Luxury bespoke hotel holidays to Grand Hotel Victoria Concept & Spa, Lake Como
Facts in brief
Official star rating 5
Location In the heart of Menaggio, a short walk from the pedestrian centre and lakefront promenade.
Annual opening 1st April to 24th October
Closest airport Milan Bergamo
Distance from airport 1 hour and 15 minutes by car
Closest railway station Como San Giovanni or Varenna-Esino, then ferry to Menaggio
Distance from railway station Approximately 50 minutes from Como San Giovanni
Hotel facilities and services
Lago Restaurant, Restaurant 1827, Erre Restaurant at Victoria Beach, Bar Manzoni, Pool Bar Griso, 1,200sqm spa with indoor heated pool, Finnish sauna, infrared sauna, steam baths, Himalayan Salt Room, Ice Room, Cryosauna, Fire Room, four beauty cabins, heated outdoor pool, Technogym gym, private pier, Erre Water Limousine, Victoria Beach Club with two infinity pools, wine cellar, cooking classes, bicycle rental, EV charging station, valet parking, 24hr concierge, babysitting service, and Erre Shop boutique.
Complimentary
Wi-Fi, spa, and valet parking.
Chargeable watersports
Sailing, kitesurfing, windsurfing, boat tours, private boat hire, and lake swimming.
Land sports
Cycling, e-biking, and hiking.
Out and about nearby
Menaggio town centre lies just a 3 minute walk away, with Piazza Garibaldi, lakefront promenade, restaurants, and the historic Chiesa di Santo Stefano. Just 3 minutes drive away, the Menaggio & Cadenabbia Golf Club, Italy's second-oldest golf club, offers 18 holes with stunning lake views. Villa Carlotta in Tremezzina showcases a late 17th century villa with botanical gardens spanning 70,000sqm, Canova sculptures, and 150 varieties of rhododendrons and azaleas. Varenna, accessible by a 15 minute ferry ride, features colourful houses, the Walk of Love promenade, and Castello di Vezio, a 13th century watchtower with panoramic views and falconry displays. Bellagio, the Pearl of Lake Como, sits 10km away and can be reached via a 20 minute ferry, offering the famous Salita Serbelloni stepped street, Villa Melzi Gardens, and boutique shopping. Villa del Balbianello in Lenno is an 18th century villa on a wooded peninsula, with gardens that served as film locations for Star Wars and Casino Royale. Como city, 35km away, boasts a Gothic-Renaissance cathedral, funicular to Brunate for panoramic views, and a silk museum. Or, visitors can venture over the Swiss border to Lugano, just 28km from the hotel.
Sports nearby
Golf, tennis, sailing, water sports, hiking, cycling, and horse riding.
Everything was extremely well organised.Mr P, May 2025
From about
Holiday Code EXH49707
The prices displayed here are a guide only. Each holiday price will be tailor-made at the time of booking to reflect all actual costs including up-to-date special offers.
