We stayed at Hotel Centrale in Bellagio for two nights in June 2014. I had wanted to stay in Varenna, but many of the hotels were full, and the remaining ones were just priced too high. I also looked at Menaggio hotels but ended up choosing Hotel Centrale in Bellagio for its combination of price, location, and air conditioning. It was a great choice! It's uphill from the ferry dock and was pretty easy to find. I think we were checked in by the owner; he was very nice and friendly and spoke great English. He showed us to our room. We had room 102 (with twin beds and a shared balcony). The price was 120 euros + tourist tax and included breakfast and wifi. The hotel has a nice little garden at the entrance. Our beds were only so-so (or so we thought at the time; much firmer beds were to come on our trip), the in-room wifi was weak, and the shower was on the small side, but other than that, we had no complaints. The room was non-smoking (with a non-smoking sign posted) and did no smell of smoke at all (unless you left the windows open and smoke from the street and nearby restaurant came in). The cleaner they use for the bathroom is strong-smelling, though, so we had to "air out" the bathroom. The tap water tasted good, too! Each bed had a very nice nightstand. The room had no carpet (so no carpet stains and easier to clean). We could take the key with us or leave it at reception (which worked well--we left it while we went kayaking and took it with us the rest of the time). Breakfast had lots of choices, including croissants, pastries, yogurt, cereals, juices (blood orange and pineapple!), and good coffee. I would stay here again. Glad it was recommended in Rick's Italy guidebook.
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