This Hotel Should Be On Your Bucket List

Some people have the bad habit of shopping online at night, others binge reality tv shows.

My toxic trait is that I stay up late at night and make hotel reservations – without really knowing if it works for my schedule or the people I want to go with me on this aspirational future trip. I booked a stay Claridge’s in London a few years ago late at night & in the middle of Covid, and more recently I booked the Passalacqua hotel in Lake Como.

The time stamp on the reservation? 11:07 PM on September, 20, 2023 – approximately eleven months prior to the reservation and way past my bedtime.

My travel agent fusses at me about this bad habit but my need for instant gratification and the calm it brings me knowing I have a fun trip to look forward to is hard to overcome.

In this case, the trip worked out although we made a few modifications – one being that instead of staying in Lake Como for the full week, we only stayed four days (which turned out to be plenty) and spent the second part of our trip in Portofino which is only a three hour drive. It turns out that I loved mixing it up and having both experiences.

And I’m not even sure where to start with the Passalacqua. It was magical – I don’t think it will ever leave me. I spent so much time just walking around the property and taking it all in. Here are a few details about the hotel, but if you’re considering a bucket list trip to Lake Como and are on the fence – the answer is yes you need to go and experience it.

History: The villa dates back to 1787 and in 1831, the then-owner was a friend and patron to composer Vincenzo Bellini and during a stay, Bellini composed the opera La Sonnambula. It has changed hands a number of times from private owner to private owner, until the De Santis family purchased it in 2018, began a three year restoration and opened its doors in June of 2022.

About: The Passalacqua was named number one on the The World’s 50 Best Hotels 2023, just one year after opening. The hotel has only 24 total rooms and it feels like you’re in someone’s beautiful summer home – it is that intimate and special. During our visit the windows remained open throughout the property so the entire house is filled with the sound of birds chirping and the cool breeze from the lake.

My favorite room in the hotel was the bar (no jokes please). It is so cozy and intimate – I sat there in the evenings and read my book with a martini. Ah, to be on vacation.

Restaurants: La Baia di Moltrasio (5 minutes by foot from the hotel), Il Glicine in Cernobbio, 10 minutes away by car, Latteria San Fedele, located in the city center of Como, Il Gatto Nero (make sure to request/insist on a table upstairs), La Moltrasina (6 minutes from the hotel).

These are places that I researched and wanted to try but we weren’t able to work them in to our stay: Da Luciano (11 minutes from the hotel), Locanda La Tirlindana (20 min from the hotel), Pasticceria Poletti (7 minutes from the hotel – famous spot for sweet and salty treats).

Note: My husband and I are not tasting menu/Michelin star types of eaters but if you fall into that category you will love the restaurant at the hotel for dinner. We had dinner there one night and regretted it – we wished we had walked to one of the casual restaurants in the nearby town or gone to another restaurant. The food was just so-so in our opinions at the hotel. (Not the case for breakfast, only for dinner).

Hemingway Cocktail Bar was also fun – close to Latteria San Fedele in the city of Como.

Activities:

Bike Tour: The highlight of our entire trip for me (my husband’s favorite was our visit to Bagni Fiore in Portofino) was this incredible bike tour through the towns and villages of Lake Como and up into Switzerland. We booked a tour through Lake Como Cycling and our guide Pietro was wonderful – he met us at the hotel with the bikes (e-bikes – don’t be too impressed) and dropped us off afterwards. We biked for over three hours and 28 miles and it was glorious.

Boat Tour: A well traveled friend of my husband’s recommended Boat Tour to take a tour of the lake to see all the sights and spend time on the water. Of course, any good tour of Lake Como includes a sighting of George Clooney’s villa – a highlight for me. We went in the afternoon from 5-7 PM which was perfect because we had a drink on the boat and then a late dinner close to the hotel afterwards. This company was much less expensive than booking through the hotel and it was exactly the same type of boat and tour.

