Varenna - Hotel Eremo Gaudio hotel room question...
 

Hello:
We're booked at the Eremo Gaudio (Varenna, Lake Como) in Oct. - the Teodolinda Suite.

I know this room has a covered terrace with a fantastic view, but, my question is:

Has anyone stayed in this room and if so, would they recommend the Teodolinda Suite OR another room that has a smaller balcony, but one with a more "open" feeling?

I hope this question makes sense and I appreciate any and all opinions!
Thanks,
Carol

Anyone stay here???

Have stayed there twice, in the other suite, the Tremezzo, and in one of the rooms at the top with a balcony. I think that the Teodolinda Suite from what I could tell, looked great and would probably be my choice next time. Be ready for gorgeous views from the hotel. The walk from the town is partially uphill for about fifteen minutes, which did not bother us, but could be strenuous for some. If you arrive by ferry, call the hotel and have them get a cab for you to bring your luggage.

I stayed in the Eremo Gaudio last week but not in that room. However when the maids were cleaning it, they let us take a peak in it - I would definitely recommend it. In terms of views you really cannot go wrong with this hotel.

Thank you SO much for your input.

packed - the fact that you've stayed there twice means it must be great - and we know about the uphill climb - not a problem.

bobby_c - just the kind of input we were looking for - this makes me even more excited about our upcoming trip!

Thanks again,
Carol

Carol,

You have good reason to be excited. It was our first trip to Lake Como and based on my experience, I'd certainly stay in Varenna, with the Eremo Gaudio at the top of the list. Varenna is a bit quieter than some of the other towns, but still lively and a great base for exploring the region. It just takes 15 minutes by ferry to get to Belaggio (more shopping and food) or Mennagio - which also seems quiet but without the spectacular views. That being said, the room view, while important, isn't the sole reason to stay in the area - if you're like us you're not in the room all that much. However there's nothing like opening your window in the morning and seeing the lake.

I just uploaded 6 pictures you can view taken from the hotel. Pictures 1 & 2 were taken from our room (small balcony, lower level). Unfortunately the following 4 pictures were taken when it was raining so they aren't quite as clear. Pictures 3 & 4 are of the town of Varenna taken from the upper level - in #3 you can just see Castello di Vezio in the upper right. #5 shows the front of the upper level, including the Teodolinda Suite, though I don't know which one it is. #6 is a view from one of the suites of the dining area.

I don't know why this site posts links this way, but click on the 2nd url below to view the pictures. Mouse over a picture and you can stop the slideshow or go back and forth.

October should be spectacular!!!

http://s25.photobucket.com/albums/c6...t=2e03c00e.pbw

Bobby:
Thanks for the photos - they are spectacular!

And though we probably won't be in the room that much, it will be nice as you said to be able to open the doors to the balcony and see the view (and feel the breeze - we live in the desert and it's dry and in the 100s!)

Also - do you have any restaurant recommendations in Varenna or Bellagio.

We like good, fresh, well-prepared food - atmosphere and view would help - less touristy, the better. (We don't eat meat or poultry, only fish)

Thanks again for the photos,
Carol

bobby, those photos are amazing!
Thanks for sharing!

Carol,

Before leaving on our trip I did some searching here at Fodor's for restaurant recommendations and found a few. I think our needs matched pretty much - my wife is a vegetarian and I am mostly, though I do eat fish. While we like good food (OK we love it) we weren't on a trip to discover the best food in Italy, that was less important to us. So for the most part we just wanted to eat somewhat simply, with a few great meals thown in. And some of our best eating was when we would be wandering around & getting lost & just stopping in some place. I think one of the best pasta dishes I had was in Florence at a restaurant far away from the touristy area, we were looking for a recommended restaurant & got lost. We ended up in this little place where no English was spoken - but between my wife's rudimentary Italian and recognizing certain dishes, we ate like royalty.

Anyhow, I digress. Here is a list of restaurants recommend by people here are Fodor's with my comments:

Vecchia Varenna - this is a fancier restaurant that gets great reviews - it is recommended to call ahead for a lakeside table. When we got to Varenna (Monday) we called for a reservation but they were full the next two nights and closed on Wednesday. So we never ate there.

Il Caminetto - Another fancier restaurant in Varenna, as I recall it was closed on Monday when we got there & we were in Bellagio the other evenings so we never ate there.

