PRICE:
Frommer's Very Highly Recommended

A grandiose 1850s villa lies at the core of this luxury hotel whose vast grounds expand from Bellagio's central square along the lake and up into the wooded hills. The tone is set by the high-ceilinged salons frescoed with grotteschi (fanciful stucco ornamentation) and blessed with lake views and live music on some evenings. Rooms vary widely in decor, with stuccoed ceilings in some, walnut furnishings in others, and oil paintings on the walls. Room categories boil down mostly to size, though almost all lakeview rooms are deluxe (not all deluxe rooms have the view, though), executive, or suite. They also run a health and beauty center with a large exercise room and full body treatments. In the back of the property, over the spa, is the Residence Ulivo, a series of apartments recommended separately.

Facilities: 2 Italian/international restaurants (1 jacket-and-tie terrace restaurant, 1 informal nautical-looking dinner-only restaurant); bar; 2 heated pools (indoor and outdoor heated); nearby golf course (in Menaggio); outdoor tennis courts; exercise room; spa; sauna; watersports equipment/rentals; children's playground; concierge; tour desk; car-rental desk; courtesy car; secretarial services; salon; limited room service; massage; babysitting; laundry service; dry cleaning (same day).

Copyright: Excerpted from Frommer's Northern Italy, 4th Edition, (c) 2008, Wiley Publishing, Inc.

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