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A Stay at Grand Hotel Tremezzo in Lake Como, Italy

We’ve moved! Read more on our new site: The Tasteful Traveler.

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When you think of Lake Como, what do you see? Boat rides down a beautifully blue lake? George Clooney’s house? That sparkling floating pool with orange and white umbrellas you always see in photos?

That floating pool belongs to Grand Hotel Tremezzo in Lake Como, and it is an exquisite place to stay while you are exploring the gorgeous area of Lake Como. Read on for an in-depth review of our stay to see if the Grand is the hotel for you on your next Lake Como trip.

A view of Lake Como, Italy and the floating pool from Grand Hotel Tremezzo.

Grand Hotel Tremezzo in Lake Como, Italy

The Property:

Grand Hotel Tremezzo is located on the shores of a little town called Tremezzo, directly across the lake from Bellagio. You’ll find Villa Carlotta (a botanical garden and museum) a four minute walk away, as well as two ferry stops (for Villa Carlotta and Tremezzo) a two or four minute walk away, respectively, so you can easily get to where you need to go if you choose to explore Tremezzo and neighboring towns around the lake.

Grand Hotel Tremezzo is indeed grand. It gives off vibes reminiscent of the movie The Grand Budapest Hotel, and the grounds are gorgeous. There are three pools – one of which is that gorgeous floating pool you see in photos, a few places to dine, a private beach, and luxurious rooms to stay in.

There are multiple ways to get to the Grand Hotel Tremezzo, making it easy to reach. The hotel is located about 80 km (50 miles) away from Milan’s airports MXP and LIN so you can drive, or take the train from Milan to Como, and hop on the ferry to Tremezzo. The hotel can also arrange car transfers for you (either from Milan or the Como train station).

View of the Grand Hotel Tremezzo in Lake Como, Italy, from the floating pool.

View of Grand Hotel Tremezzo from the floating pool.

The Room(s):

Grand Hotel Tremezzo offers a mix of park view and lake view rooms (they’re offered as ‘prestige’ or ‘deluxe’ rooms – more on that later), as well as suites, rooftop suites, and a villa to rent.

If you’re just looking at the rooms and want a stunning view of the lake, make sure to book the Lake View rooms.

We had booked one night in the Park View Prestige Room, and another night in the Lake View Prestige Room. On arrival, we were lucky enough to have both rooms upgraded so we got to spend a night in both the Lake View Prestige Room and the Lake View View Deluxe room.

Both these Lake View Prestige and Deluxe rooms obviously offered gorgeous lake views, but had a few differences (aside from price):

Lake View Prestige: rooms located in the middle of the Grand, have balconies with views of the lake, and have king or twin beds
Lake View Deluxe: are the corner rooms of the Grand building (so there are more floor-to-ceiling windows), and also have a balcony with views of the lake, and have king or twin beds

The Deluxe rooms is a little bit larger than the Prestige, and that square footage is stretched across the whole room – the bathrooms have double sinks vs one sink in the Prestige, and there’s a bit more space for lounging in the main room. Both types of rooms are absolutely gorgeous so you really can’t go wrong, but if you’re looking for a bit more space and windows, choose the Deluxe.

Lake View Deluxe room at the Grand Hotel Tremezzo.

General booking room tip: When placing your reservation, ask for a room on a higher floor if available. This will help give you those gorgeous views, and you’ll be farther from street traffic.

View from the Lake View Deluxe room at Grand Hotel Tremezzo.

The Food:

Breakfast at the hotel is a must. Not only because it’s included in your stay, but because the offerings are delicious and the seating with a view of the lake can’t be beat.

Breakfast is set up like a buffet in what seems like a vast ballroom, and you’ll find hotel staff on hand ready to help serve you whatever you’d like from the buffet.

As far as the actual food goes, there’s a wide variety to choose from. There are multiples kinds of local cheeses and meats, as well as hard- and soft-boiled eggs options (as in you can choose from a 3-minute boiled egg, or a 6- or 9- minute boiled egg). You’ll also find different types of pastries, breads, cookies, fruit, and chocolates.

