Palazzo Albricci Peregrini

Palazzo Albricci Peregrini

Most people who come to Lake Como stay on the lake itself, in one of the grand hotels that line the waterfront between Bellagio and Varenna. The town of Como, at the southern tip, tends to be treated as a transfer point rather than a destination. Palazzo Albricci Peregrini is a good argument for reconsidering that habit. The palazzo dates from the 15th century, built within Como's medieval walls near the Roman towers that still define the old town. It belongs to a family who still live here, Maximiliano and Lidia Albricci Peregrini, who transformed part of their home into a hotel with their architecture-student children, using reclaimed materials and restored original details throughout. There are ten rooms and suites arranged around a quiet internal courtyard, each different, each mixing the building's original bones, including exposed beams, restored stone floors, working fireplaces, with contemporary furnishings and polished concrete. The effect is personal in a way that no amount of budget produces on its own. The hotel has no restaurant, which is not a gap so much as a reflection of where you are. Como's old town has good restaurants within easy walking distance, and the team here is specific and current in their recommendations rather than defaulting to the obvious. Breakfast, served in the palazzo, is a multi-course affair that several guests describe as the best they had in Italy, homemade, unhurried, generous. Evening aperitivi in the courtyard are included, and the honesty bar is the kind of detail that gets the tone of a place right. The lake is a ten-minute walk from the front door. The Como-Brunate funicular, which climbs to a hillside village with views over the entire lake, departs a short walk away. Milan Malpensa is 50 kilometres from the hotel, which makes this a viable first or last night rather than a detour. The short version: Ten rooms in a 15th-century family palazzo in the heart of Como's old town. Small, personal, and priced well below what you'd pay for a comparable experience on the lakefront. A good base for exploring the lake without the noise of the resort hotels.