This place really is all about the views. I don't think there is a better view in all of Lake Como…read moreto be honest! The reason the views are so great is due to you having to catch two outdoor glass elevators up the cliff face to your room, so if you're scared of heights this might not be the place for you to stay. The hotel is a short stroll from the town centre and was the perfect distance to walk after a satisfying Italian dinner. I definitely liked the town Varenna much more than Bellagio, which was extremely touristy. The rooms are nice, somewhat basic in a slightly mid-century pine wood kind of way. I found the service to be really friendly and helpful. The cleaners seemed to make a lot of noise shouting outside the rooms each morning, which was not ideal.

This place is all about the views. And when you book a room here, ensure to remember to book at the…read moretop level of the hotel. The views are magnificent! I'm not sure there are better views to be had at any other hotel in the major cities around the center of the lake. Ah-mazing! But really, the view is all your paying for and why you would stay in his hotel! Varenna isn't a cheap town, but this hotel is competitively priced for what it offers, which is amazing views and mediocre amenities. The rooms are basic and bare, very European and that's totally fine. The bathrooms are basic and bare. No toiletries, but I don't stay at hotels for their toiletries. :) The tram you take from the bottom of the hotel to the top is a little sketch; it kind of feels like it may fall apart or stop mid-way, but it totally worked every time we needed to go up or down. Now, the breakfast is appalling. There's a cappuccino machine, so no fresh cappuccinos! I feel like that's such a standard at basic, three-star hotels, but this place definitely does not have such. Also, the food is just really basic. I can't, however, speak to the food quality from their restaurant as we didn't eat there. We only stayed one night as we wanted to experience the view, so I can say that that was really all that was necessary. The customer service isn't bad, it's just a really basic hotel with a really spectacular view! We had a balcony that overlooked the entire central area of the lake (Bellagio and Varenna in perfect view). Here, we enjoyed an Italian happy hour of products we purchased just down in the town center of Varenna. It was so relaxing! :) Another thing to note when considering if you want to stay here or not, is that it's located about 10-15 minutes walking distance from the main center of Varenna (in front of San Giorgio church). This is totally not a big deal, but could be a problem if you're lugging your rolling luggage up the hill to get to the hotel; we ended up hailing a cab as we were not going to be able to push our luggage up the hill. ;) So the location isn't right in town. Bottom line: this hotel isn't horrible, it just isn't a place I wouldn't choose o stay again. It's meh.

Comfortable place, near the station (2 blocks) and the ferries (1 block). The rooms are simple and…read morevery clean. Our room had a partial view of Lake Como. Nice staff - they called the Varenna hair stylist for me (reservations required). Complimentary breakfast (8-10am) was filling - coffee, pastries, meat, cheese, yogurt, fruit, juice, granola cereal. Just 2 blocks from town square, Piazza San Giorgio, where there are many restaurants and shops. Quiet and safe area. Great value.

The food here is some of the best you will find. We've been a few times in the last few days and we…read morehaven't been disappointed at all. Make reservations, plan to take your time, and enjoy your meal!

best place ever. has everything you need. made us eggs and bacon in the morning even though there…read moreisn't a breakfast menu. 2€ Prosecco!

Excellent hotel, amazing location, incredible views! The staff is kind, the owners are adorable,…read morehelpful and super friendly. Next time, I would CALL this hotel and book direct. Immediate ferry access to visit all of the mid lake Como villages If you are visiting Lake Como from Milan do NOT strew about getting there!! Take the train from Milan. It is not complicated. The hotel also owns a restaurant (right next door) that provided one of the best meals I have ever had in my entire life! Have a beautiful trip!

Adorable place, right by the ferry. Excellent breakfast and super clean. Easy walk from the train…read morestation. The ferry can get loud, but it's worth it for the view and the cuteness.

