It’s not every day visitors to Lake Como take time away from the shimmering lake to choose refuge in a spa. After all, there’s plenty to do outdoors in this northern Italian wonderland, a summer playscape of grandeur and intrigue. Ever a see-and-be-seen stronghold, Lake Como tends to attract glamorous international travelers who race across the water in slick, vintage-like mahogany speedboats called Rivas. Captained by handsome Italians with names like Fabio or Romeo, Rivas, prized by boating buffs and celebrities, embody all aspects of blue-blooded cachet setting a timeless mood of dolce far niente flair. Ornate villas line the lake, as do inviting, sun-drenched small villages, which tumble down hillsides to the shore, their criss-cross of cobblestone streets a trove of select boutiques, lively cafes, churches and galleries. There are hiking and biking trails for the intrepid, Ferraris to rent to careen around curves, pasta to eat, Aperol Spritz to be sipped, hidden golf courses to play and gardens to dance through.
Ornate villas line the lake, as do inviting, sun-drenched small villages, which tumble down hillsides to the shore, their criss-cross of cobblestone streets a trove of select boutiques, lively cafes, churches and galleries.
But thanks to the recent opening of storied Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni’s innovative and expansive new wellness mecca, Luce del Lago Spa, travelers will also visit Lake Como for a dose of well being. Part of Villa Serbelloni’s enticing hotel-wide upgrades this season, the expanded and elegantly re-imagined spa incorporates some 16,000-square-feet in a seamless melding of centuries-old healing modalities and modern sumptuousness.
Holistic and tranquil, the sanctuary features two indoor hydro-pools, a bespoke hair salon and nail parlor and posh treatment rooms, ideal for the traditional and energetic rituals offered on the menu. It’s piece-de-resistance is a palatial Private Suite, a boon for couples or friends inclined to spend the day in repose together. Spacious and kitted out with cutting edge equipment and offerings, the compelling Private Suite boasts a unique multi-sensory, talking sauna, replete with visual stimulation and curative scents, quartz sand beds, which impart a micro-massage that soothes the nervous system and muscles during a variety of treatments, chromotherapy showers, a Jacuzzi and dedicated treatment rooms. Also part of the redo, with the ability to attach to the Private Suite, a first class, authentic hammam adds elan. It pairs well with the organic Italian products used throughout the spa. Elsewhere on property, a gorgeous shore-side outdoor pool,a tennis court ensconced on a hill amid the trees and a first class fitness center seal the deal. “Spa Luce del Lago is not just a destination; it’s a philosophy,” says the visionary Owner & Chief Wellness Officer, Ms. Dusia Bucher, behind this extraordinary retreat. “We sought to create a space where time slows down, where guests can reconnect with themselves and with the timeless beauty of Lake Como.”
More About Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni
Helmed by the elegant Bucher Family through four generations for 152 years Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni, Bellagio’s only five star hotel, reigns as the queen of Lake Como. Attracting an old money crowd since its inception, the
Hotel pampers guests with old school delights and regional flourishes. Offering 94 richly-styled, recently redone rooms and suites, each like its own work of art, Villa Serbelloni makes a statement with époque furniture, luxurious Italian linen sheets, and Como silk comforters hand-sewn by the hotel’s in-house seamstress, an artisan who has been with the family (as have many other staff members ) for decades. Marble baths, custom bath salts and windows framing spectacular lake views invite.
Choose from a number of particularly mesmeric suites, some named after renowned guests who’ve stayed at the villa, including President John F. Kennedy, Winston Churchill and Helmut Newton. I’m most besotted with the Gold Suite which feels timelessly lavish and regal, for its gild headboard and princess vibes, but also obsessed with the contemporary chic of the Arte Suite, an homage to creativity defined by elements such as a Kandinsky-style rug, an Andy Warhol print, Prada design details and Biedermeier-inspired furnishings.
Serving breakfast in the former ballroom with oodles of tables and a bountiful buffet, Villa Serbelloni keeps guests well fed throughout the day at casually chic La Goletta and buzzy Terrazza Darsena, an en plein air bar lakeside. Guests can sip artful libations in Verri’s Bar and at the vogue-ish Baci di Bellagio Beach Club, a hotspot on a sandy lakeside beach, lined with ruby red parasols. Don’t leave without dining at the Villa’s acclaimed Mistral, the gastronomic domaine of Ettore Bocchia, Italy’s father of molecular gastronomy. A meal here is worth your plane ticket to Milan.
Whether you come to Lake Como’s finest hotel, Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni for the food, the shopping, the luxurious suites, the coddling or the spa, dolce vita-filled days are guaranteed.