Olivedo - this is a lakeside restaurant, part of the Olivedo hotel. I don't recall it being recommended (or not), but by the time we unpacked and headed to town, it was open and the terrace is covered (it was raining off and on) so we ate there. The food was good, not spectacular, but I'd recommend it. I had a local fish dish, very good, it reminded me of fresh water fish I grew up on in Wisconsin (perch). It was a relaxing meal that wasn't too expensive and I'd eat there again.

Eremo Gaudio. Closed Mondays - they are recommended mostly for the view - I don't think they are overly fancy, which is the way we usually eat. We did not eat there however, the following two days were spent in other lake towns.

Bilacus (Bellagio) is recommended by Fodorites - I'd do a search here to see details. I think it is a fancier place, but could be wrong. Didn't eat there.

San Giacamo (Bellagio). Did not eat here.

La Grotta (Bellagio). Known for its pizza. We ate here Wednesday night after a long day of sightseeing around the lake, the pizza was great.

Pizza Antico (Bellagio). Tried to eat here Wednesday night but they were closed. If I were to go back I'd check it out, I liked it setup, lots of outdoor seating and not in a heavily trafficed area.

Far Out (Bellagio). Fodorite recommended, did't eat there.

La Punta (Bellagio). Fodorite recommended, did't eat there.

Babba Yaga (Bellagio). Fodorite recommended, did't eat there. Known for pizza.

Tuesday evening we ate in Bellagio, we were just walking around and all of a sudden the skies opened up and started pouring rain. We were looking for some of the above restaurants but decided to duck into a place that I don't recall the name - though I think it had Vecchio in the name. It was a nice find, a step above your normal pizzeria - we both had nice pasta dishes.

We also had a fine lunch one day in Menaggio, though I don't recall the name. Great pasta - wish I could remember it!

So in general, there's lots of places to eat and when we were there we didn't do anything too fancy but were always pleased with our food.

And thanks for the compliments on the pictures Dina & Carol, I have a bunch from the various towns - very picturesque.

Bobby:
Thanks for the restaurant recommendations. I'm adding them to my Italy restaurant database!
Carol

I have to admit that the main reason we came back to stay at the Eremo Gaudio was THE VIEW. We stayed in Bellagio the year before and happened on the Eremo Gaudio after taking the ferry to Varenna. After having a drink on the terrace there, we had to come back and stay the next year and two years after that. While the staff has become friendlier and the rooms are OK, it's the view that brings us back.

I agree that the view is the main thing about the Eremo Gaudio. The rooms were fine for our style of travel and they were clean. As for the staff, they were not the most helpful on our trip. One of a few examples: we had the audacity to report our room A/C wasn't working to the gentleman behind the desk - unfortunately we interrupted his computer solitare game and he wasn't too friendly. But that wouldn't prevent me from staying there again, I'd just rely on getting information from the taxi driver or other locals.

On the other hand, we stopped by the Hotel Villa Cipressi - they have internet access and we wanted to check our reservations for Venice. The woman there was incredibly useful and friendly, I'd consider staying there in the future.

We stayed in the Varenna room on the top floor. It had a big balcony and stupendous views. I think this is the most unique hotel I've ever stayed in before - I've never had to take a funicular to get to my room before!

I can't wait to go back. The rooms are spare but very clean, spacious and bright. I'll post photos of the overall trip later..

flygirl:
Thanks for this info. I love to hear positive reviews of this hotel since we'll be staying there in Oct!
Carol

great! I'll notify you via this thread when I have finally gotten around to posting photos and a report (or sometime later just click on my name and my trip report may magically appear). We went in May and the silly season (weekly traveling) is going to start up again soon, so I'm not sure when I'll write it.

My husband and I stayed in one of the rooms with a balcony just above the outside terrace that juts out past the hotel. We loved it so I'm sure the suite is even nicer. I'm jealous, we would love to go back to Varenna and we would definitely stay here again. The view is spectacular and the walk into town is easy. Hike up to the castle from the hotel, it's interesting and also affords some more amazing views.

bookmarking an old thread...

I'd love to hear Carol's take on the hotel!

We have booked the Teodolinda suite at Eremo Gaudio for 5 days in April and we are very much looking forward to it.

Bookmarking.