Villa d'Este

I recently spent five nights at Villa d’Este, and unfortunately, my experience fell far short of the expectations associated with a luxury five-star hotel. While the grounds are spectacular and the gardens undeniably beautiful, the property itself is showing its age and is in desperate need of renovation, modernization, and, quite frankly, better management. **The rooms and facilities are simply not up to five-star standards.** The accommodations are outdated, worn, and lacking the comfort and refinement one would expect at this price point. Our original Junior Suite presented a serious maintenance issue on the second day of our stay: the shower flooded, the fixtures came off the wall, and water poured down the entire wall. This was an unacceptable situation for a hotel of this supposed caliber. We were subsequently moved to a Junior Suite Deluxe, which was another disappointment. I genuinely question what qualifies this room as “Deluxe.” It was smaller than our original suite, had an extremely tiny bathroom, and offered little more than a balcony barely large enough for two people to stand on. This was certainly not the upgrade one would expect following such an unpleasant experience. **The dining experience was equally underwhelming.** The food was average at best, and the restaurant that requires guests to wear jackets did not deliver the level of elegance or sophistication expected. It is essentially the same space used for breakfast, with little effort made to create a distinct, formal dining atmosphere. Requiring guests to dress formally should be accompanied by an environment and dining experience that justify that expectation. The gym, which I used regularly, was adequate but nothing exceptional. Cleanliness and upkeep could be improved considerably. The sporting club was particularly disappointing, with outdated locker rooms, showers, and facilities that appear neglected and overdue for refurbishment. The spa was another major frustration. The treatment rooms are separate from the main facilities, and to access the showers and other amenities, guests must walk approximately three minutes through a dark corridor to the sporting club. This is inconvenient, poorly conceived, and completely inconsistent with the seamless, luxurious experience one should expect from a five-star property. **What was most disappointing, however, was the hotel's response to our situation.** After the serious plumbing issue in our original room and the inconvenience of having to pack and move to another suite, I would have expected the management to acknowledge the disruption in a meaningful way. Instead, we were not offered compensation or even a credit for one night's stay. The hotel's gesture of apology was a bottle of champagne, which, frankly, felt wholly inadequate given the circumstances. A complimentary bottle does not compensate for a significant maintenance failure and the inconvenience imposed on paying guests. Villa d’Este may have built an impressive reputation over the years, and its setting remains exceptional, but **a beautiful location and a historic name alone do not justify five-star prices or five-star expectations.** The property requires substantial investment in its rooms, amenities, sporting facilities, and overall guest experience. Equally concerning is the apparent lack of attention to service recovery when something goes wrong. Having stayed at Four Seasons Hotel George V in Paris, I can confidently say that the difference in service, comfort, attention to detail, and overall luxury is striking. The comparison is difficult to ignore, particularly when considering the prices charged at Villa d’Este. I left feeling extremely disappointed and frustrated by what was an expensive stay that did not deliver the quality or service I expected. The grounds are beautiful, but the accommodation, facilities, dining, and handling of our complaint fell well below my expectations. **Villa d’Este needs to stop relying on its historic reputation and start delivering the level of quality and service its pricing promises.** Until meaningful improvements are made, I would find it difficult to recommend this hotel to anyone seeking a genuinely luxurious five-star experience. In my opinion, the overall experience did not justify the expense, and I would not rate it highly.

We spent 2 nights at Villa D’Este after strong recommendations from good friends. The hotel and grounds are absolutely beautiful, and we were upgraded to a great suite in the annex building. The suite had a 180o view of the lake from a small terrace and a side terrace with lounging chairs. The bed was very comfortable and the bathroom well appointed. We had dinners both at the Grill and the Veranda. The food was superb, but the one disappointment was the price of the wines. Usually one expects wines to cost 2x retail. In this case it was more like 3-4x, so we drank limited quantities. The other disappointment was the large numbers of mainly Japanese girls formally dressed up and taking pictures of themselves all over the property (influencers?). We had been led to believe that the property was very private, but it seemed more like a movie set. Nevertheless, we loved our stay at Villa D’Este.

Absolutely magnificent hotel with stunning views of Lake Como. We stayed in an Executive room which overlooked the gardens although you could see the lake from the Balcony. The room was very spacious (the size of a suite in most hotels) and elegantly decorated with a large bathroom featuring Villa D’Este toiletries. We really enjoyed the restaurants with first class service and cuisine in both The Veranda and The Grill. Even when grabbing a quick lunch at the bar (with outside tables overlooking the lake), the food was beautifully served and delicious. The hotel operates a courtesy water taxi to Como which can be booked with the concierge and gives the best views of the hotel and the lake. Previously we have stayed in Bellagio at the Villa Serbelloni but Villa D’Este definitely feels more luxurious and elegant. Highly recommended and we would definitely stay again next time we are in Lake Como.

With the exception of our executive guest room at 2100 Euros/night, our stay at Villa D’Este was magical. The property is magnificent, the service first class, and the experience is second to none. The restaurants are great and the food and wine were excellent. I would recommend staying here to anyone! Having said that, everything at the Villa D’Este is very expensive! Our “executive” room, with a partial lake view, was small, tired, and unimpressive. The room was comfortable but lacked storage space and the basics (in-room coffee/tea) one would expect from a 5-star luxury property at this price level. Nevertheless, the hotel definitely lives up to its reputation and I would definitely stay here again!

This hotel is rightly a member of Leading Hotels of the World. The building is well maintained and it has an idyllic position on Lake Como. We stayed here largely because of its mention in the Michelin Green Guide to Italy. Staff were very helpful when we discovered that we should have reserved a table at the Grill and Platano restaurants on arrival if not well before. On the downside, we felt that the restaurant availability issue should have been highlighted earlier. Dining at the hotel is an integral part of the experience as it is a resort style hotel. I appreciate the reason for the jacket requirement at the Veranda but we travel light (hand carry only on airlines) and I wasn't going to bring a jacket half the way round the world to dine in an ambient temperature of 36˚C as it was when we were there. The one dining "experience" that was freely available was the "Sapori di Mare" meal, which was good but offered far too much food. One should finish a good meal feeling satisfied but we felt bloated. The gardens are well maintained up to a point. Some of the space is now taken up by tennis courts and I was a bit disappointed by the state of the "hiking"/jogging paths. These are definitely worth exploring and give splendid views on to the lake, villa and grounds but were covered by fallen leaves (in June) and we found one of the jogging direction signs lying on the ground at a path junction. With all the staff around, perhaps someone could be spared to sweep away the leaves and maintain the signage? Better signage of the "hiking" trails would definitely add value to this part of the experience.