Grand Hotel Victoria

Grand Hotel Victoria

Grand Hotel Victoria opened on the shores of Lake Como in 1890, and the sweeping staircases and gilded stucco of that original Liberty-style villa greet guests today, now paired with a newer Palazzo wing built alongside it. Most lake hotels commit to one era; this one keeps both, so a stay can mean a modern bathroom behind an 1890 facade or a Palazzo suite looking straight over the water toward Bellagio and Varenna. Eighty-one rooms spread across five floors, some over the lake, others over the garden and pool with the mountains behind. The hotel sits in central Menaggio, close enough to the boat piers that a morning tour of the lake's villages is a walk away rather than a taxi ride. There's an indoor pool as well as an outdoor one, a spa with sauna and steam room, and a private beach club a short walk from the main building, a combination not every hotel on this shoreline bothers with. Two restaurants and two bars cover a lake-facing dinner or a quiet drink at Manzoni. Families get a kids' club and babysitting on request; business groups get a business center and four meeting rooms. Pets travel for a modest fee, and anyone bringing an extra bed or a dog should expect the line items: 180 EUR a night for the bed, 40 EUR per stay for the pet, a 300 EUR-a-day damage deposit at check-in. This is not a retreat for anyone wanting to disappear for a week; the property runs weddings and events too. It suits someone who wants Lake Como's postcard view backed by enough to do that the view never has to carry the whole trip. An 1890 Liberty-style villa paired with a modern wing on the shores of Lake Como in Menaggio, with an indoor and outdoor pool, spa, and its own beach club near the boat piers. Suits travelers who want full resort facilities alongside lake views, not those seeking a small quiet inn.