Villa Crespi

Villa Crespi

A minaret rises above the shoreline of Lake Orta, part of a Moorish-style villa built in 1879 within a park that slopes down to the water, an hour from Milan and about ninety minutes from Turin. Villa Crespi keeps only fourteen rooms, each themed and named after Arabian Nights figures: Sheherazade and Rania in imperial red tapestry, Amira and Nur with reading nooks and four-poster beds, Jamila and Zeina looking out over the lake, Leila and Samar in royal blue silk, and four classic rooms tucked at the villa's highest point with crenelated terraces. All of them carry frescoed ceilings, period furniture and marble bathrooms with hot tubs, some with private balconies. What sets this Relais & Chateaux address apart from other lake villas is the kitchen: Antonino Cannavacciuolo's restaurant holds three Michelin stars, and it operates inside this same fourteen-room villa rather than as a separate destination, so dinner and the walk back to a suite happen without leaving the building. There's a spa with massage and sauna, a golf course nearby, hiking and bike rental for the daytime, and staff who work in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish. This suits people who plan a trip around one meal and want to sleep it off close by, or a couple marking something specific rather than passing through. It will not suit anyone travelling with a group needing multiple connecting rooms, or a guest who wants an unfussy dinner without the occasion attached to a three-star kitchen. Extra beds, airport transfers and a cleaning tax are charged separately, and some stays carry a mandatory gala dinner. Check-in is from 3pm, check-out by 11am. A Moorish-built villa on Lake Orta with just fourteen rooms, each named for an Arabian Nights figure, and a three-Michelin-star restaurant run by Antonino Cannavacciuolo under the same roof. Book it for one specific dinner and a short walk to bed, not for a group needing several connecting rooms.