The best hotels in Lake Como
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Few can resist the distinctive magic that radiants from Italy's grandest lake. Virgil called Como “the greatest lake”, and Pliny the Younger had a villa here where he said the porch was “always like spring.” Once home to the gilded palaces of princes, bishops and painters, it is now the playground of the world's rich (the fictional Roy family from Succession tells you everything you need to know) and famous (George Clooney has owned a villa here for over 20 years). Many of the historic villas lining the lake remain private abodes, while those that have been converted into hotels are revered as some of the grandest in the world.
How we choose the best hotels in Lake Como
Every hotel on this list has been selected independently by our editors and written by a Condé Nast Traveller journalist who knows the destination and has stayed at that property. When choosing hotels, our editors consider both luxury properties and boutique and lesser-known boltholes that offer an authentic and insider experience of a destination. We’re always looking for beautiful design, a great location and warm service – as well as serious sustainability credentials. We update this list regularly as new hotels open and existing ones evolve.
What area of Lake Como is the best to stay in?
Lake Como is undoubtedly best visited by road, with many of the hotels on this list proving worthy stops on your itinerary, whether for a stay or for a long leisurely lunch. The top addresses tend to be gathered towards the south western end of the lake, near the town of Como itself. In terms of other towns to visit nearby, Bellagio in the middle and Varena on the eastern side, are beloved highlights.
From unassuming family-run stays to glossy recent arrivals, this is our edit of the best hotels in Lake Como, all reviewed by an expert on the Condé Nast Traveller team. For a private stay, see our pick of the best villas in Lake Como.
SARAMAGNI/Il SerenohotelIl Sereno
$$$Featured in our Gold List of the best hotels in the world 2024
When it launched a few years ago in Torno, Il Sereno, Lago di Como caused a sensation. It was the first hotel in the area of Lake Como to be designed by a world-renowned architect – and Patricia Urquiola, the Spanish starchitect and a longtime resident of Milan, did a fabulous job. The hotel blends into its surroundings thanks to the “light” building, with its many windows awash with sunlight reflected by the lake. The garden, with around 183 varieties of plants, creates a gorgeous floral landscape that syncs up with the environment. Even the Brazilian quartzite heated infinity pool and the ashwood deck become one with the lake in a continuous line: harmony. From inside the hotel, you can often glimpse the waters of the Lario, the other name by which Lake Como is known, an iconic part of Italian culture and the backdrop of Alessandro Manzoni’s 19th-century novel The Betrothed, where star-crossed lovers Renzo and Lucia manage to finally reunite and get married. Il Sereno’s lobby is elegant, soft, and welcoming, filled with the best of Italian design – furniture by Cassina, Moroso, and B&B Italia – as are the 40 rooms, all with a view, and the exquisite vertical garden by Patrick Blanc. The delicious and simple (albeit Michelin-starred) food is courtesy of Raffaele Lenzi and features local freshwater fish and vegetables, served alongside sensational cocktails (even the alcohol-free ones). As if so much contemporary beauty were not enough, there’s still the wooden motorboat, a beautiful Riva, ready to take you around the lake or to Villa Pliniana, a 16th-century palace with another 17 bedrooms – a perfect setting for listening to the music of the villa’s beautiful grand piano while gazing upon the waters of Lago di Como. Maddalena Fossati
Price: Rooms from around £647 per night
Stefan Giftthaler/PassalacquahotelPassalacqua, Lake Como
Featured in our Hot List of the best new hotels in the world 2023
From a pale-amber estate, seven acres of olive groves, roses, mimosa, jasmine, and magnolia descend to the glittering waters of Lake Como, wafting their fragrance into the sleepy air. A perfectly confected 24-suite hotel born of a 1787 neoclassical villa, Passalacqua is the second Como hotel for the De Santis family, after their beloved Grand Hotel Tremezzo. The suites in the villa have baroque details like original frescoes and ceiling carvings. Como silks, etched Barbini mirrored cabinets, and Bordoni leather ottoman tables. The Palazz contains a small spa stocked with Dr. Barbara Sturm products, with hand-painted wallpaper that replicates that of Portaluppi Herbarium in Milan’s Atellani House. Guests congregate on the colourful swimming terrace for unfussy Lombardy lunches. There, the sage green 200-year-old greenhouse and jaunty La DoubleJ – designed floral parasols offer a cheeky riposte to the formal villa interiors. Passalacqua deliciously recaptures the lost art of villeggiatura, or taking to a country villa and revelling in la dolce far niente – sweet idleness. Lydia Bell
Price: Rooms from around £670 per night
FTfoto | www.ftfoto.ithotelMandarin Oriental, Lake Como
Once the lakefront estate of Italian opera singer Giuditta Pasta, Mandarin Oriental took over this 75-room grand dame in 2018. Milan-based designer Eric Egan made over heavy interiors (also behind the Belmond Hotel Caruso revamp), sharpening the meticulous gardens and floating swimming pool. Mandarin Oriental added a lounge for afternoon tea and a spa in the basement, bringing in Italian chef Massimiliano Blasone to oversee the resort’s restaurants and bars. This was the Mandarin Oriental's first European resort and a rare new arrival on the lake – yet it slotted into the scene seamlessly.