My mom and I visited the Palace Hotel in Como in August. We just actually left the hotel! Como is…read moreabsolutely beautiful and the hotel itself from the outside is stunning. The location is perfect. However, everything else is not. The rooms are very dated. Very small! From the time that we arrived we received misinformation, absolutely no help - and left the same way. And was literally left standing in the rain with staff, looking at us as we struggled to bring in our bags in safely. The hotel personnel were actually extremely rude. Food was good - but there are plenty of other wonderful places to eat in Como. If you ask for water, you're lucky to get a bottle. If you ask for help or recommendations, they won't even ask you what you're looking for and just book you somewhere and expect you to go. I would not recommend this hotel to anyone. But I do recommended Como!!!

4* Hotel Palace Lake Como, Italy…read moreLocation is perfect, close to Il Duomo, ferry, shopping center Nice building Reception: shorter man was friendly; taller guy was gruff Room was nice, spacious, and clean Nice amenities PLUS: the breakfast buffet was excellent! Real fresh fruit that were delicious Decaf coffee was just okay. Nescafe? Multilingual staff.

By far one of the best, privately hotels I've ever stayed at in my life. Everything you see on…read moretheir website, is even better in person. The staff is extremely friendly and helpful. The room was pristine. The views from our balcony were unreal. The restaurant was great, the breakfast was great. I will absolutely be coming back here when I stay in Varenna someday again. Make sure you listen to their website when it says to pack light, you really do have to climb up a lot of stairs to get to your room that are very narrow and it is pretty much impossible to do if you have a large suitcase.

The Albergo Milano and the Hotel Du Lac were the Hotels that "got away" during our recent 3 night…read morestay in the Lake Como area. My guess is that Varenna is a magnet for American destination weddings, which probably explains why parts of these Hotels' reservation books were already full, even when we inquired many months in advance. The Albergo Milano is located right in the old town and up. It looks very romantic and complete with killer views from the balcony.

Beautiful, small hotel in the quaint city-of-lovers, Varenna. Though a little bit of a walk from…read morethe main ferry drop point, this allows you to basically walk to whole coast of the city (very small, maybe a total of 10 minutes). We opted for the included breakfast which was great, as you are dining right on the waters of Lake Como, it is breathtaking. The rooms were clean, air conditioning was working and the staff was helpful with directions. While I would want to stay in another city on the lake next time (to explore more), I would stay here again if we were back in Varenna!

Everything! The entire stay was delightful and the staff were incredible! Now we came when there…read morewas a heat wave and the air conditioning in our room had a hard time keeping up- the entire staff went out of their way to help us. We were so impressed. We will be back for sure! Such a lovely place.

The Hotel Metropole is situated directly on the shores of Lake Como, and their Patio Restaurant…read moreprovides great views of the lake. It's a beautiful older hotel, in the heart of Bellagio. After touring the fabulous Villa Melzi gardens and traversing the hilly cobble stoned Bellagio streets adorned by abundant shops and restaurants, it was time for lunch. The Hotel Metropole is conveniently located in the town, and the alfresco dining offered provided a perfect view of the lake. There were plenty of tables available when we sat down, so we selected one with an optimum view. It was a great spot to watch the public ferries traversing the lake, and the private water taxis buzzing about in this busy little town. We selected the Salad with Prawns, and Spaghetti Carbonara. Both were nicely prepared, the prawns were fresh, and the spaghetti cooked perfectly al dente, in a tasty sauce. Service was good, and the patio venue unbeatable on this beautiful day. This was a solid four-star experience for our pleasant lunch.

In Rick Steves' Tour Book, there's the Hotel Metropole, its Ristorante, and the Snack Bar. I think…read moreGayle and I stopped at the later near the end of our stay in Bellagio. We had already had Lunch and we were in the mood for either coffee or ice cream. The Hotel Metropole Snack Bar has some nice scenic outdoor seating and yes it's a bit pricey. But so what? We were on vacation and we were only snacking. My ice cream sundae (see picture) was delicious and refreshing, and of course the people watching was worth the cover charge alone.