recommendations on where to stay in Varenna

hi! we were a group of four and stayed in villa clara in july and had a marvelous experience. apparently Marilena is the multilingual booking agent for several individuals who each rent out one apt. some apts are larger, some smaller. click on villa clara and at the bottom you can see a map of locations.....good luck!!! http://www.apartmentsvarenna.com/index.html

We stayed at Hotel Eremo Gaudio It was absolutely wonderful. You take 2 funiculars up then an elevator if your room is on top floor, The view is awesome.

My wife and I stayed at the Albergo Milano in May. Very nice place.

Re: Hotel Eremo Gaudio
My husband and I stayed there in Sept. 2012. The views are amazing from the hotel as long as you stay in the upper portion of the hotel and get a room with a balcony. Absolutely gorgeous. It is a long walk from the train station (taxis are available) and a long walk in to town from the hotel (up a hill coming back). It is not centrally located. My husband and I are quite fit so no issues but if you are not in good shape . . . One morning we woke up and had no water service to our room for a few hours. The elderly man at the front desk is an absolute grump - zero personality. On the last night of our stay our room was invaded by a massive number of ants. Then to top it off, on the morning of our departure the area was hit by a huge thundershower which knocked out the power to the hotel. As we were at breakfast at the bottom floor of the hotel at the time of the power outage, we had a very long walk up some very steep, wet, slippery stairs to our room at the top of the hill and a walk back down. We were met partway down the hill by a hotel employee who helped us with our bags. We were grateful that we were not on the funicular or the elevator when this occurred. We are still laughing about this experience. The lack of water situation, ants, and expecially the thunderstorm may have been anomalies. But I would advise caution with this hotel. Check out Tripadviser for more reviews.

Mary

Second for Albergo Milano. Some rooms have what is essentially a private patio overlooking the lake. Lots of RS travelers..

Just spent two night at Orange House orangehouse.org had a wonderful stay. Host Piero very helpful. Close to lake and a short walk from the train station. They use to be in RS book but a few years ago his wife had surgery on her hip/leg and they were taken out of the book.