Call us on 01392 441245
Luxury bespoke hotel holidays to Grand Hotel Victoria Concept & Spa, Lake Como
First opened in March 1892 during the Belle Époque era, Grand Hotel Victoria Concept & Spa welcomed wealthy English, German, and Russian families travelling from the Swiss Engadin. Following a complete renovation between September 2018 and February 2021, the hotel reopened with two distinct buildings: the Villa, a fully restored 19th century structure adorned with Art Nouveau staircases, chandeliers, and halls with gilded friezes, and the Palazzo, a contemporary addition that complements the historic architecture. The design concept pays homage to Alessandro Manzoni's novel I Promessi Sposi (The Betrothed), set on Lake Como, with restaurants and bars named after characters from the story. The 73 rooms and suites, spread across both buildings, feature Italian furnishings crafted by local artisans using local woods, maintaining the heritage of the Made in Italy ethos throughout. Accommodation ranges from Deluxe Courtyard View rooms to the Presidential Suite Lake View, with many offering king-size beds, walk-in showers, and select rooms featuring balconies with lake or park views. The top-floor Loft Rooms in the Villa provide particularly striking lake panoramas, whilst suites offer separate living areas, and terraces overlooking Bellagio and Varenna. Dining experiences reflect the hotel's literary inspiration and lakeside setting. Lago Restaurant serves all-day Italian cuisine with a regional twist, on a wide veranda with lake views, featuring live piano performances during summer. Restaurant 1827, named after the year Manzoni's novel was published, offers seven-course tasting menus with contemporary and vegetarian options, complemented by a wine cellar housing 400 labels, whilst the Pool Bar Griso provides refreshments beside the garden pool. The 1,200sqm spa ranks among the largest on Lake Como, and is complimentary for hotel guests. Alongside its distinctive themed rooms, it features a 20m indoor heated pool, Finnish and infrared saunas, Mediterranean steam bath, Turkish bath, Kneipp path with aromatherapy, and a unique Cryosauna. Victoria Beach, the hotel's beach club located 300m away, opened in 2024 with two infinity pools overlooking Lake Como, Erre Restaurant, a children's area with swimming pool, and direct lake swimming access.
Room descriptions
The Grand Hotel Victoria Concept & Spa has 73 rooms, walk-in shower (some also with bathtub), Wi-Fi, air-conditioning, smart TV, minibar, safe, hair dryer, Illy coffee machine, snack corner, courtesy set by R Collection Hotels, and soundproofing.
Everything was extremely well organised.Mr P, May 2025
From about
Holiday Code EXH49707
The prices displayed here are a guide only. Each holiday price will be tailor-made at the time of booking to reflect all actual costs including up-to-date special offers.
Call us on 01392 441245
Luxury bespoke hotel holidays to Grand Hotel Victoria Concept & Spa, Lake Como
The journey and how you get there
For a holiday to the Grand Hotel Victoria Concept & Spa, you can fly to Milan Bergamo, Milan Malpensa, or Lugano-Agno in Switzerland. Train connections run to Varenna-Esino, where you can take a ferry to Menaggio, or to Como San Giovanni, followed by a bus or transfer to Menaggio. The hotel offers private transfers and has a private pier with water limousine service. A car is useful for exploring the surrounding area, or for linking the hotel to a wider self-drive tour of Italy.
Additional information
Children: The Grand Hotel Victoria Concept & Spa welcomes children, and offers connecting rooms, cots on request, babysitting services, and a private swim instructor. Victoria Beach has a children's area with pool and games. Child prices typically apply for ages 2-14.
Everything was extremely well organised.Mr P, May 2025
From about
Holiday Code EXH49707
The prices displayed here are a guide only. Each holiday price will be tailor-made at the time of booking to reflect all actual costs including up-to-date special offers.
Call us on 01392 441245
Luxury bespoke hotel holidays to Grand Hotel Victoria Concept & Spa, Lake Como
About Italian Lakes
An Expressions tailor-made holiday to the Italian Lakes spans the northern Italian regions of Lombardy, Piemonte and the Veneto. We offer hotels located by the undisputedly beautiful Lake Maggiore, Lake Como and Lake Garda and also the smaller, quieter lakes of Orta and Iseo, both well-worth exploring in their own right. Each lake has its own character and atmosphere, distinctive terrain, architecture and style. Placed as the lakes are to the south of the Alps and to the north of the Po Valley, they naturally possess a charming mixture of the vibrant coolness associated with the Alps but enlivened by the warmth of the South. The landscape around the Italian Lakes is one of deep blue waters surrounded by greenish-blue tinged mountains, often snow-capped. On the shores of the lakes and the lower slopes of the hills you find a profusion of lemons and olives, chestnuts and palms, magnolias and camellias. Pretty villages with rustic stone and wood houses hug the sheltered bays and fishing boats still moor next to sailing boats. Wrought-iron balconies and colourful shutters adorn gaily-painted houses with terracotta roofs. Dining is usually al fresco in the summer months and a magical atmosphere is created with the lapping of the waters and the twinkling of the lights around the lake and in the hills above. The close proximity to Milan and Verona as well as other less well-known but artistically interesting cities means that you can visit the Italian Lakes quite easily for just a weekend or short break as well as a longer holiday. The Italian Lakes can all be visited as part of a rail holiday, and the many beautiful gardens located in the vicinity of Lakes Como and Maggiore are well worth a visit as part of a garden tour holiday. Our favourite four and five star hotels for luxury holidays in the Italian Lakes include Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni and Villa d'Este on Lake Como, and the Hotel Cannero Lakeside Resort on Lake Maggiore.
