Where to Stay in Bellagio

Staying in Bellagio, between contested history and family memories

Bellagio, overlooking the Como branch of the lake, holds a hospitality history that stretches back to distant eras, as bellagiolakecomo.com recounts, noting that the town was already known in Roman times: Pliny the Younger is said to have stayed there in the 1st century AD, even owning two villas in the area. According to the same source, by 1100 Bellagio was already a free commune with its own court, before coming back under the rule of Como in 1154 at the will of Frederick Barbarossa and, in the 13th century, falling within the orbit of the Duchy of Milan under the Visconti.

The fiefdom then passed, again according to bellagiolakecomo.com, to the Sfondrati family in 1535, who governed it until 1788, the year the last count died without heirs; from that point on, rights over the area are said to have passed to the Serbelloni family.

The origins of the Villa and the Grand Hotel

On the birth of what would become the Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni, villaserbelloni.com offers a detailed account: construction of a luxury villa on the lake is said to have begun in 1850 at the wish of a noble family from Bergamo, the Frizzoni, at the request of the countess; the work is said to have been completed in 1854, with an inauguration timed to coincide with the noblewoman's birthday.

On one crucial point, however, the two sources diverge sharply: according to villaserbelloni.com, it was in 1873 that the villa was expanded and transformed into the Grand Hotel Bellagio, while bellagiolakecomo.com contradicts this version, and based on the available information it is not possible to determine which of the two dates is correct.

Continuing the hotel's story, villaserbelloni.com relates that in 1918 the property was purchased by Arturo Bucher, marking the start of a family management that, according to the same source, went on to celebrate one hundred years and four generations at the helm in 2018, before marking 107 years under the same ownership in 2024. Still according to villaserbelloni.com, the hotel is said to employ 150 staff members, to have introduced molecular cuisine at the Ristorante Mistral in 2004 thanks to chef Ettore Bocchia, to have celebrated 150 years of activity in 2023, and to have completed a 4-million-euro renovation in 2024, which included the opening of a new Beach Club and the Luce del Lago spa, described as the largest on Lake Como at over 1,500 square meters. The same source further reports that in 2025 the Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni was set to join the Relais & Châteaux collection.

The golden age of Bellagio's hotels

Alongside the Villa Serbelloni, bellagiolakecomo.com traces the origins of other historic hotels in the town: the Hotel Bellagio, said to have been the first in the area, is reported to have opened in 1825; it was followed by the Hotel Florence in 1858 (known today as the Hotel Du Lac) and the Hotel de la Grande Bretagne in 1861. According to the same source, in 1888 the three leading hotels introduced electric lighting to the town, while during the Belle Époque Bellagio is said to have boasted three active theaters.

The same source credits the town with drawing illustrious figures: Franz Liszt is said to have spent his honeymoon there with Countess D'Agoult, and among the royal visitors mentioned are Maximilian I and Empress Maria Feodorovna. Bellagiolakecomo.com also mentions stays by numerous Italian and foreign artists and writers, as well as film stars such as Mary Pickford, Clark Gable and Al Pacino.

Today's hotels

On the current hospitality scene, hotelbellagio.it provides some details about the establishment that bears the town's name: 29 rooms in total, of which 17 offer a lake view, either partial or full, and 12 look out onto the town's characteristic streets. All rooms, according to this source, can accommodate a maximum of two guests. The Superior Room with lake view is said to be located exclusively on the fourth floor, the Classic Room with balcony on the second and third floors, the Double Lake View on the third floor, and the Partial Lake View on the first floor. The Standard Room, the most affordable and without a lake view, is said to measure 15 square meters.

Another storied hospitality venture is described by belvederebellagio.com: the Belvedere Bellagio is said to have been run since 1880 by five generations of the Martinelli-Manoni family, today represented by Giulia and Tiziana. The property is said to feature a private, terraced one-acre garden, described by the same source as a rarity in Bellagio.