Mandarin Oriental, Lago di Como

Just returned from the Mandarin. Let’s start with the positives, this hotel is beautiful and has a prime position adjacent to Lake Como. We booked a Duplex Suite which had the most amazing views of the lake and is located within the main hotel building which gave us easy access to all facilities A very warm and efficient welcome upon arrival and the staff were all extremely helpful. We enjoyed boat trips on the lake each day and would recommend the self drive boats- good quality and 100 euros an hour The spa and boutique is excellent and the boutique offers great brands at reasonable prices. The treatments at the spa are very expensive but were great So to the not so good points. The hotel insists on playing through the whole hotel the most annoying music and it’s on a loop literally all day and night inside and outside and started at 7am until midnight and woke us up being above the reception Lake Como is one of the most beautiful, serene places in the world and I questioned why this is necessary with the management and why when you pay 3500 euros a night sleep is broken. The answer is as that apparently the employees all start at 7am! After the second day I have to say that the management agreed to address this and they did but shouldn’t it be obvious that guests certainly don’t want to hear this at 7am? I would add that the room we stayed in was very close to the taxi and golf cart turning area The dining at the hotel was a very mixed experience. We ate at the Aria which was fantastic food and great ambiance, high quality dining. The first night however we at at the bistro and I had the shrimp cocktail which was very bland and then I had a chicken dish recommended which was simply inedible and virtually all bone. I complained and the management discounted the bill but again not what you expect from a supposedly prestige hotel The breakfast is confusing. If you go to the Aria the food is beautiful and all included in your stay but if you order to your room, you are charged fully for all the food so we paid 115 euros for our first day. Why not just charge a surcharge? All this said we enjoyed the stay but I would say that this hotel is not of a standard to command the price of 3500 euros a night. The hotel positions itself as world class but unfortunately we found it to fall way short of that Thanks to the management though who did seem to take the feedback on board and did their best to respond in the right way, that was appreciated

I had an amazing stay! Everything went great!!! The service was spot on, and the rooms were modern, super clean, and really comfortable. Huge thanks to Nicola and Riccardo who welcomed me in the best way and truly made me feel at home , yuo guys are awesome! Big compliments also to the lovely ladies at the front desk and the entire concierge team— always kind, helpful, and with a smile. You really made a difference! And thanks to all the restaurant staff and housekeeping team. You guys are great!! Can’t wait to come back!

Now the hotel is under Mandarin Oriental management. This review was preliminary sent to the hotel team with the request from the meeting with the hotel management. But they failed to meet us and discuss the situation. Lake and beach. When you come to the most expensive and high rated hotel in Como you expect nice beach and access to the lake. Not in this case. The lake is quite dirty in this area and there is no beach at all here. There is a swimming pool only, which in fact is very congested and in high season the staff could not provide us with a set of sunbeds near a swimming pool. When you pay 4k Euro per night you at least deserve the right to have an opportunity to use a swimming pool given that this is a boutique luxury hotel. Breakfast. We moved to this hotel from Portrait Milano where I believe one of the best breakfasts in all the hotels we stayed. Thus breakfast in MO Lago Di Come looked not to the level and price of this hotel: menu for a la carte courses is poor and has very few positions, no smoothies and other fresh juices except for Orange and grapefruit, bakery is just average, selection of cold cuts is average either. Smell…sad to day but when we approach our suite located in the nearest to lobby building there is a smell of sewage which always “welcomes” us on the way to the room. Staff. The guys working here are friendly and nice. Helped with our requests. Wifi: quite slow and unstable. Territory: we had a “private” balcony buy it is just 2 meters aside from the make pedestrian road. Summary: don’t recommend at all to travelers who are used to top level of services and have high and relevant expectations regarding this property.

We recently completed an incredible stay at the Mandarin Lake Como. I was a bit concerned with the reviews below and we also had a similar issue reaching concerning/front desk and not hearing back for a week. However, once we were on the property - we were completely blown away. The views are breathtaking and the property is very well kept. The service was impeccable and the concierge responded right away. We booked a vista lago room, but were upgraded to a vista lago suite overlooking the water with a private terrace. Highly recommend booking a suite if you have little ones - there was ample space and even an office nook. The pool area was never crowded and they also have a heated indoor pool (which my toddler loved). I was pleasantly surprised that there was a large kids room with plenty of toys and space for little ones. The food was good - nothing incredible, but glad to have gluten free options. The only issue I had was that the shuttle booked up very fast and there weren’t many options to leave the property unless you booked your own service. Other than that, we had a wonderful time and look forward to returning!

Just spent 5 nights at MO Lago di Como. It’s a beautiful property with multiple villas instead of a single main building. We stayed in a Vista Lago room which turned out to be larger than shown on the website and, as the name implies, had a view of Lake Como. Room was very well furnished, with a comfortable bed, sizable walk-in closet and an oversized bathroom - always a nice surprise! Our pre-arrival experience with Concierge desk was not up to MO standards. Emails went unanswered for days and required multiple reminders. The experience was much better in person, and Michele was wonderful and super helpful with all our requests. The service throughout the hotel was polite and attentive. I especially liked hotel’s WhatsApp communication method, given that rooms are all away from the front desk. What was missing for me was some Italian character. True to their corporate approach, MO staffs their properties with multi-national personnel. There is nothing wrong with that per se, but if you close your eyes - this properly could be anywhere in the world. An Italian hotel needs more Italian flair. Finally, a couple of practical notes for those considering this hotel: - There was a surprisingly large population of parents with young children here. The pool floating in the lake is absolutely amazing, but it’s the only one on the property, there is no separate family pool. - Local transportation, provided by the hotel, is uncharacteristically pricey. Leaving hotel for a diner out in Como (15 min away) will be around 100 euros round-trip. While reaching a restaurant across the lake by car (25-30 min away) will set you back 300 euros round-trip. The prices for water taxis are even higher. - There are some posts about poor security at the hotel. We found no such thing. There is only one way to get in/out of the hotel by car and that entrance is monitored at all times. A guard has to open a gate for every car to pass.