Grand Hotel Tremezzo

My family and I stayed at the Grand Hotel Tremezzo for four nights. We’ve been fortunate to stay at many luxury hotels around the world, and while this property is absolutely stunning, unfortunately, we felt the overall experience fell short of what we expected from a hotel of this caliber.

Even before arriving, I had some concerns about the level of service, as it took over a week to receive a response to an email I sent prior to our stay. I would have to email over and over, I finally had to get my travel agent involved. Unfortunately, some of those concerns carried over into our visit.

PROS

* The property: Absolutely breathtaking. The hotel and grounds are beautifully maintained, and the décor throughout is gorgeous. The setting on Lake Como really is spectacular. Hands down, this is one of the prettiest hotels I’ve ever stayed at. The entrance in particular is breathtaking.
* The pools: There are three pools, which was a huge plus for our family. My kids loved them, and we never had an issue finding chairs, which made our stay very relaxing. The lake pool was amazing and was the perfect temperature after a hot day. The garden pool was also great for kids. Unfortunately, children are not allowed in the spa pool.
* Breakfast: Wonderful selection each morning in a beautiful setting. Definitely one of the highlights of our stay.
* Certain staff members: The staff stationed by the road were AMAZING and did a fantastic job directing traffic and helping guests safely cross the very busy road. Marco at the front desk was also wonderful and deserves special recognition.
* Kids’ amenities: There were several thoughtful touches for children, including kids’ bathrobes in the rooms (my daughter was so happy!), a candy table in the lobby, and a trail where kids can search for Bobo the Bear up the mountain.
* The rooms: The rooms are gorgeous and beautifully decorated in keeping with the Lake Como setting. We loved the high ceilings, abundance of natural light, complimentary sodas in the fridge, and shutters that provided complete darkness at night.

CONS

* Service: This was by far our biggest disappointment. Many of the staff members seemed very young and inexperienced, and the level of service simply didn’t match what we expect from a luxury hotel. On several occasions, our drinks sat empty for long periods while we waited for someone to approach us. Eventually, we had to get up and go to the bar ourselves, even walking in our wet bathing suits through restaurants while people ate. Our last night, as we got dropped off for our dinner reservation, which GHT made, we were told no reservation existed and sat at the worse seat. We finally decided to let the hotel know how we felt. They were apologetic but it was too late.
* Prices: We fully expect Lake Como and especially a luxury hotel, to be expensive, but some of the pricing felt excessive. Approximately $40 for a simple buttered pasta and $20 for a side of fries for a child felt difficult to justify.
* Housekeeping: Housekeeping lacked attention to detail. Empty champagne glasses remained in our room for days, along with half-finished water bottles and old drinks outside. We stayed in the Garden Suite with a pullout sofa, and we felt the bed should have been converted back into a sofa each morning and then made into a bed again during evening turndown service. The room is already a relatively small space, so leaving the pullout open all day made it feel even more cramped. These may seem like small details, but at a hotel of this caliber and price point, those details matter.
* No sunscreen at the pool: This was a small thing, but something I found surprising for a five-star resort. Sunscreen was not provided at the pool, which is an amenity we’ve come to expect at luxury resorts.
* Lake swimming area: While having direct access to the lake was wonderful, the water immediately around the hotel felt dirty at times, and the area could become congested with boats.

OVERALL

Grand Hotel Tremezzo is undeniably beautiful, and there were many things we enjoyed about the property. However, when staying at a hotel at this price point, exceptional and attentive service is a major part of the experience. We will NOT be returning. One recommendation (besides service improvement), the hotel should not allow any non-guest into their restaurant/bars unless they have lunch/dinner reservations. It’s a blogger’s paradise, with the orange & white decor and lake pool, it got annoying.