Pool & Spa: The pool is lovely at the hotel although fair warning there are not an abundance of lounge chairs if they are at full capacity. We had trouble getting them one morning which was disappointing so I would advise getting there early to get the best seats.

Lastly, one of the most spectacular parts of the hotel is the spa which is located in what is described as a “secret passageway” beneath the gardens in what was once either a service passageway or some other secret patchwork of tunnels. It has an indoor lap pool that looks out onto the property. I didn’t book a treatment but did get to swim in the pool and it was so nice. There’s apparently a gym too but I never saw it. 🙂

There are more pictures and videos of the hotel and our activities on my Instagram Account if you would like additional details.

Have a great weekend!

This blue and white lightweight sweater is perfect to travel with.
This is the famous “bright orange Spiaggina, the oh-so-cute vintage open-top Fiat 500 we use to whisk you around the property.”

“Finally, in 2018, Villa Passalacqua was acquired by the De Santis family, Lake Como natives and owners of the celebrated Grand Hotel Tremezzo. After a major three-year restoration project, Passalacqua threw open its doors to the world in June 2022, relaunching and renewing its historic vocation for hospitality.”

“There are seven acres of lake-facing terraced gardens, meticulously manicured and complete with a calming soundtrack of water fountains. Guests spend their time out here having a drink, partaking in yoga or lounging by the pool decked out in vibrant vintage prints from Milanese brand La Double J.”

This is the front of the hotel where the lobby, the bar, a sitting area, and the kitchen and breakfast area are located. There are some rooms in this building but the majority are in the second building behind this main one.
You can see how one room flows into the next and how it feels like you’re in someone’s beautiful home.
Every little detail is exquisite.
The hotel gift shop.
This is the gated entrance to Passalacqua. We rode through here on our bikes to go on our tour.
Stairs in the front building that lead to some of the suites.
Our room was not large but it was lovely.
There’s a tv inside of that trunk. Which we never turned on of course – way too beautiful outside.
The color of Passalacqua is yellow and the three fish theme is located throughout the hotel.
One of the breakfast rooms although most of the guests had breakfast outside.
Our daily breakfast spot.
The view from breakfast.
The breakfast buffet – unlike anything I’ve ever seen.
They’re not running out of butter anytime soon.
or cheese.
These are all filled with delicious homemade jams.
We had dinner at the hotel one night. The setting was incredible but as I mention above, I wouldn’t eat here if we had to do it all over again.
I loved this little sitting area – it is one of the first rooms you walk into at the hotel.
Summer breeze makes you feel fine.
The building behind the main villa where most of the rooms are located.
The color yellow and the three fish logo are everywhere. Even the to-go coffee cup is their signature yellow color with a pattern.
There’s a beautiful flower shop behind the main villa where they bring in fresh flowers to place around the hotel each day.
My favorite room on the property. (For the design not the alcohol of course.)
The Friday Afternoon Club – couldn’t put this down

TRAVEL TIP:
We took a water taxi over to Grand Hotel Tremezzo, Passalacqua’s sister property, for drinks one evening before dinner and while I am so glad we saw it (this is the iconic Lake Como property with a pool that sits on the lake and orange awnings and umbrellas), it was extremely crowded with lots of tourists (not necessarily hotel guests). The bars were overflowing in the hotel and on the beach and we actually couldn’t wait to get back to the quiet, peaceful Passalaqua property. I am wondering if the crowds are related to the surge in post-covid travel because I have had friends who stayed there and didn’t have this issue. It is certainly worth a visit but unless you’re a big fan of crowds and scenes you might be disappointed staying at the Tremezzo.

Tunnels in the spa that were used to bring supplies up from the lake to the villa on mules.
The indoor pool at the spa.
Lunchtime.
The iconic Italian brand (albeit with an American designer J J Martin) La Double J designed the bright and sunny poolhouse interiors.
This was my favorite day.
The town of Como.
Did not want to say good-bye to this beautiful place. Outfit details: Blue and white tee, Sneakers, cropped jeans.
But off we go to Portofino!

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