Attempting to plan a romantic trip (25th anniversary) - 1st time to Italy. Have always been fascinated by the Lake region - esp. Bellagio. Thought we'd do a few days in Venice first. Any suggestions for hotels, etc? Have read about the Grand Hotel Villa Serbolonni - any comments. I think we would find the multiple city tours overwhelming - with just 7-9 days I want to savor the little things that make Italy so special to you all.......thanks for any help!

Have you already done a search on this site? It's absolutely loaded with comments about Lake Como, Bellagio, Varenna, Menaggio, the other lakes--Garda, Maggiore, Orta and Iseo. There was even a thread on the Serbelloni. If you feed those words in, you can check out lots of recommendations. And there are countless threads on hotels in Venice. A lot depends on your anticipated price range. Several of the threads have debates about 2 or 3 hotels at the top, middle or bottom of the line.

There are some superb hotels in Venice, but my choice forever is Danielli. Very pricey, but ask for Room 71, it has spectacular views across the lagoon and the mouth of the Grand Canal. The staff is friendly (they insist on a tour of the facilities at check in) and they bend over backwards to make your stay memorable. The hotel itself is nothing short of grand in the old Venetian style; excellent food as well. I travel a lot and stay in some nice places, but the Danielli totally surpasses all! It's also right around the corner from San Marco and has vapporetto and water taxi service right outside the front door. Danieli would definitely be my choice to celebrate 25 years of romance. I recently had reservations at Villa Serbolonni, but had to cancel at the last minute. The staff there was very friendly. If you stay there let me know what you think.

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we stayed at Serbolonni in May and absolutely loved it. The rooms are gorgeous (we had a jr. suite). We especially loved the common area where there was a classical trio playing every night. It was magnifico!

We stayed in Bellagio a year ago, and it's a wonderfully romantic town. We stopped by the Grand Hotel Villa Serbolonni for a massage and a meal. It was nice, but frankly we weren't that impressed. <BR><BR>If you want the ultimate romantic hotel on Lake Como and don't mind spending the money, go to Villa D'Este. Lush sprawling grounds along the waterfront, opulent surroundings, wonderful food and service, and a delightful town next door that is convenient to the water taxis. It'll definitely be a 25th anniversary to remember.

Make sure and try to work in a visit to Villa Balbianello. Search "Balbianello" and you'll find areference to their webpage of the FAI (similar to the National Trust in England, for Italian heritage sites) - - "Fondamente Ambiente Italiano"?<BR><BR>And congratulations from another 25'er (actually 27 this coming January)<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

Congratulations! My husband and I just returned from you exact trip. It was our 25th also and we went to Venice first for 4 nights, Lake Como (Menaggio) for 4 nights and lastly in Lake Orta for 3 nights. Our price range was lower than yours but we had a wonderful time in all our hotel choices. Stayed at La Calcina in Venice and loved Dorsoduro area, opted for Menaggio on the western shore of Lake Como. Stayed at the Grand Hotel Victoria and loved it. Easy 15 min. ferry to Bellagio, which is more touristy. And stayed at the Hotel Orta in Orta San Guilio on Lake Orta-an absolute jewel of a town. Magical. WE had lake views with terraces at each hotel and had a wonderful time. The Villa Serbolini looked very nice, just not in our price category. <BR>Whatever you choose, you will love it.<BR>Do a search like Julie said. You will find loads of helpful information.<BR><BR>Denise