Luxury bespoke holidays and tours to Villa d'Este, Lake Como
Facts in brief
Official star rating 5
Location 20 minute drive to Como Cathedral
Annual opening 7 March to 14 November
Closest airport Milan Malpensa Airport
Distance from airport The hotel is about 40-minutes' drive from Milan Malpensa Airport
Closest railway station Milan Central Station
Distance from railway station The hotel is about 1-hours' drive from Milan Central Station
Hotel facilities and services
2 Restaurants, Bars, Free access to the Sporting Club with a Gym, 8 Tennis Courts with instructors available, 1 Outdoor Swimming Pool with Jacuzzi, Outdoor Children's Pool and Indoor Pool, Sauna, Turkish Bath, Jogging Track, Housekeeping, Room Service, Beauty Centre, Bicycle Hire, WiFi, Garage Parking, Putting Green and Water Sports. The hotel's 18 hole golf course lies 7 miles away.
Chargeable watersports
Watersports including Water Skiing, Windsurfing, Sailing and Canoeing is available at the hotel with rentals available from 9.30am-7pm.
Land sports
There are 8 Tennis Courts with instructors available, a Putting Green, Indoor Golf Simulator and Jogging Track.
Out and about nearby
Lake Como, Boat Trips, Famous Villas and Gardens, Bergamo, Lugano and Milan.
Sports nearby
Several golf courses nearby including Villa D'Este Golf Course at Montorfano, Walking, Riding
We particularly loved the Hotel del Sogno on Lake Garda for its character, beauty and amazing views. Great service too from the reception staff. Also they gave us great recommendations for restaurants.Mr and Mrs S, June 2023
Holiday price guide Sample prices are per person based on two people sharing a Classic double or twin room with courtyard view for 7 nights
From about
£2,150
Holiday Code IE32
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 and tours to Villa d'Este, Lake Como
The exquisite Villa d'Este on the shores of Lake Como, in our opinion the most beautiful of the Italian Lakes, offers you an enchanted world of wonderful experiences. Today a luxury 5 star hotel, member of Leading Hotels of the World and considered to be one of the best hotels in Italy, the Villa d'Este had been a delightful summer residence for nobility and royalty, including Princess Caroline of Brunswick, for many years until becoming an hotel in 1873. The Villa d'Este hotel exudes charm, a relaxed sophistication, a superb architectural and geographic environment and offers the ultimate in luxurious care and attention. The hotel grounds are justly famous and an outstanding feature of the Villa d'Este with their carefully tended flower beds, mosaics and romantic grottoes and the mock mediaeval castles that perch on the cliffs overlooking the lake. The terrace, floating swimming pool and sun-deck add to the charm of the waterfront and the air of relaxation. The rooms are in two buildings, one called the 'Queen's Pavilion' after Caroline of Brunswick. All rooms are of an exceptional quality, being individually furnished in great style and comfort and equipped with all the requisites of 5 star standards, achieving a clever balance of elegance without any hint of pomp or fussiness. The gastronomic restaurant enjoys a superb situation at one end of the Villa d'Este, overlooking the gardens and the lake, aided by its magnificent panoramic windows (removed in the summer) which give the impression of dining al fresco whatever the weather. Meals are also served on the lakeside terrace during the warmer months. The classic cuisine is of a standard to match the hotel but very in fact reasonably priced. In summer there are two less formal restaurants, the Grill and Il Platano. An enormous benefit for cooler months are the indoor swimming pool, squash court and covered tennis courts: use of these facilities is included in your stay. The beauty centre features a variety of health and beauty treatments. The small port and village centre of Cernobbio are about five minutes' walk from the Villa d'Este.
Room descriptions
Hotel Villa d'Este has 152 rooms with bath and wc, air-conditioning, television, telephone, mini-bar, safe and WiFi. There are 3 villa properties available at the hotel, including the new Villa Garrovo. Please contact us for more details.
We particularly loved the Hotel del Sogno on Lake Garda for its character, beauty and amazing views. Great service too from the reception staff. Also they gave us great recommendations for restaurants.Mr and Mrs S, June 2023
Holiday price guide Sample prices are per person based on two people sharing a Classic double or twin room with courtyard view for 7 nights
From about
£2,150
Holiday Code IE32
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 and tours to Villa d'Este, Lake Como
The journey and how you get there
For a holiday to Villa d'Este on Lake Como, our clients usually fly to Milan Malpensa airport or arrive by train at Milan Centrale railway station. From the airport and the station, we recommend a private car transfer which we would include in our holiday price, or we recommend that you use a hire-car for the duration of your holiday, especially if you want to tour the region. We will arrange this for you if required.
Additional information
Minimum stays: 7 nights minimum stay required from 1 June to 8 September. Throughout the rest of a year a 3 nights minimum stay is required.
Children: One child up to the age of 7 stays free of charge when sharing bedding with parents.
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.
We particularly loved the Hotel del Sogno on Lake Garda for its character, beauty and amazing views. Great service too from the reception staff. Also they gave us great recommendations for restaurants.Mr and Mrs S, June 2023
Holiday price guide Sample prices are per person based on two people sharing a Classic double or twin room with courtyard view for 7 nights
From about
£2,150
Holiday Code IE32
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 and tours to Villa d'Este, Lake Como
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.
