LauraEB

How "dead" will the Lake area be in late October/early November? I know many hotels, restaurants, shops close in the winter, but I'm not sure exactly when "winter" begins. The potential for quiet appeals to us (its our honeymoon) but we also don't wish to feel like we're completely isolated (I keep thinking of the Shining!)

HowardR

We were there in late October and it was fine. Leather-jacket weather some days, shirtsleeves on others. We found hotels, restaurants and shops were open.
Certainly not tourist-season busy, but it wasn't deserted either.

GAC

If you want a benchmark date, consider October 24 to 26. This does not mean, however, that you should automatically scrap a trip in early November!

JonJon

I would check hotel websites assuming the hotel you may use has one. The hotels in the three mid-lake towns seem to close in November, if they close at all (a few don't). The area is quiet and relaxing in general I think although Bellagio probably gets the highest number of tourists during "the season" so your timing may be ideal in many ways.
A wonderful spot and I hope you enjoy it.

Jean

We stayed in Bellagio for a few days in late October 2003, departing Oct. 29th. Actually, we slept in Varenna (Hotel du Lac) because I couldn't get a hotel reservation in Bellagio at any of our usual "haunts" as they were already closed for the season.

Bellagio was busy with tourists during the day but very quiet at night. Some shops and restaurants were closed for the season, and everyone else was waiting for the Grand Hotel Serbelloni to announce their closing date so they could close too. I think the Serbelloni closed by Nov. 10th. Weather was mostly clear and cool two days and cloudy and rainy the third day.

In Varenna, only a few hotels and restaurants remained open (but more than in Bellagio). We enjoyed our stay at the du Lac.

FYI: The hotels often don't decide their closing date until late September. We had reservations booked by April, but the first hotel later advised they would close after our first night there. I immediately booked another hotel, but they advised in early October that they would close before our arrival date. I scrambled to find a third hotel in Bellagio but wasn't happy with the options, so I began looking in Varenna.

GAC

One hotel which remains open all year is the superior-4 star Grand Hotel Victoria in MENAGGIO, across the lake from both Bellagio and Varenna. Menaggio is a cheerful town, not as touristy as Bellagio or as quaint as Varenna, but charming nonetheless. It has very good public transportation (bus, boat) connections. The G.H. Menaggio is quite good, albeit a little expensive. They give discounts starting in November. The have both lake-facing rooms in front and pool-facing rooms in the rear. They have an excellent web site.

susanna

I would be cautious about booking at the GHV Menaggio. They are owned by the same company as the Royal Victoria in Varenna. We had made reservations at the RV in Feb, for a vacation in Sept...3 weeks before arrival, they sent an email cancelling our reservation and moving us to one of their other properties...the GHV...our original room was 190E and the new room they would give us was 390E. We later discovered that it was the Grand Prix weekend and they needed the smaller hotel for a group. We argued for a full week via email and there was no dealing with them, they offered me a free lunch for compensation. I wouldn't recommend them.

GAC

Susanna: are you sure that the hotels are owned by the same company? Their web sites don't reflect any common ownership (would you not expect so for marketing purposes?)

I notice that the GH Victoria in Menaggio is offering weekend specials of 125 Euros per night, double occupancy, in a lakefront room, including a generous buffet breakfast, through March 15th (minimum two night stay). This is a good deal for the winter season, as the regular rates are much higher.

susanna

Gac: when I booked the original hotel I was under the assumtion that they were a small hotel with 30+ rooms and not affiliated with anyone else. When they cancelled my reservation they said they had reserved a room in one of their other properties, the GHM and another hotel in the town of Como, the name I can't remember right now. Could they have been lying...sure...their original email said that they had LOST my reservation. If they lost it how did they know to move me to a different hotel for the same 4 days? Also their 390E room was a suite, which was all that was available at the GHM and they wouldn't give it to me for the price of the original room. At that point, I didn't trust any of the three hotels, nor would I recommend them. We ended up at a lovely hotel on Lake Maggiore in Locarno, and probably ended up having a better time because it wasn't over run with people from the Grand Prix.

GAC

susanna: I'm truly sorry to hear that you were so badly treated by this hotel in Varenna; too bad, because the area is really lovely and, under different circumstances, you would have enjoyed the stay immensely. I hope that you won't abandon the idea of visiting the area in the future, and touring the lovely lakeside villas (Villa Carlotta, Villa Menzi, Villa Cipressi and Villa Monastero).

susanna

I'll go back someday, but I loved Maggiore and Guarda, so there is no rush.
I want to be clear that I am bashing Grand Hotel Victoria Mennagio and Royal Victoria Varenna and NOT the other Grand Hotel in Mennagio!