“I’ll try the peacock,” says my friend as we study the menu at Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni’s much lauded gastronomic restaurant Mistral, which overlooks the glimmering waters of Lake Como. It seems an apt choice. After all, this gasp-worthy hotel, the only five star property in tony Bellagio turns heads as surely as a glorious peacock fluttering its iridescent tail feathers.
Like the peacock, a favorite dish prepared for nobility in the Renaissance, 152 year old Villa Serbelloni has history. But equally, just as the peacock comes served at Mistral with modern flourishes in a delicate ravioli, the Neo-Classical palace hotel weaves contemporary motifs into its graceful bones.
Owned and operated for four generations by the Bucher family, consummate hoteliers who live on site, Villa Serbelloni has staff members who have been a part of the team for decades. Inextricably intimate like a stay in the home of your favorite wealthy aunt, the hotel has gardens, a shore-side pool and a beach club lined with pepper-red umbrellas all in a row.
It owns its dream-laden lake-scape as if the shore’s other villas, the shimmering water and distance snow-capped mountains are simply part of its grounds. Velvet furnishings, frescoes, gild and masterworks—all accented with modern accoutrements—compose the interiors. It’s a place you’ll want to linger in throne-sized velvet chairs with a book, lounge on the sandy beach Aperol Spritz in hand or sit by the piano with a coffee in the evening.
Visitors returning for the summer season will find something new this year: redone suites, redesigned dining venues, Lake Como’s biggest and most innovative spa and the trendily-cast Baci di Bellagio Beach Club, which adds a distinct chic contrast to the hotel’s long beloved traditional traits.
[See more: Passalacqua: A New Jewel in Lake Como’s Glittering Crown]
Choose from 94 extraordinarily designed rooms / ©Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni
Stay
Choose from 94 extraordinarily designed rooms. Expect such extravagances as indulgently crisp Italian linen sheets, époque furniture and Como silk comforters — hand sewn by a team member who has been part of Serbelloni’s hotel family for decades.
My corner junior suite overlooks the lake and village, as well as an adjacent villa, where the Bucher family lives. I have wallpaper flecked with colorful birds in my bedroom and cicada-like creatures in a silk pattern that dress the walls in a sitting area. A marble bath, replete with custom bath salts and soaps, delights. There’s so much to do on Lake Como, but I want to just exist in this room — that would be enough.
For celebratory bookings any suite will more than suffice, but I might choose the Kennedy Suite (where President JFK slept), a haven of marble columns, silk armchairs and ample proportions — especially manifested in its colossal bed, a behemoth of pleasure-seeking repose. The suite has a separate living area and serene lake views.
Dine
Don’t sleep in. . . . breakfast is an event in the former ballroom, eye-catching with frescoes and ornate embellishments. Choose from hot and cold dishes, meats, cheeses, fruits and more served from multiple tables.
Mistral, home to Italy’s father of molecular gastronomy, Ettore Bocchia, is required dining. Creative, whimsical and elegant all at once, it presents inventive dishes, each with a story or provenance to tell. Treat yourself to a 7-course tasting experience that might include delights such as: Gold Extruded Spaghetti with tomato and basil, Absolut Fried Turbot with potato mousse and BBQ-cooked Bresse Chicken Supreme. Save room for the grand finale: liquid nitrogen-made ice cream, prepared at your table.
Note: I’m delighted to discover that the kind man who one morning opens the breakfast doors for me a few minutes early is Mistral’s seasoned sommelier. He captivates us table-side during dinner, demonstrating the ancient technique of tonging. He removes the cork of a rare bottle of wine in a most unusual way.-with huge plier-like-like tongs.
Less formal meals at La Goletta Restaurant offer a range of Italian regional specialities. Light bites at sunset at Terrazza Darsena, an alfresco bar that hovers above the lake, should be a daily ritual. (It was mine.) Don’t miss Verri’s Bar’s Gin & Tonic Experience, theatrically served with its cart of herbal and fruit essences to enhance the libation.
Participate in water sports in season or hike the lake’s various trails. There’s even a golf course or two for those so inclined.
Light bites at sunset at Terrazza Darsena, an alfresco bar that hovers above the lake, should be a daily ritual.
Wander through a variety of gardens and villas along the lake.
Three pools, a forest-ensconced tennis court and state-of-the-art fitness room, complete with a squash court, ensure myriad options to work off your pasta.
You can get a workout climbing Bellagio’s hills for a shopping jaunt, but it’s much more relaxing to spend time at Luce del Lago Spa, the retreat’s brand new wellness enclave. It spans 16,000-square feet to offer a range of treatments-including classic ritual-with organic Italian products.
Wellness
You can get a workout climbing Bellagio’s hills for a shopping jaunt, but it’s much more relaxing to spend time at Luce del Lago Spa, the retreat’s brand new wellness enclave. It spans 16,000-square feet to offer a range of treatments-including classic ritual-with organic Italian products.
Book the innovative Private Suite, which has a Jacuzzi, chromotherapy showers, a multi-sensory sauna, quartz sand beds and dedicated treatment rooms. Pair it with the 538-square-foot authentic hammam for an all day extravaganza. Three pools, a forest-ensconced tennis court and state-of-the-art fitness room, complete with a squash court, ensure myriad options to work off your pasta.
Explore
Cruise the lake with a captain to visit captivating villages such as Varenna and Menaggio. Wander through a variety of gardens and villas along the lake. Participate in water sports in season or hike the lake’s various trails. There’s even a golf course or two for those so inclined.
Rooms from €850, villaserbelloni.com