Cardinal Tolomeo Gallio built the villa as a summer residence in the 1560s, and it became a luxury hotel in 1873. Rooms are split between the Cardinal Building and the Queen's Pavilion, and the 25-acre park, a national monument since 1913, runs up the hillside behind the lake. The floating pool, opened in 1966, sits right on the water.
Cernobbio is just outside Como, so this is the easiest of the great lake hotels to reach from Milan. Days are for boat trips to Bellagio and the villas and gardens of the central lake, a round at the hotel's golf club, or simply the lakeside terrace. It works well as the first stop on a northern Italy trip before Portofino or Venice.
Villa d'Este suits travelers who like formal, old-school service and families who want space and facilities. It is a larger hotel, so it feels busier than the smaller lake houses. It is seasonal, reopening in spring, and recent seasons have run into early January. Summer rates are high and the best lake-view rooms go early.
Villa d'Este is a 16th-century cardinal's villa on the shore of Lake Como that has been a grand hotel since 1873. It is the most traditional address on the lake, with a large historic park and its famous floating pool.
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