TIPS

* Walk to Casa Aquadulza for dinner. Make a reservation in advance. It is right next door. We had a great meal there, and the prices were much more reasonable than at the hotel. It’s a great option when you want a break from hotel dining.
* Explore the restaurants near the hotel. Once you turn right onto the main road from the hotel, there are several restaurants that are great for families, as well as a wonderful gelato shop. You don’t need reservations for lunch, dinner we had to wait tops 30 minutes.
* Passalacqua Lunch. It’s expensive, but the service was amazing and it was one of the highlights of our trip. If you are considering staying there, however, I found the atmosphere very quiet, possibly a little too quiet for families with children. GHT made our reservation, and we happened to get the best table.
* Make dining reservations in advance. This applies not only to popular restaurants around Lake Como, but also to lunch at Grand Hotel Tremezzo itself.
* Rent a boat for the day. We rented a small wooden boat for six hours, Alexandra was our tour guide and she was amazing. GHT arranged this for us.
* DO NOT GO TO AL VELUU for dinner.

Lovely, if not the best hotel/resort in Lake Como. I have been to many but this takes the award.
Checking in was seamless. Our park view suite was spacious. However we did move to the Lake View suite the next two days which was a spectacular view.
What we loved was the genuine care of my wonderful grandson who was only 18 months. They , the staff, treated him like royalty.
Our favorite restaurant was the garden restaurant, great pizza and service. We tried all , but maybe because we were more relaxed with my grandson.
Everyone was dressed properly, grounds were brilliant , both pools were great!
The breakfast was very good. The service here was fantastic.
The location is spectacular , with views of the lake, Swiss and Italian alps.
Service and management was above par.
Thank you for an awesome experience.
Thank you for the bear and great beach bag, both great quality like your hotel!

Everything was exceptional. From the door knobs to the color coordinated napkins. I’ve travelled all around the world in 5 star properties and this is the one of the top 5. The service is exemplary. Food was thoughtful and excellent. Don’t miss this property if you are able to experience…it’s truly one of a kind.

Totally overrated. Absurdly expensive meals, multiple poor experiences with Conscierge, very ordinary, poorly maintained room. Pretentious. Mediocre.

This is one of the most spectacular hotels in the world. The staff make the real difference, however the hotel and facilities are first class. We’ve been back several time and never want to leave!

It’s in Tremezzo, half way up Lake Como from the town of Como. It’s a majestic building, on the lake, with the pool, bar and one of their restaurants actually on a pontoon, in the lake. Very special

Friendly
Clean
Unique
Professional
Wonderful

The hotel is situated in a stunning location overlooking the lake, with beautiful grounds and facilities.

The staff were exceptional and every detail has been considered.

We had a lovely stay at Grand Hotel Tremezzo. The hotel is beautiful, the views are incredible, and the staff made us feel welcome from the moment we arrived.

Dinner at La Terrazza was just as memorable. Great food, excellent service, and a stunning lake view. We'd happily come back and highly recommend both.

Disappointed in this hotel. I found it to be a bit dirty. A lot of the staff were rude and the rooms are so small! Ordered three times from the pool area and never received my order. Too many people! Definitely expected more from a 5 star hotel. Coming from a stay at Passalacqua, I fond it hard to believe it’s the sister hotel.

It’s an amazing property. Great location. 2 issues for me. Unnecessarily expensive. $20 Coca Cola. Come on.

Also it’s too touristy. Tried to have dessert at the bar with my daughter but told “it’s full” and same thing at lunch at T Pizza “it’s full”. It doesn’t seem to prioritize being a guest even one who paid for a very very expensive suite. Wouldn’t stay here again.

Stayed 2 nights and will be back for more. Choice of restaurants to dine and where to spend the day was wonderful. Everything was wonderfully appointed. The pool floating on Lake Como was wonderful.

Beautiful experience, we had a fantastic view overlooking the garden, It was Just Simply Amazing. All the staff wonderful

As someone who has had the pleasure of visiting many incredible hotels in the world the Grand Hotel Tremezzo now has a special place in my heart that makes it uniquely stand out from all the rest. The property is the quintessential epitome of Italian Luxury. We had the privilege of celebrating their 116th birthday and let’s just say you can truly see how the staff all feels like a family as well as makes all of the guests feel the same! One staff member in particular went above and beyond for us and her name Tissy!