The 26 loveliest places to stay on the Italian Lakes

Maggiore is somewhere between the two — not as high-luxe as Como yet not as popular as Garda. This is a place where aristocratic families still own swathes of land and the ribbon-like road winds around at water level rather than rollercoastering, as it does around Como.

Then there are the smaller lakes — less famous, which means less spoilt. Iseo is my favourite for its Como-ish glassy waters and panettone-like island in the middle, Monte Isola. The Milanese, meanwhile, prefer Orta: a mini Maggiore with Como-level hospitality, only minus the crowds.

Lake Caldaro is my wild card: a pool-like blob 90 minutes north of Garda, in the foothills of the Dolomites, in German-speaking South Tyrol. Surrounded by vineyards and restaurants, it’s a lake for grown-ups with nothing to prove — less drama but lots of dolce vita.

Whichever you pick, some of Italy’s best hotels are waiting for you. Here are 26 of the best.

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Lake Como1. Villa d’Este, Cernobbio

The grandest of dames on Lake Como — quite an achievement — this sumptuous old-school hotel started off as a cardinal’s mansion and later played home to Caroline of Brunswick, our short-lived 19th-century queen. It’s still fit for royalty with high-ceilinged, antique-filled rooms, corridors hung with paintings, and a sweeping staircase that means you can’t help but make an entrance, even on your way to breakfast. Summer’s peak season — the lakeside pool and sprawling gardens are the draw — but it’s also magical in winter, with a city’s worth of Christmas lights illuminating every surface, boat rides with hot chocolate on hand and heated gazebos so you can still enjoy the lake views.
Details B&B doubles from £676 (villadeste.com). Fly to Milan

• Villa d’Este hotel review: a Lake Como retreat loved by the A-list

2. Al Molo 5, Vassena

This is Como but not as you know it. On the millpond-calm waterfront of Vassena — 15 minutes south of Bellagio, on the quiet side of the lake’s quietest leg — this peaceful restaurant with rooms is a retreat from the general Como madness. Plump for a lake view and you’ll get a small but beautifully renovated room with putty-coloured walls, exposed beams and glass doors leading out to your balcony hoisted over the water (where your private breakfast is served). There’s a free shuttle to Bellagio and the owners have a fleet of rental boats to hit the water. Guests get priority at the restaurant, where everything from the bread to pasta is homemade.
Details B&B doubles from £155 (almolo5.it). Fly to Milan

3. Villa Lario, Pognana Lario

So you want that priceless Como experience but without overtly luxury trimmings. You’ll need this family-owned 18-roomer just outside the quiet village of Pognana Lario. On the rollercoaster road to Bellagio, this is the less chic side of Como’s posher leg, meaning fewer fancy restaurants but tonnes more atmosphere. The focus is on nature not flounce, so the minimalist, white-walled rooms are angled towards the water. As is the small garden — sit under the centuries-old cedars, on the platform embedded into the lakeside wall, or in a deckchair on a bobbing pontoon. Go for a room in the palazzo, suspended between the cedar branches and the water.
Details B&B doubles from £562 (villalario.com). Fly to Milan

4. Casa Olea Hotel, Cremia

The northern half of Lake Como is less sceney, more real. There are campsites, simple hotels and the odd boutique standout such as this converted vicarage 25 minutes’ drive north of Tremezzo. Where other hotels go all out to glam up, this is suitably sober: there’s a monastic feel to the rough-plastered, open-beamed rooms and the cellar breakfast area. Rooms overlook the lake or the garden, while the pool is within earshot of Cremia’s bell tower.
Details B&B doubles from £228 (mrandmrssmith.com). Fly to Milan

5. Grand Hotel Victoria, Menaggio

At the turn of the (last) century, Menaggio, on the western shoreline of Lake Como, was the place to be. Today it’s as elegant as ever but nowhere near as crowded as the towns further south. That means you can enjoy all the luxurious trappings of its history at this grande dame, built in 1890 but overhauled and reopened in 2021. Today the columns and chandeliers of the ground floor contrast with the modern simplicity of the rooms upstairs — all neutral colours with feature wallpaper revving things up. The 1,200 sq m spa has everything from saunas to a salt room. Last year a beach club opened on the nearby lakefront.
Details B&B doubles from £574 (slh.com). Fly to Milan

6. Villa Cipressi, Varenna

Cutesy Varenna is one of the top draws on the lake, and this is the loveliest place to stay. Once a stately home of various gentry, Villa Cipressi is now a hotel owned by the town council and managed by locals. Rooms are spread across three buildings dating from the 14th century; despite the history they’re modern in feel, with simple whitewashed walls and parquet floors, putting the focus on the lake outside. The grounds house a botanical garden that is open to the public, including a gateway onto the lake that’s (sadly) big on Instagram. Out of business hours, though, it’s all yours.
Details B&B doubles from £258 (rcollectionhotels.it). Fly to Milan