A plate from the breakfast buffet at Grand Hotel Tremezzo

There are a total of five bars/restaurants that you can dine at on the property, all offering a range of food:

T Pizza: This is located behind the property, next to the Flower Pool and offers a few appetizers, salads and, of course, pizzas.
T Bar: For a casual bite to eat, head over to T Bar which offers lunch and dinner on the terrace with a view of the lake.
Giacomo al Lago: This is the lakeside restaurant located in the midst of The Grand’s private beach and next to the floating pool. Food here was delicious (and my favorite out of the three places we tried on the property including T Bar and L’Escale). Get an aperol spritz, a bite to eat and take in the sunshine.
L’Escale Trattoria and Wine Bar: We had a lackluster experience here – both with the service and food. Could’ve been an off night, but I would recommend eating at the other restaurants on the property rather than at L’Escale.
La Terrazza Gualtiero Marchesi: For fine dining on the property, make sure to go here and make a reservation in advance. (We unfortunately didn’t get to have a meal here as we didn’t have a reservation). This restaurant serves up some of late chef Marchesi’s signature dishes, including his famous saffron risotto topped with a 23-karat gold leaf.

Lunch at Giacomo al Lago, at Grand Hotel Tremezzo

The Amenities:

You can easily spend a day exploring the grounds of the Grand Hotel Tremezzo itself – from the three pools, the private beach, the spa, the gardens, and the tennis court.

A view of the Flowers Pool at the Grand Hotel Tremezzo.

A view of the Flowers Pool at Grand Hotel Tremezzo.

If you’re in search of something more, the concierge team will happily set up excursions for you (including cooking classes, walks and more).

We booked a boat tour through them to explore Lake Como by boat and highly recommend! The Grand offers two Venetian motor boats so be sure to book a tour via one of these boats in advance (especially in high season). You can choose whether to go north up the lake, or south down the lake. We went South (since we had gone North via the ferry earlier that day). Going South of the lake takes you by multiple villas (including George Clooney’s, and the villa where they filmed an episode of Succession), and the picture-perfect waterfall in Nesso.

Boat tour booked through Grand Hotel Tremezzo.

The Verdict:

Grand Hotel Tremezzo is a great place to stay in Lake Como if you’re looking to splurge on the ultimate luxury. Book the lake view rooms if you can, on a higher floor, to enjoy the grandeur of Lake Como and its gorgeous views.

You can also find more content and videos from our trip to Lake Como and Grand Hotel Tremezzo on Instagram.

Are you making plans to visit Lake Como this year? Let me know in the comments, or share your favorite hotels in Lake Como!

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A Stay at the St. Regis Bora Bora

We’ve moved! Read more about our stay on our new site: The Tasteful Traveler.

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A trip to Bora Bora is really nothing but paradise. And if you’re looking for a place to stay, and want to live the overwater bungalow life, the St. Regis Bora Bora is the place to go.

Let’s break it down.

The Resort:

When you think St. Regis, you think luxury. And that’s exactly what you get at the St. Regis Bora Bora.

The resort property is huge and you can get around via walking, biking or by calling for a golf cart pickup/dropoff. The overwater villas are also some of the largest in the South Pacific, starting at 1,550 square feet so space is never an issue.

The property also has a Lagoonarium (pictured below) which is the St. Regis Bora Bora’s protected lagoon that hosts a myriad of fish, including a very large Napoleon fish named Terry. Guests are also able to snorkel in this lagoon so you can experience it all up close.

I highly recommend you go to the Lagoonarium for the scheduled fish feeding – it is informative and so fun to see all the types of fish and experience a feeding frenzy.

Even if you visit the St. Regis Bora Bora at peak time (like we did), you’ll find that it’ll feel like you have the resort to yourself. The most people you’ll see will be at breakfast when every one comes out for a few bites, but after that, you likely won’t run into many people. The beach will feel like it’s all yours.

