and all the restaurants and shops that it offers.

Reserved 2 nights at the Gran Hotel Villa Serbelloni in Bellagio for $360 using the AmEx Fine Hotels Program vs.<BR>$906 for Villa d'Este. All the comments are very much appreciated.

I made reservations about 6 months ago, but I got the Villa D'Este with 1/2 board (lunch or dinner) 3-day package rate at apx. $600/night. I am staying an additional night w/o package at apx. $560/night. The package includes a deluxe room, but not a lake view room and you can't use your Platinum Fine Resorts package with the other package. At the time I booked, there was only $100 difference between the Serbelloni and the D'Este. They are both beautiful properties. I had a hard time choosing between the location of the Serbelloni and the Villa D'Este hotel experience. If you want to read about the packages both properties offer, go to their web sites. It sounds like the Villa Serbelloni has gone down since I booked and the Villa D'Este has gone up. These are 5* properties.