7. Grand Hotel Tremezzo, Tremezzo

This really is a vibe: a storied 80-room grande dame on Como’s sunny western shore, down the road from the gardens of Villa Carlotta at Tremezzo. A hotel since 1910, it has been brought up to date by the De Santis family — who have owned it for the past half-century — mixing the old (carved, gilded headboards) with the new (mint green and buff walls) in the bedrooms, plus outdoor dining and the signature pool floating leisurely on the lake itself.
Details B&B doubles from £781 (grandhoteltremezzo.com). Fly to Milan

8. Hotel Villa Flori, Cernobbio

There’s no need to bankrupt yourself for a lakeside stay — not when there are four-star digs like this, between Como city and Cernobbio’s famous waterfront. For roughly the same price as a night at Villa d’Este you can get a week at the Villa Flori, originally a 19th-century mansion, which has conserved the frou-frou stucco and terrazzo floors of its previous life. Upgrade to a classic room from a standard for that all-important lake view. But bring earplugs: the only downside is that it’s on the busy main road.
Details Seven nights’ B&B from £1,891, including flights with checked luggage and transfers with easyJet Holidays (easyjet.com)

9. Bianca Relais, Lago di Annone

So you want to visit Como but you don’t want the full-on overtourism experience. How about this: 20 minutes from Como’s quieter eastern leg, sitting pretty on a lake of its own. Think of Lake Annone as two teardrops flicked off Como’s bottom-right foot. This is slow tourism: a sleek, modern ten-room mansion, which opened earlier this year, bang on the waterfront. Entry-level rooms are immersed in garden greenery; for a lake view, upgrade to a junior suite, complete with a mini hammam in the bathroom.
Details B&B doubles from £338 (booking.com). Fly to Milan

• What I learnt attempting to do luxury Lake Como for less

Lake Garda10. Villa Sostaga, Gargnano

This deliciously old-school hotel is a glimpse of real life: a family-owned villa (yes, that statue is of Gina, the owners’ bulldog), once the property of the Feltrinelli family. Follow the breathe-in lane carved into the cliffs 400m above pretty Gargnano and you’ll emerge at this 19th-century mansion, which was overhauled this year. The views are, of course, jaw-droppers; rooms in the main home (our pick) are relatively simple, with pretty pastels, parquet floors and flouncing headboards, leaving the focus on the views outside (other rooms, including the hammam-equipped spa suites, which opened this year, are in a modern annexe — more privacy but less history). Outside there are nearly 100 acres of grounds to explore, including the pool which, naturally, comes with a side of lake view.
Details B&B doubles from £275 (villasostaga.it). Fly to Verona

11. Cape of Senses, Torri del Benaco

Cape of Senses opened with a bang in 2023 above Torri del Benaco, on Garda’s east coast where the bulbous south gives way to a more alpine, mountain-hugged lake. Designed especially to catch Garda’s most spectacular sunsets, it’s a thoroughly modern affair with local stone, wood and tiles amping up the sustainability. The contemporary, neutrals-filled rooms all overlook the water through floor-to-ceiling windows and balconies. There are two pools, but the spa is the main draw, with a sauna overlooking an olive grove and an excellent range of treatments using herb-powered products.
Details B&B doubles from £416 (capeofsenses.com). Fly to Verona

12. Hotel Sirmione Terme, Sirmione

A slender peninsula tickling the southern part of the lake, Sirmione is one of Garda’s most visited villages. The Romans used to come to enjoy the thermal waters here, and today you can follow in their footsteps with various hotels doubling as spas. Terme is arguably the best value, with 102 simple but elegant rooms with views over the town and the lake (lake-view rooms have balconies suspended over the water). There’s a good selection of single and family rooms. The spa area is a mix of thermal pools, plus extras from a sauna and hammam to salt room and argillarium, where you can douse yourself with mineral-infused clay.
Details B&B doubles from £112 (termedisirmione.com). Fly to Verona

13. Du Lac et Du Parc Grand Resort, Riva del Garda

You’re right on the lakefront here, but you wouldn’t necessarily know it, thanks to the 17-acre park that swathes the hotel in green: sprawling lawns, century-old trees and palms reminding you of the Mediterranean climate. It’s a big beast of 254 rooms, including bungalows dotted about the grounds. The room categories have wildly different feels; our pick are the Sequoia rooms, hugged by trees with views of the lake squeezed in by high, primeval cliffs, or the park-bound bungalows for a glamping feel. Family-run, it’s also family-friendly with a kids’ club, a pizzeria as well as a new Italian restaurant, and three pools. For the adults, there’s outdoor yoga and a spa offering everything from ayurvedic treatments to Botox-effect facial massages.
Details B&B doubles from £370 (dulacetduparc.com). Fly to Verona

