Villa d'Este

On the western shore of Lake Como at Cernobbio, in a park of ten hectares, Villa d'Este is a Renaissance villa with a swimming pool that floats on the lake itself, and the grand hotel of the lake. It has been a hotel since 1873, and before that a cardinal's retreat, a princess's exile and a stage for the European aristocracy.

History

Cardinal Tolomeo Gallio, a native of Cernobbio who had become secretary of state to Pope Gregory XIII, commissioned the villa in 1568 from the architect Pellegrino Tibaldi, and named it Villa Garrovo after the stream that runs through the grounds. It passed through several noble families over the next two centuries. In 1815 Caroline of Brunswick, the estranged wife of the Prince Regent, later George IV, bought the property, renamed it Nuova Villa d'Este after her family's claimed descent from the house of Este, and lived there until 1820, spending lavishly on the park. The villa opened as a hotel in 1873 and has never been anything else since.

The twentieth century added two institutions. The Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este, a competition for historic cars, was first held in 1929 and continues each spring in the gardens. The Villa d'Este Forum, the economic conference organised by The European House Ambrosetti, has met at the hotel every September since 1975. Among its guests the hotel counts crowned heads, film stars and financiers; Alfred Hitchcock filmed scenes of his first film, The Pleasure Garden, there in 1925.

Architecture and design

Tibaldi's villa, the Cardinal building, is the core: a symmetrical block facing the lake with a double staircase and salons decorated over the centuries. The Queen's Pavilion, a second building, was added in 1856. The park keeps its sixteenth-century layout, with the mosaic nymphaeum and the water staircase climbing the hill to a statue of Hercules, and the plane trees planted along the shore. Interiors mix antiques, silks and frescoes rather than following a single design.

Rooms and suites

The hotel has about 152 rooms and suites across the Cardinal building and the Queen's Pavilion, and a few private villas within the park that are let as a whole. Lake-facing rooms look across to Como and the far shore.

Dining

The Veranda, the main restaurant, is a glazed room facing the lake and serves a classical Italian menu. The Grill offers simpler cooking on the terrace in summer, and bars serve the terrace and the park. The hotel runs four dining venues in all.

Wellness

The floating pool on the lake dates from the 1960s and is still the hotel's signature. A spa with treatment rooms and an indoor pool, a gym and tennis courts occupy the grounds, and the Villa d'Este golf club at Montorfano, opened in 1926, lies a short drive inland.

Weddings and events

The villa's salons, the park terraces and the Queen's Pavilion host weddings, galas and conferences, and the hotel has a long practice of large events through the Concorso and the Forum. The property is open from March to November.

Location

Villa d'Este is at Via Regina 40 in Cernobbio, about five kilometres north of the town of Como on the western shore of the lake. By car, Milan Malpensa Airport is about an hour away; from Como San Giovanni station the train reaches Milan in 40 minutes. Among luxury hotels on Lake Como, it is the oldest and the one the others are measured against.