Pawleys

Just found out my room at the Hotel Florence has no AC just a fan. Will that be sufficient for early Sep? There is availability at the Belvedere with AC and a terrace ( Can't get a room with a view at Florence Should I switch?

jabez

It would be nice, but weather is hard to predict. We stayed there once in June with record breaking heat. Our room had no air,but was okay because it was right on the lake with big windows and doors that allowed a nice breeze.

bobthenavigator

It is your $$$
I doubt if you will need it, but do not blame me when it turns hot.

Pawleys

It's incredibly hot here in SC now. Can't imagine trying to sleep without airconditioning. I thought I had read somewhere that Hotel Florence and Air; glad i checked.

darnestown

YES, YES, you will probably need air-conditioning. We stayed in Como in October 2008 and definitely needed A/C.

HappyTrvlr

I have been there three times in September and didn't need it,
but had it in case. I would go to the Belvedere, pretty views and away from the noise of the lakefront with open windows.

franco

I'm always amazed when people think they "need" air condition. How do you think your own ancestors survived 100 years ago? And how do you think people in the hottest regions of this planet are surviving, where many of them have not even read or heard about such a thing as a/c?

welch

I'm with Franco!
Granted, I live in the Bay Area and I'm always cold, but I moved here from Florida where I was even colder with a/c.
I hate it!
I seldom use it- in the summer in Cabo- or wherever.
Real air is quite wonderful!

alihutch

If you are near the lake, then you usually benefit from the breeze from the water. I've never felt the need for air con on the lake.....where we stay you'd miss the sound of the water lapping in the shore and the boat's rigging which is rather wonderful....can't imagine locking myself in with cold artificial air.
Most places have shutters so that you can leave your windows open and let the air in.

zeppole

I think those of us who hate air conditioning really shouldn't try to shame the people who experience sleeplessness or headaches or what have you without it. It's hard to make up for lost sleep on a vacation, and many locations in Italy have so many mosquitoes and so few screens on windows, shutting the windows and cooling the room with air conditioning. Other times hotel rooms face onto streets with auto traffic or piazze that stay noisy until quite late at night in summer, and it is hard to sleep unless you close a window.

I also think adjusting to hot weather takes some time. I've had visitors in September who were felled by the heat on the coast, when to me -- after July and August -- it only felt normal.

I stayed on Lago di Como in the first week in September where my western-facing hotel got intense afternoon sun, making the entire building warm into the night. There was very little breeze the week I was there. I can take a lot of heat, but somebody else might have wanted air conditioning.

chazzarelli

I'll tell you - I'm here in Iraq right now - and I need AC here (44 here today - or 112F). But I wont need it at all in Italy when I go in Sept.

It all depends on your reference; if you come from a place that doesn't get very hot, and your not conditioned to the heat or humidity, then of course Italy's september heat will seem brutal.

jubilada

I personally don't much like AC either, but if you are asking the question to me that means that you are someone who does prefer it. My experience in early September there was that it was very hot , even at night, so I don't think you should risk losing sleep on vacation ( or worrying about it between now and then !) If I were you I would go for the cool!

zoecat

No one can predict if you will need it or not. Look at your options-

Hotel Florence- no ac, so if you need it you're not going to have it.

Belvedere- has ac, so if you need it you will have it.

Go with the Belvedere and the ac is there if you need it. If it is not needed, you're still fine.

welch

I stayed in the Belvedere about 15 years ago (so I can't speak to the property today) and loved the location!
We had a fantastic view of the lake- even from our bathroom and we were removed from the din and chaos. It was a very easy walk down into town.
This would be my choice!

welch

Opps.. Entered this too quickly!
Zeppole is right.
Do whatever you need to sleep. I take a little fan with me everywhere I travel, so I'm hardly low maintenance.

flygirl

We visited Lake Como a few weeks ago. I'd suggest for the warmer months trying to find a place on the western side of the lake. We split our time b/w Lenno and Varenna (3 nights/2 nights) and even though our hotel had AC in Varenna I wish we had kept to the Albergo Lenno for the whole trip. It cooled down nicely in the late afternoon/evenings whereas Varenna was definitely warmer in the afternoon and longer into the evening.

This isn't to say anyone can predict how warm it will (or won't) be in early September. The heat we experienced in early July was apparently very unusual - typically I hear it never gets above 90 degrees and we were above that. The mornings and evenings were much nicer but after lunch, hoo boy, you wanted to crawl into a cave. A dip in the pool sufficed though.

nytraveler

Well in fct people do "need" air conditioning at a certain point - esp if they re older or have underlying medical conditions.

We are having a miserable heat wave in NYC (it's supposed to hit 100 today) and the city has free cooling centers open for those people who live in very low cost buildings without AC. On the news they mentioned a similar heat wave across the midwest a couple of years ago in which more than 800 people died form the heat.

I'm not suggesting it will be that hot in Lake Como - but a lot of people are very uncomfortable and unable to sleep if it's too hot (I need 72 or below). Not that missing most of a night's sleep, sweating, tossing and turning will kill me - but why should I - or anyone - spend their vacation being miserable?