Grand Hotel Tremezzo

This is a stunning grand hotel, with amazing views, friendly staff, and very comfortable beds. I loved the various areas of the hotel to enjoy either a cocktail or a drink. There are two things that prevented our stay from being 5 star. The first is the use of cologne perfume throughout the hotel. I understand that Italy has a culture of heavy personal fragrances, but the entire hotel had a strong scent (I believe a signature perfume created just for the hotel), that permeated everything. My spouse and I both work in super high level restaurants in which the staff is forbidden to wear personal fragrance in an effort to ensure that the food & wine experience is experienced as intended. We went to the lakeside restaurant to grab a bite, and I ordered a bottle of water, and the water glass that was brought by the server wreaked of the cologne that the server was wearing. I had to request another glass. Also, the small face towels in the bathroom were also spritzed with cologne, so when I washed my face at night and tried to dry off with the towel, I was confronted with a face full of perfume. The other issue was the food quality. I would describe it as barely edible. Keep in mind, this is coming from someone who has experienced the highest level of Michelin dining for an entire career so I really have high standards for cuisine, but still. Nothing tasted fresh or of high quality. The breakfast had a beautiful presentation, but again the product was generally subpar. Just to be clear on my priorities, while I enjoy the luxe life, I will always take a monastic hotel with excellent food over a posh hotel with average or below average food. I imagine there are tremendous logistical challenges that this area faces (most likely no nearby farmer's market that the Chef's can visit every morning), but I am always bummed when traveling not to be able to get a decent meal.

This hotel is old school style, luxury and hospitality at its very best. The decor is perfection: bright, elegant, exquisite and not a hint of dullness, white or grey anywhere! The location is the ideal base to explore Bellagio, Varenna and Managgio as there are far less queues from and to Tremezzina than these. What really makes the Grand Hotel Tremezzo stand out is how special the staff make you feel. You are always greeted so warmly and they can’t do enough for you to ensure your every need is met. I don’t think I’ll ever stay anywhere as special as here again.

A truly grand experience! The rooms are beautiful with luxurious bathrooms of beautiful marble. The breakfast buffet is an amazing array of fresh fruit, charcuterie, cheeses, chocolates, and hot dishes including eggs to order. The staff is professional, friendly and helpful We especially enjoyed our full day lake tour with Captain Carlo. Vincenzo, in the terrace bar was so accommodating. Junga(spelling unsure) was a wonderful host in the terrace restaurant. We loved our dinner the first evening at the bar restaurant The entire concierge staff was very welcoming and helpful, especially Alex