Honest Take Passalacqua is expensive luxury. Yes it’s a Beautiful villa at top-of-market rates, mediocre hotel underneath. Real luxury is anticipatory — your towel is waiting, your glass stays full, housekeeping knows when you’re out. At Passalacqua we fetched our own pool towels since nobody greets you at the pool. No one offered shade or a second drink. Housekeeping knocks on occupied rooms. Nothing about the service matches the price. The gym is small it feels crowded with two couples. The pool is small too — it fills up fast and never feels private. the property is overrun by day-trippers coming for breakfast and lunch to photograph the lobby. You are paying for a private retreat and getting a content set. it’s a view hotel, not a lake hotel. Boat access, yes — but no swimmable lake experience and no lakefront pool. You watch Como from the hill. The press and Instagram are carrying this place and will for years because of its size and location . The hospitality is not. I do recommend visiting just not staying, book breakfast or dinner, take your photos, and skip the hotel.

Passalacqua exhausts superlatives. It is the single best, best-run hotel I have ever set foot in. From the first minute, the team were kind, thoughtful, and completely on it. Special thanks to Giorgia, whose excellence and warmth made our stay even more special, and to the Hotel Manager, Gregory, who manages and curates the place with precision, class, and heart. We stayed in the Bellini Suite. Dreamlike. Knockout Lake Como views. The most exquisite room I have ever set foot in, let alone stayed in. The suite stands alone, with a character and scale that deserve a review all of their own. Food and drink were consistently outstanding. Breakfast is a highlight: beautiful produce, eggs laid on the grounds and cooked exquisitely, great coffee, and pastries that spoil you for other hotels. Lunch by the pool is fresh and relaxed. Dinner is refined. Cocktails are made with care, classics and signatures alike. The grounds are a joy to wander. The pools are pristine. The soundtrack is perfect: ambient in every room, drifting from opera to Italian classics to disco, always adding to the mood without ever overpowering it. Every corner is photo worthy, yet it still feels like a home. Mornings started with the most reinvigorating spa sessions in their underground cave, then the infinity pool, looking out over the lake. The team also encouraged us to get out and properly experience the lake and valleys themselves, and we did: an exhilarating private boat ride, picnic and champagne on board, and the whole lake glittering as evening drew in. What truly sets Passalacqua apart is how human the service feels. Concierge support is proactive. Restaurant teams are attentive and relaxed in equal measure. It all feels effortless, which tells you exactly how well it is run. This trip mattered to us. It was our honeymoon and a celebration after my wife’s illness. The team understood that, and the generosity and kindness they showed us left a mark we will carry as a couple for a long time. We are eternally grateful. If you are thinking about it, book it. Come for the views, the food, the drinks, the rooms, the staff, and the grounds. Stay because everything simply works, and everyone clearly loves what they do. Exceptional in every way. Thank you to Passalacqua and the entire team for your warmth, your care, and for this glorious, quintessential Italian nook of heaven resting resplendent beside Lake Como. Wonderful.

The are simply no words to express how amazing Passalacqua is. You honestly feel as though you’re on a movie set. The hotel / villa itself is absolutely incredible inside and out and the staff are outstanding in every sense of the word. Both Michaela and Alice offered to show me the grounds and property without hesitation and they were great to interact with. I booked the Grand Room Al Lago and I’m glad I did. It had its own private garden and the rooms and setting of the hotel is nothing short of luxurious. I have stayed in some amazing hotels but Passalacqua is by far my favourite

Less than an hour’s drive from Milan, Passalacqua is a truly exclusive property above Lake Como. Every view feels like a postcard with the spectacular scenery of Lake Como combined with Passalaqua’s immaculate gardens and landscape. The overall atmosphere here just radiates peace and beauty. The level of detail and devotion to decoration is dazzling; Carrara marble, chandeliers, antiques and paintings. Touches like the in-house florist who gathers blooms daily from the gardens for guests really make Passalaqua feel like a very special place. ROOMS: We stayed in Casa al Lago, a private villa with four rooms. It offers an indoor lounge, a covered terrace, outdoor dining, and our room had its own private garden. There is a separate reception and kitchen located in Casa al Lago. You can enjoy breakfast right outside your room instead of the main restaurant. The room itself was luxurious in every sense. The bed linens might be the best of any hotel we’ve stayed at. The bathroom had three Dyson products (hair dryer, flat iron, and Airwrap). There is a complimentary fully stocked minibar and each night, housekeeping surprised us with thoughtful treats. DINING: The food was easily among the best we’ve enjoyed across multiple trips to Italy. Breakfast is available a la carte accompanied by an impressive breakfast buffet spilling across two rooms, an open kitchen and a welcome stand of fresh pastries. SERVICE throughout the property is excellent, attentive, professional, and polished. While it’s not as personalized as some other ultra-luxury hotels (where staff might remember your name or your personal preferences or you have a single point of contact during your stay), the Passalaqua staff still manage to make you feel valued and important. The overall experience is warm and gracious without being over the top. GYM is set in a restored greenhouse with indoor and outdoor equipment and panoramic views of Lake Como. The indoor space is small but functional to accommodate the 24 rooms at Passalaqua.