Most of the rooms have at least partial views of the lake, and balconies. With muted tones, luxurious textiles and custom wood furniture, the effect is cocooning, although not particularly Italian, which isn't entirely surprising considering the brand. I loved my marble bathroom and terrace, where I could hear the birds from the landscaped gardens and watch the ripples on the lake. The spa here is a standout – notably the amazing new floating swimming pool on the lake with its hard-to-believe engineering. Ondine Cohane
Price: Rooms from around £738 per night
francesco lopaziohotelMUSA Lago Di Como hotel review
Hugging the manicured shore of Como's west shore, Villa Musa stands proudly – a whitewashed modern villa with only 12 rooms, all with balconies overlooking the handsome backdrop of the lake. Elegant guests arrive by boat at the private jetty or via the meandering road, a 30-minute drive from Como town. Interiors are sleek, with neutral and monochrome furnishings that run throughout the hotel. Bedrooms follow suit: white washed linen bedding, contemporary artwork, white marble bathrooms with a deep bath and spacious shower, cosy seating areas and balconies revealed by heavy curtains that we couldn’t wait to draw every morning. Wake up to the cinematic views dotted with eager paddle boarders and bobbing boats easily lost amongst the glittery morning waters.
Food is a big thing here, which makes sense – the hotel and restaurant are run by two acclaimed Italian chefs, Robert Moretti and Matteo Corridori, after al. Dine at the glass-fronted restaurant or on the outdoor terrace, which has an artistic Italian menu – think poached eggs with carbonara sauce for breakfast. Later, lounge by the lakefront pool, sip a creative cocktail at the makeshift boat bar or unwind in the spa facilities. With only a few guests, it’s a rather relaxing affair. Sophie Knight
Price: Rooms from around £520 per night
hotelGrand Hotel Tremezzo hotel review, Lake Como
Featured on our 2022 Gold List of the best hotels in the world
In an increasingly rapacious Italian hotel scene, some iconic family-owned properties retain that made-in-Italy, one-of-a-kind elixir that the bigger players can only dream of. The decadent Grand Hotel Tremezzo is decidedly one of these: It has been in family hands since opening in 1910 and comes with Grand Tour charm in spades. Sitting a little back from Lake Como, looking out onto Bellagio, the Liberty-style building conjures a Grand Budapest Hotel set, an impression that grows when you enter the formal lobby with its sweeping red-carpet staircase, antique gilt-framed mirrors, and marble-encased bathrooms. I also love the flowers in abundance all over the property. But the hotel still manages to feel intimate thanks to its smaller cosy spaces: a cocooning spa with a heated swim-in, swim-out pool and Santa Maria Novella products; an outdoor pool surrounded by a forest of trees and blooming flowers; and tucked-away bars and corner banquettes in the restaurant (be sure to try the gold-leaf risotto). he hotel effortlessly pulls multiple punches, with a covetable shop stocking brands like Bric’s Milano, Borsalino, and Chez Dede, and a beautiful vintage wooden boat for lake excursions and to avoid road traffic. But the true pièce de résistance is the floating pool sitting on the lake – cinematic grandeur incarnate with a Lido-like beachfront, bright orange and white umbrellas, and chic custom loungers. Ondine CohanePrice: Rooms from around £860 per night
Sophie KnighthotelVilla Lario, Lake Como review
With 18 suites (all with views over the lake) accessed sharply from Como's one road, this place feels definitively private, set apart, very much on its own picturesque high pinnacle hanging over the water. Part of a 19th-century property previously owned by the Lombardi family, it has something no other five-star hotel around here can quite claim: a very secluded pontoon that guests can swim off directly, bothered by nothing but the occasional boat dropping somebody off for lunch. (Inexplicably, most hotels don't encourage swimming in Como itself). It's worth coming to eat – just-caught fish; tomatoes from the hotel gardens – even if you don't stay, but there is something particularly authentic about this side of the lake and it would feel a shame to not sleep here too.
Price: Rooms from around £562 per night
Oliver PilcherhotelVilla d'Este hotel review, Lake Como
Preposterously and hilariously grand, this is where Elizabeth Taylor came to hide out at the start of her affair with Richard Burton. As the great director Mike Nichols later recalled, so long as she wore a large-ish hat, nobody gave her a second glance. Built in 1568 as a summer residence for a wealthy cardinal with a passion for art, the hotel has an immense 17th-century shelled grotto, decorative gardens lapped by water so clear you can see pebbles fall to the distant bottom, and chefs in high white hats inspecting the engraved glass on bridal tables. In the morning, breakfast of Sicilian cannolis and iced espresso is taken as the sun starts its journey across the lake, settling on a flower-plumed promontory beyond. Boats cut through the water, leaving a fizzing trail behind. Everybody sits and watches – wondering where reality leaves off and dreaming begins.
Price: Rooms from around £529 per night