14. Lefay Resort & Spa Lago di Garda, Garnagno

This world-class resort is hoisted high in the cliffs above Gargnano’s lemon groves and blends traditional Chinese medicine and western techniques. The sprawling 4,300 sq m spa offers traditional Chinese medicine-based treatment plans including a salt-infused floating pool and tuina (traditional Chinese) massages. You don’t have to be a spa fiend to stay, though — this is perhaps Garda’s most spectacular setting, with 27 acres of flower and herb-filled parkland enjoying sweeping views over the lake below, a clifftop pool, plus two wonderful restaurants overlooking the water. The rooms — all soothing neutrals — look onto the park and the lake beyond, with private balconies and grassy terraces. Heaven.
Details B&B doubles from £324 (lefayresorts.com). Fly to Verona

15. AktivHotel SantaLucia, Torbole

Sporty types rejoice: this hotel on the northeastern shore was built for those of you who want to cycle, run and windsurf around the lake. This self-styled “triathlon hotel” attracts a self-selecting bunch of guests, and they really love it. Activities include guided biking and hiking, yoga lessons and triathlon camps, and there’s a shuttle service to biking trails, a CCTV-equipped bike room, helmet lockers, and pools and a sauna for end-of-day recovery (they have thought of everything). And the rooms? You’ll probably be too knackered to notice, but they’re fun affairs, with brightly coloured walls, jazzy art and smatterings of pink lighting.
Details B&B doubles from £136 (uk.hotels.com). Fly to Verona

16. Villa Feltrinelli, Gargnano

Benito Mussolini could have chosen anywhere to live when he set up his Garda-based puppet-state Republic of Salo in 1943. This was his choice: a ravishing lakeside mansion, built in 1892 for the Feltrinelli publishing scions. Little has changed over the past 133 years: it’s still a waltz back in time with stuccoed walls, painted ceilings and stained glass around the grand staircase. This is one of Italy’s genuine bucket-list hotels. To do it right, get a wondrously flouncy room in the main villa (not the outside buildings). Out of budget? Know the feeling, but the two-Michelin-starred restaurant is open to non-guests.
Details B&B doubles from £1,553 (villafeltrinelli.com). Fly to Verona

• Read our full guide to Italy

17. Le Ali del Frassino, Peschiera del Garda

Just five minutes from Garda’s southern coast but well away from the crowds, this self-contained resort is a peaceful oasis just off the motorway (though you wouldn’t know). Set on its own dinky lake, the Laghetto del Frassino, it has 97 modern rooms scattered around barnlike buildings, two pools, an organic vineyard, a restaurant overlooking the water, and a brood of chubby cats padding around the public areas. It’s all rather slick — rooms have features like exposed-brick walls and floor-to-ceiling windows — but beneath that is a real commitment to sustainability, with green roofs, bat houses, a spelt field for biodiversity and more than 400 trees to help the property breathe.
Details B&B doubles from £130 (lealidelfrassino.it). Fly to Verona

18. Prati Palai, Bardolino

Think of this as an upmarket agriturismo or B&B; a farm producing wine, olive oil and unforgettable stays thanks to the 44 acres of lawn, olive groves and gardens unspooling towards the distant blue. There are eight rustic rooms (lemon walls, exposed beams and rolltop baths), plus a lovely garden pool and homemade limoncello to enjoy in the loungers beside it. Bardolino itself is an easy seven-minute drive.
Details B&B doubles from £240 (mrandmrssmith.com). Fly to Verona

19. Borgo Tre, Torri del Benaco

Another recent opening for Torri del Benaco, Borgo Tre threw open its rustic doors (it’s an 18th-century farmhouse) in 2024. It’s a hybrid between a holiday home and an agriturismo; there are only four suites (two more are planned this year), the farmhouse is hemmed in by pine forest, olive groves and lemon trees, and each suite is self-sufficient with kitchen and dining areas (though there’s also a communal honesty box, and you get a breakfast box delivered each morning). It’s a nice bet off-season, because each suite has a fireplace as well as views of Torri del Benaco and the lake beyond.
Details B&B doubles from £518 (borgotre.com). Fly to Verona

• Lake Como v Lake Garda: which one should you visit?

