Luxury bespoke holidays to the Grand Hotel Menaggio, Lake Como, Italy
Facts in brief
Official star rating 4
Location On the shores of Lake Como in the resort of Menaggio
Annual opening From 1 April until 3 November
Closest airport Milan Malpensa
Distance from airport About 90 minutes from Milan Malpensa
Closest railway station Milan Centrale, Chiasso, Como
Distance from railway station About 1 hour and 40 minutes by car
Hotel facilities and services
Two restaurants, bar, heated swimming pool by the lake, boutique, terrace, garden.
Out and about nearby
Resort of Menaggio with its regional architecture, cobbled streets, shops, and cafes. There is a lakeside promenade and boat trips are accessible from here. Nearby are the many villas and gardens of Lake Como (Villa Carlotta, Villa Balbianello, Villa d'Este, Villa Melzi), Quaint villages and picturesque drives, Como.
Sports nearby
Golf, sailing and windsurfing, walking
Thanks for organising what was a wonderful holiday. Apart from a delay because of Gatwick fog coming home, everything ran like clockwork and we had a cracking time. I would be happy to recommend Expressions and hope we will have the opportunity to organise another trip with you in the future.Mrs S, October 2024
Holiday price guide Sample prices are per person based on two people sharing a Standard double room with bed and breakfast for 7 nights
From about
Holiday Code IE343
The prices displayed here are a guide only. Each holiday price will be tailor-made at the time of booking to reflect all actual costs including up-to-date special offers.
Call us on 01392 441245
Luxury bespoke holidays to the Grand Hotel Menaggio, Lake Como, Italy
The Grand Hotel Menaggio stands on the lake shore in the pretty resort of Menaggio on the western side of Lake Como, opposite Bellagio. The area is renowned for its beauty with historic villas and gardens, and wooded hills behind, affording numerous paths for walking and hiking. The village is linked by boat and hydrofoil to other lakeside villages with the landing stage being right at the side of the hotel itself. Just along from the hotel you can join the lakeside promenade with its benches, landing stages and palm trees. The 4-star hotel is built in the traditional style of the region with green shutters and wrought-iron balconies on some rooms. In the gardens that front the lake is the outdoor, heated swimming pool with sun terrace. The 94 rooms are furnished traditionally, and are of varying sizes, some with lake view. The hotel offers indoor and outdoor dining in La Veranda restaurant, whilst the bar suggests a cocktail before dinner either inside or outside by the pool, perhaps by candlelight in the evening. The Grand Hotel Menaggio has an outdoor pool by the lake side, surrounded by a sun terrace and by the lawns and flower beds of the garden. There are loungers, umbrellas and a towel service, free of charge. For those keen on water sports then sailing and windsurfing are offered in Menaggio and for golfers, there is the 18-hole golf course of Menaggio and Cadenabbia about 2 kms away. The hotel has an exceptional location, is good value for money and enjpys wonderful views of Lake Como.
Room descriptions
Grand Hotel Menaggio has 94 rooms, some with lake view and balcony. All rooms have telephone, satellite television, safe, air-conditioning, mini-bar and hairdryer.
Thanks for organising what was a wonderful holiday. Apart from a delay because of Gatwick fog coming home, everything ran like clockwork and we had a cracking time. I would be happy to recommend Expressions and hope we will have the opportunity to organise another trip with you in the future.Mrs S, October 2024
Holiday price guide Sample prices are per person based on two people sharing a Standard double room with bed and breakfast for 7 nights
From about
Holiday Code IE343
The prices displayed here are a guide only. Each holiday price will be tailor-made at the time of booking to reflect all actual costs including up-to-date special offers.
Call us on 01392 441245
Luxury bespoke holidays to the Grand Hotel Menaggio, Lake Como, Italy
The journey and how you get there
For a holiday to the Grand Hotel Menaggio our clients usually fly to Milan Linate or Milan Malpensa airport or they arrive by train at Milan Centrale. From the airport or the station, for a holiday on Lake Como, we recommend a private transfer that we can book for you or you can have a hire-car if you are going to be touring the region.
Special offers
Call to make your booking and save an extra £50 per adult Call us instead of emailing us when you are thinking of booking a holiday and save an extra £50 per adult (in addition to any special offers that might be available). We want to talk to you to discuss your requirements and a phone call is usually the best way for you to define what you want enabling us to respond more accurately. We want to talk to you and you save an extra £50 per adult.
Thanks for organising what was a wonderful holiday. Apart from a delay because of Gatwick fog coming home, everything ran like clockwork and we had a cracking time. I would be happy to recommend Expressions and hope we will have the opportunity to organise another trip with you in the future.Mrs S, October 2024
Holiday price guide Sample prices are per person based on two people sharing a Standard double room with bed and breakfast for 7 nights
From about
Holiday Code IE343
The prices displayed here are a guide only. Each holiday price will be tailor-made at the time of booking to reflect all actual costs including up-to-date special offers.
