Passalacqua

About

Passalacqua is an unusual winner of so many awards. Browse the photographs and you may wonder what all the fuss is about. Lake Como has grander villas, more dramatic locations and hotels that make a stronger first impression. Yet ask people who have actually stayed here and the response is remarkably consistent: they leave convinced it is one of the finest hotels in the world. Part of the explanation lies in its history. Built in the late eighteenth century for Count Andrea Lucini Passalacqua, the villa spent more than two centuries as a private residence before opening as a hotel in 2022. During the nineteenth century it became a gathering place for artists, aristocrats and intellectuals. The composer Vincenzo Bellini lived here in 1829 and worked on Norma and La Sonnambula while looking out across the same stretch of lake guests wake up to today. Many historic hotels feel like beautiful buildings that happen to contain bedrooms. Passalacqua still feels like a house. A very large house, admittedly, but a house nonetheless. The De Santis family, also behind Grand Hotel Tremezzo, understood that distinction. Instead of turning the estate into a luxury showcase, they preserved much of its personality. The former stables became intimate suites. An old underground tunnel now forms part of the spa. The terraced gardens descend towards the lake through olive trees, cypresses and quiet corners where nobody seems in a hurry to be anywhere else. There are only twenty four suites spread across three buildings. Guests can collect eggs from the henhouse for breakfast, borrow one of the hotel's polished Riva boats for an afternoon on the water or simply spend an hour getting pleasantly lost among frescoed salons, hidden staircases and rooms filled with Italian craftsmanship. Rubelli fabrics, Fortuny textiles and Murano chandeliers appear throughout, though thankfully without the feeling that someone is trying too hard to impress you. The food follows the same philosophy. Chef Viviana Varese focuses on Italian cooking rooted in tradition and excellent ingredients rather than elaborate displays of technique. It suits the house perfectly. Passalacqua's greatest achievement is that it never feels like a hotel chasing perfection. It feels like a beloved family estate that has somehow remained alive while many of its contemporaries became museums.