Lake Maggiore20. Castello Dal Pozzo, Oleggio Castello

It looks a bit like a Loire Valley château crossed with a National Trust property, but Castello del Pozzo is one of a kind. In the hills west of Lake Maggiore, this is a fun, neo-gothic castle, though the site’s history dates back about 1,000 years, when Milan’s Visconti family stamped their mark on this territory. Today it’s still family-owned by the Dal Pozzo d’Annone family, who have had it for six generations. The rooms — split between the castle, villa and stables — are contemporary classic with pastel walls, heavy curtains and antique furniture reupholstered in fancy patterns. Don’t spook easily? Book the Queen Superior Barbara room in the old tower, with a resident ghost.
Details B&B doubles from £195 (preferredhotels.com). Fly to Milan

• 10 of the most beautiful places in Italy

21. Hotel Eden Roc, Ascona

When is an Italian lake hotel not in Italy? When it’s at the northern end of Lake Maggiore, a quick skip across the Swiss border. That explains the prices here in Ascona. Reopened in April after a seven-month renovation the rooms now, er, rock with colour, whether that’s bright yellow walls, striped curtains or funky patterned wallpaper. The views range from garden to mountain to a sweeping panorama all the way down the lake. Outside, past the three swimming pools, lies 500m of private shoreline and a water sports school offering everything from stand-up paddleboard sessions to waterskiing.
Details B&B doubles from £489 (edenroc.ch). Fly to Milan

Lake Iseo22. L’Albereta, Torbiato

Gorgeous Iseo, midway between Como and Garda, and about half the size of its bigger siblings, is a light-under-a-bushel kind of place. It’s less chi-chi than Como and less family-focused than Garda, which means better prices. Better still, it’s in the sprawling wine country of Franciacorta. L’Albereta is Iseo’s grande dame, a vineyard-hugged, ivy-swathed villa with a world-renowned spa attached. The 38 rooms are all rustic-luxe, with biscuit-coloured walls and patterned furniture; restaurants run the gamut from a fun pizzeria to L’Aurum, run by the superchef Enrico Bartolini. And then there’s the spa, or Chenot Espace, Italy’s only spa for the Chenot Method, which specialises in detox (hence another Chenot-specific restaurant for those easily tempted). You’re a 15-minute drive from the southern shore at Clusane.
Details B&B doubles from £311 (albereta.it). Fly to Bergamo

23. Cappuccini Resort, Cologne

OK, this isn’t on the lakefront — it’s a 20-minute drive to Sarnico, at the base of Lake Iseo. But it really is worth the drive to a 16th-century monastery perched on a conical hill that’s often magically shrouded in morning mist, thanks to the foggy Po Valley. The owner, Rosalba Tonelli, has lovingly converted the cells into 14 unique rooms; maybe you’ll have colourful walls, an iron bedstead or antique furniture. Winding up the hill you’ll find tiered gardens and the pool, while at road level is the new spa. The cloister is dominated by the restaurant serving the hotel’s own veg and wine, plus local products, from lakefish to game.
Details B&B doubles from £164 (cappuccini.it). Fly to Bergamo

Lake Orta24. La Darbia, Orta San Giulio

Nudging to the left of Maggiore, Orta is the lake of choice for Milanese weekenders, which means it’s calm midweek and has fantastic restaurants and swish hotels. This historic farming estate has been turned into a seriously chic aparthotel perched above the town of Orta San Giulio on the eastern shoreline. The owners, the local architects and brothers Gian Carlo and Matteo Primatesta, not only designed and renovated this as an ode to their lake, they have also planted a vineyard and vegetable garden to supply their restaurant. The rooms all have lake views and terraces (perfect for your breakfast box), from the one-beds with kitchenette to the self-declared luxury category; the style is Kit Kemp-esque with striped walls and patterned headboards. The two-bedroom family suites are good for groups of adults.
Details B&B doubles from £259 (ladarbia.com). Fly to Milan

25. Villa Crespi, Orta San Giulio

Whatever Como can do, Orta can do just as well, if not better. This is its answer to all those Michelin-starred restaurants hogging its bigger sibling’s shoreline: a three-star restaurant and Relais & Châteaux hotel owned by Antonio Cannavacciuolo, one of Italy’s foremost chefs. The location: a wildly flamboyant Moorish-style castle built in whimsical 19th-century style. The food: the best of Italy, as seen through the lens of this Campanian maestro. The rooms: 14 of them, including in the tower, with flamboyant tiles, Moorish arches in the bathrooms and even carved and gilded doors.
Details B&B doubles from £338 (relaischateaux.com). Fly to Milan

Lake Caldaro26. Pension Leuchtenburg, Kalterer See

The Kalterer See, otherwise known as Lago di Caldaro, is the lake you didn’t know you needed; relatively small, shaped like a portly seated cat, surrounded by superb wineries and restaurants, but nowhere near as prohibitively expensive as its more famous cousins. As the German name suggests, you’re in South Tyrol, an hour south of Bolzano, yet instead of toothy Dolomites this is all rolling hills and wine estates. On the east shore, 80m inland, this 12-room pensione was transformed during the pandemic into a funky hotel with simple but stylish rooms, a meadow out the back and, down the road, a lakefront lido with pedalos and rowing boats for guests.
Details Half-board doubles from £131 (welcomebeyond.com). Fly to Verona

Have we missed your favourite? Your secret will be safe with us (and your fellow readers) in the comments