Best way to travel from Venice to a hotel on the west side of Lake Como

If it was me, I'd take a train from Venice to Milano Centrale, then change to a train to Varenna-Esino, then walk down to the lake and take a ferry to Tremezzo.
Train schedules at http://www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en
Lake Como boat schedules at http://www.navigazionelaghi.it/eng/c_orari.asp

Rome2Rio.com indicates that the fastest public-transportation route begins with a train to Milan, changing to another train to Como. In Como you have a choice:

• Take Bus 10 (I think Bus 20 runs the other way but am not sure) to Tremezzo. Check with your hotel to find out exactly where to get off the bus. (It's possible the info is on the hotel's website.) I have been unable to find the bus schedule online (I'll bet someone else here knows where it is), but here's some general information on the Lake Como buses. Rome2Rio.com thinks the bus runs only three times a day; if so, it may be tricky to align your train with the bus departure time. Somewhere inside or outside the Como RR station, the bus schedule should be posted. If there's an information booth at the train station, the person staffing it should be able to tell you where to find the bus schedule. Be aware that bus service is often cut back severely on Sundays (and moderately on Saturdays), even in the summer. If you happen to be traveling on a Sunday in October, you may find little bus service available.

• Walk to the lake and get the ferry to Tremezzo. I've read online that it's a 10- or 15-minute walk but cannot vouch for that. Again, check with your hotel on where to get off the ferry. There's a separate Villa Carlotta stop that might be better for you. Here's the website for the lake ferry. You can check schedules there, but unfortunately only the summer schedule (thru October 2) is loaded and the app only shows ferries for the next 2 hours after the time you specify. Probably better to look at the full schedule. Here's the link for the pdf of that schedule--again the summer schedule. Through Oct. 2 the ferries run pretty frequently except for a roughly 2-hour break around lunchtime. I have no idea how much thinner the schedule will be if you need to make the trip later in October.

The little notes at the top of each column are critical. "Giorn" means daily. "Fer" means workdays (which I think includes Saturdays, but I always have to ask locally to be sure). "Fest" means Sundays and holidays.

Another obvious possibility is train Venice-Milan-Como then taxi to your hotel. The taxi distance to the Grand Hotel is about 30 km (less than 20 miles). If there happen to be 3 or 4 of you and you don't have a lot of luggage (thus managing with an ordinary taxi), a taxi might be a reasonable way to go.

I'd contact the hotel and ask for a link for the bus schedule; the hotel may know where to find a current one. And also check on the closest bus and ferry drop-off points to the hotel.

Edited to add: Taking the train to Varenna is also a possibility. I have no idea whether the schedule works better from there or from Como, but Como is a larger city.

I'd second Sam's recommendation.

When we visited Varenna ( East side of the lake), we cruised the mid lake, & Tremezzo was one of the stops.
As I recall, the midlake ferry follows this route; Varenna >> Menaggio >>Villa Carlotta >> Tremezzo >> Leno >> Bellagio >> Varenna.

• The train ride from Milano Centrale to Varenna will take a bit over
  an hour. If you will be returning to Milan, you will want to buy your return tickets in advance,
  because there's no ticket counter at the tiny station in Varenna.

• Try to sit on the left side of the train for best views of the lake

• The train will go through a tunnel right before you arrive to Varenna. So you will need to be prepared to get off the train once it stops, as it only stops for a couple of minutes, before departing to it's final destination.

Enjoy your trip!

EDIT to add... I forgot to mention that Milano Centrale is a terminus, meaning that this is the last stop for the train you will be traveling
on from Venice.

Milano Centrale is a beautiful station & it's nice that all the train tracks are on the same level, so there's no need to go up or down to find the platform for the train heading to Varenna.

***Don't forget to validate your train tickets before boarding the train to Varenna!

I forgot to mention that Milano Centrale is a terminus, meaning that this is the last stop for the train you will be traveling on from Venice.

About half of the trains actually continue on to Turin, but it will be pretty obvious when you arrive in Milan. Besides the slow down to yard speed through the maze of tracks outside Centrale, there is a big sign entering the train shed and of course all the signs on the platform, and the train's PA will announce "Milano Centrale", and most people will be exiting the train.

You're correct Sam, thanks for clarifying this information!

Thanks Priscilla, acraven and Sam for these remarkably helpful and thorough responses. This is one part of our lengthy trip that bogged us down, complicated by the fact that we have to be careful due to back problems. We will probably opt for the train to Milan, then on to one of the other stations where we can take the ferry to Tremezzo. The Lake is the end of a an 18 day trip and the place for celebrating our 46th anniversary. Maybe we’ll consider splurging for a driver from Milan Centrale. We’re waiting on an email response from the Tremezzo concierge about their thoughts on this. This question was our first on the RS forum, and the response was very impressive. Thanks to all.

If you want to spring for a driver, might as well take a train from Milano Centrale to Como San Giovanni. It is a pretty easy change, you just have to get your luggage on and off the train. No stairs to deal with at Milano Centrale. Like Priscilla said, its a terminus type station. Save the driver for when you get to Como.

Thanks Sam. Great point.