Highlights of the Italian Lakes
Historic villas are to be found on every lake from the Grotte di Catullo Roman villa at Sirmione on Lake Garda to Villa Melzi and Villa Olmo on Lake Como and the Palazzo Estense in Varese. Most of these villas also have extraordinarily beautiful gardens (which can be visited as part of an Expressions Garden Tour holiday) such as the Villa Carlotta on Lake Como, the Isola Bella in Lake Maggiore and Villa Taranto at Punta della Castagnola on Lake Maggiore. Monte Mottarone above Stresa on Lake Maggiore and Monte Baldo above Lake Garda can both be reached by cable car and afford spectacular views. At Gargnano on Lake Garda you can see the stone pavilions where lemons were traditionally cultivated. Within the region there are national parks such as the Stelvio National Park north of Orta and the Parco Nazionale della Val Grande above Verbania on Lake Maggiore.
Cultural highlights of the Italian Lakes
Much of the artistic and architectural cultural wealth in the region is concentrated in the great cities such as Milan and Verona but also in the less well-known but culturally-rich centres of Bergamo, Brescia, Pavia, Mantova and Vicenza (not directly on the Lakes but within reach for a day`s excursion). Highlights include the frescoes by Masolino at Castiglione Olona, the Rocca (castle) at Angera, the Flemish tapestries on the Isola Bella Lake Maggiore, the marble cathedral of Santa Maria Maggiore at Como and the works of art in the Galleria dell`Accademia Tadini at Lovere on Lake Iseo. Milan has La Scala, the Museo Poldi Pezzoli, the Brera Gallery (containing Raphael`s `Marriage of the Virgin` and the Montefeltro altarpiece by Piero della Francesca) and its Gothic cathedral. Verona has its annual opera festival from June until the end of August, the Romanesque church of San Zeno, the Renaissance Loggia del Consiglio and the Roman Arena.
Festivals in the Italian Lakes
The Verona Opera Festival takes place in the Roman Arena every year with performances running from June until the end of August. Verona also celebrates Carnival every year culminating on the Friday before Shrove Tuesday. Como holds a flea market, the Fiera di Pasqua, over the Easter weekend. Music festivals take place in Bergamo throughout the year. The Mille Miglia veteran car race starts and ends in Brescia (via Ferrara to Rome in May each year).
Gastronomy in the Italian Lakes
The cuisine of northern Italy tends to contain more meat and butter than further south and rice and polenta compete with pasta. Saffron is used extensively as in Risotto alla Milanese. Bresaola is cured raw beef served as an antipasta (now often with rocket and parmesan). Manzo al Barolo (beef in Barolo wine), Costolette alla Milanese (veal cutlets in breadcrumbs) and Ossobucco (veal in wine and tomatoes) are all popular dishes. Panettone cake and Zabaglione are two regional desserts. This region produces some of Italy's most famous cheeses such as Gorgonzola, Bel Paese, Fontina and Taleggio as well as some of Italy's most exportable wines such as Soave, Bardolino and Valpolicella. Less well known but interesting wines are produced in the Valtellina in the north of Lombardy and in Franciacorta near Lake Iseo.