The Room:

We stayed in the Overwater Deluxe Otemanu Villa thanks to an upgrade, and I just have to say that these villas are gorgeous. These deluxe Otemanu villas are facing Mount Otemanu so you get gorgeous views of the mountain and the sunset.

These villas are very spacious, and have an indoor lounge/living room space that’s separate from the bedroom. Both the living room and bedroom have floor-to-ceiling windows that open up to the outdoor terrace and dining space so you can wake up looking at the gorgeous turquoise waters.

The Amenities:

The St. Regis Bora Bora offers butler service and it is exceptional. From picking you up in a golf cart from the lobby and driving you to your bungalow, helping schedule and manage dinner reservations (and arranging pickup), and even getting your floatie blown up. They’ll check in with you when you’re at breakfast to make sure you have everything you need and talk about your day, and they’ll make sure you’re having a great time. The butlers are so incredibly nice and helpful, and really round out your experience at the St. Regis.

As mentioned above, you can get around the property via bike and that’s because each bungalow comes with complimentary bikes. They’re assigned to your villa number which is great so you don’t have to be on the lookout for a bike to grab at any given point (this is a real thing at some of the other Bora Bora resorts).

The overwater villas also offer in-room coffee/tea service. Just dial the number on the bungalow’s phone and arrange for a french press coffee and/or tea to come over the next morning and they’ll set it up where ever you’d like to enjoy it (highly recommend enjoying out on your deck so you can stare out at the water).

The Food:

When you’re staying at a resort in Bora Bora that’s not on the mainland (whether that’s the St. Regis or elsewhere), you’ll likely be eating a bulk of your meals at the resort. Which means restaurants that offer a variety of cuisines and types of food is good to have so you don’t get tired of eating the same thing every day (especially if you’re staying at that one resort for 3+ days), and good food is obviously always a must have. Luckily, the St. Regis Bora Bora has it all with five restaurants on site.

Te Pahu is an open-air restaurant located right next to the beach, and it’s where breakfast is served. Breakfast is typically a buffet, but in these times of Covid all dishes were on a menu that we could choose from and then they were brought to our table.

The St. Regis Bora Bora also hosts a Polynesian night on Wednesdays and an Indian night on Sundays at Te Pahu. Both are a treat but Polynesian night is great as you get to experience the delicious local cuisine and a Tamure dance show. Get there early for a seat at the front!

If there’s one restaurant at the resort that you absolutely must go to for dinner, it’s the Lagoon Restaurant by Jean-Georges. This restaurant by the michelin-starred chef serves elegant French-Asian fusion cuisine in a dining room that’s set on the water and has glass panels in the floor so you can take a peek at the fish swimming underneath your feet.

The service is impeccable and all of the food is absolutely delicious. Try the five-course tasting menu and opt to be surprised with each delicious course, or choose dishes a la carte (or go twice like we did and get the tasting menu one night, and a la carte the next time. The uravena fish is highly recommended – pictured below). Make sure to make a reservation ahead of time.

(A hot tip: before your dinner reservation, go to the Lagoon restaurant for sunset and sit outside with a cocktail and appetizers in hand. The views are gorgeous from this spot).

Other restaurants on the resort include:

Bam Boo which features sushi, wok and teppanyaki dishes for dinner,
Far Niente which has Italian cuisine for dinner, and
Aparima Bar for lunch dishes, smoothies and more.

Don’t forget room service! If you’re staying in an overwater villa and prefer to lounge in your room and jump off the deck into the ocean all day (who could blame you?), order room service which is just as delightful as eating out at the restaurants.

The Verdict:

Is the St. Regis Bora Bora really worth a stay? If you’re wanting gorgeous overwater bungalows with stunning views of Mt. Otemanu, exceptional butler service, delicious food, and a gorgeous beach to lounge around in, in addition to other amenities – absolutely. I would go back to the St. Regis Bora Bora any day.

Need to think about what to pack for your trip? Check out the packing list here.

Happy traveling!

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