Call us on 01392 441245
Luxury bespoke holidays to the Grand Hotel Menaggio, Lake Como, Italy
About Italian Lakes
An Expressions tailor-made holiday to the Italian Lakes spans the northern Italian regions of Lombardy, Piemonte and the Veneto. We offer hotels located by the undisputedly beautiful Lake Maggiore, Lake Como and Lake Garda and also the smaller, quieter lakes of Orta and Iseo, both well-worth exploring in their own right. Each lake has its own character and atmosphere, distinctive terrain, architecture and style. Placed as the lakes are to the south of the Alps and to the north of the Po Valley, they naturally possess a charming mixture of the vibrant coolness associated with the Alps but enlivened by the warmth of the South. The landscape around the Italian Lakes is one of deep blue waters surrounded by greenish-blue tinged mountains, often snow-capped. On the shores of the lakes and the lower slopes of the hills you find a profusion of lemons and olives, chestnuts and palms, magnolias and camellias. Pretty villages with rustic stone and wood houses hug the sheltered bays and fishing boats still moor next to sailing boats. Wrought-iron balconies and colourful shutters adorn gaily-painted houses with terracotta roofs. Dining is usually al fresco in the summer months and a magical atmosphere is created with the lapping of the waters and the twinkling of the lights around the lake and in the hills above. The close proximity to Milan and Verona as well as other less well-known but artistically interesting cities means that you can visit the Italian Lakes quite easily for just a weekend or short break as well as a longer holiday. The Italian Lakes can all be visited as part of a rail holiday, and the many beautiful gardens located in the vicinity of Lakes Como and Maggiore are well worth a visit as part of a garden tour holiday. Our favourite four and five star hotels for luxury holidays in the Italian Lakes include Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni and Villa d'Este on Lake Como, and the Hotel Cannero Lakeside Resort on Lake Maggiore.
Highlights of the Italian Lakes
Historic villas are to be found on every lake from the Grotte di Catullo Roman villa at Sirmione on Lake Garda to Villa Melzi and Villa Olmo on Lake Como and the Palazzo Estense in Varese. Most of these villas also have extraordinarily beautiful gardens (which can be visited as part of an Expressions Garden Tour holiday) such as the Villa Carlotta on Lake Como, the Isola Bella in Lake Maggiore and Villa Taranto at Punta della Castagnola on Lake Maggiore. Monte Mottarone above Stresa on Lake Maggiore and Monte Baldo above Lake Garda can both be reached by cable car and afford spectacular views. At Gargnano on Lake Garda you can see the stone pavilions where lemons were traditionally cultivated. Within the region there are national parks such as the Stelvio National Park north of Orta and the Parco Nazionale della Val Grande above Verbania on Lake Maggiore.
Cultural highlights of the Italian Lakes
Much of the artistic and architectural cultural wealth in the region is concentrated in the great cities such as Milan and Verona but also in the less well-known but culturally-rich centres of Bergamo, Brescia, Pavia, Mantova and Vicenza (not directly on the Lakes but within reach for a day`s excursion). Highlights include the frescoes by Masolino at Castiglione Olona, the Rocca (castle) at Angera, the Flemish tapestries on the Isola Bella Lake Maggiore, the marble cathedral of Santa Maria Maggiore at Como and the works of art in the Galleria dell`Accademia Tadini at Lovere on Lake Iseo. Milan has La Scala, the Museo Poldi Pezzoli, the Brera Gallery (containing Raphael`s `Marriage of the Virgin` and the Montefeltro altarpiece by Piero della Francesca) and its Gothic cathedral. Verona has its annual opera festival from June until the end of August, the Romanesque church of San Zeno, the Renaissance Loggia del Consiglio and the Roman Arena.
Festivals in the Italian Lakes
The Verona Opera Festival takes place in the Roman Arena every year with performances running from June until the end of August. Verona also celebrates Carnival every year culminating on the Friday before Shrove Tuesday. Como holds a flea market, the Fiera di Pasqua, over the Easter weekend. Music festivals take place in Bergamo throughout the year. The Mille Miglia veteran car race starts and ends in Brescia (via Ferrara to Rome in May each year).
Gastronomy in the Italian Lakes
The cuisine of northern Italy tends to contain more meat and butter than further south and rice and polenta compete with pasta. Saffron is used extensively as in Risotto alla Milanese. Bresaola is cured raw beef served as an antipasta (now often with rocket and parmesan). Manzo al Barolo (beef in Barolo wine), Costolette alla Milanese (veal cutlets in breadcrumbs) and Ossobucco (veal in wine and tomatoes) are all popular dishes. Panettone cake and Zabaglione are two regional desserts. This region produces some of Italy's most famous cheeses such as Gorgonzola, Bel Paese, Fontina and Taleggio as well as some of Italy's most exportable wines such as Soave, Bardolino and Valpolicella. Less well known but interesting wines are produced in the Valtellina in the north of Lombardy and in Franciacorta near Lake Iseo.
