The Place
This astonishing hotel makes even the most spoilt guests feel lucky to be here, and the most jaded feel soothed, relaxed and completely at home. Built in 1892, the historic pink and white Liberty villa was the summer residence of Italy’s wealthiest family, the Fetrinellis, and later sheltered Mussolini during the war. Fabulously restored by American hotelier Bob Burns, with no expense spared, it now feels like the most arresting and luxurious private home you could hope to stay in.
The suites, whether in the villa itself or in the houses dotted around the lakeside grounds, are eye-poppingly sumptuous. Some have frescoed ceilings and each is filled with objects such as silver-framed photographs, handmade Venetian lamps and hand-printed paper desk sets. The white embossed bedspreads from Pratesi and the Frette sheets are of the finest Egyptian cotton. Technology hasn’t been forgotten either: you can listen to opera, jazz, or rock music, piped throughout your suite on a high-fidelity sound system, and the vast, opulent bathrooms have heated marble floors.
Of the public rooms, the salon is most impressive with its frescoes, grand piano and dramatic antique mirrors reflecting the lake. The service is faultless and genuinely friendly. Expensive, but worth it.
Things to do in the area? Head to TripDog.