What's the vibe?
What’s the nicest birthday present you’ve ever bought someone? A bottle of wine? A salad spinner? A hotel? If you've ever gifted the latter, then that would put your generosity on par with Count Frizzoni, who gifted Grand Villa Serbelloni as a birthday present to his wife, the Countess, back in 1850.
Marinated in history, this yellow chiffon grande dame of Lake Como has been family-run since 1873 and is Bellagio’s only five-star hotel. Its Murano chandeliers have witnessed fascist occupation, the fall of Mussolini, and the Second World War, and its bedrooms have facilitated the snoozes of a celebrity clientele that includes Winston Churchill, JFK, Monica Bellucci, and the Queen of Sweden, to name just a few. Serbelloni has undoubtedly the best location of any hotel in Bellagio, located directly on the waterfront with its own private jetty, beach and lakeside slice.
Frescoed dining rooms, trompe l’oeil, marble columns, and more silk upholstery than an opera house, Serbelloni is not a hideout for the Scandi minimalist. But where’s the fun in restraint? The 94 bedrooms and suites are an opulent concoction of gilded chairs, lofty ceilings and marble bathrooms. The suites offer copious space (The JFK and Churchill rooms can actually be joined together to make one mega-suite), with often unobstructed, jaw-slackening views of Lake Como.
The view from a desk in a suite
A dresser with a glimpse of the view from the Queen of Sweden suite
While it’s common for modern luxury hotels to opt for privacy and seclusion, Grand Villa Serbelloni beelines for an atmosphere of community – there’s rarely a moment where you won’t encounter another heartbeat. The breakfast room bursts with the newly awoken dusting off the cobwebs with the tried and tested duo of a cappuccino and cold glass of Franciacorta. The hotel is run with warm Italian hospitality, in part thanks to many members of staff who’ve worked here for years.
What to eat and drink?
There are two restaurants within Serbelloni – Mistral, a fine dining spot and La Goletta, a more casual restaurant. The former laid claim to having the biggest glass veranda in Europe back in 2004, and although this may still not ring true after a decade (glass veranda surveyors, please get in touch), it doesn’t take away from the high calibre of cooking from executive chef Ettore Bocchia. Expect a seven-course tasting menu (with an option for wine pairing) peppered with refined heavy hitters like wild sole with chanterelles and peacock tortellini with fava beans.
La Goletta serves a menu of classic Mediterranean fare, occasionally spliced with Southeast Asian flavours. A stern piece of advice when ordering here: get the bucatini pomodoro. Tomato pasta might be for children, but well-made tomato pasta is worthy of adult mouths. Gracefully treading the tomato sauce tightrope, balancing sweetness and richness with a pleasing sourness, I ate this dish four times during my two-night stay here.
A cornucopia breakfast spread is served on starched tablecloths at the grand Salone Reale. A glass of something sparkling is always available at breakfast, but should you want to grease the wheels in the PM there are three drinking spots in the hotel – the pool and beach bar, Verri’s lobby bar and Terrazza Darsena. The latter, with lake views, is the perfect spot for a pre-prandial sipper.
What to do?
It goes without saying you’re on Lake Como, so booking a private tour via the hotel on an iconic Riva boat is a must. You’ll be whizzed around the lake by a Como stalwart with an encyclopaedic knowledge of the lake and its famous villas. When you’re not skimming the lake’s waters, plunge beneath them via the hotel’s floating diving board – an activity that’s fun when the sun shines but even better when there’s a biblical downpour.
The newly renovated The Luce del Lago spa should definitely be on your hit list, with an extensive menu of treatments. If you fancy working up a sweat, there’s a gym, squash and tennis courts. Equally, if loafing is on the agenda, there’s a steam room, sauna, hydrotherapy pool and the largest hammam in Lake Como.
To drive through Lake Como’s towns and villages is to immediately induce a migraine, so we recommend taking the taxi boats if you want to explore other parts of the lake (although brace yourself for a maelstrom of tourists during the peak summer season). Bellagio is petite but worthy of wonder, with the botanical gardens of Villa Melzi alongside plenty of scenic hikes to embark on, including those led by a Nordic Walking fitness instructor.
Rooms from £585 including breakfast; villaserbelloni.com
