Chain hotel or recently remodeled hotel on Lake Como or another of the lakes?

Gosh i hope there is no monstrosity of a new chain hotel on the lake . It would ruin the look .

Lake Como is large , i think it might help if you first find out what area you want to visit , then folks may be able to give suggestions for soecific hotles they have stayed at.

Just curious , why do you want a chain hotel, do you have points to use?

It is complicated to explain, but I have an immune system that makes me very sick when I am around mold. Italy has been a real challenge. Despite what you may think, about half of buildings even in the US have mold; I find it often when I go places. In Italy I am finding it many places. We purposely booked most hotels at chains, thinking that because they have more rooms and hotels they can be flexible to move us. We booked cancellable rates, and figured once we found a good room, we'd stay a week. In the chains if we get a bad room, they understand and move us to another room. It happened once. The only place that was really bad mold-wise was a fairly high end, top rated, not-chain. They just didn't understand, and we had to leave and book a room at a different hotel, plus pay them for their moldy room. Usually the mold is invisible. Often it is in the air ducts of the HVAC system and I think here it is the type of AC they use. Sometimes it is an old roof of plumbing leak.

Anyway, we were going to stay in a US chain near Venice and take the train into Venice for a few days, but based on the first two weeks we are afraid to go to Venice now. So looking for an alternative for 3-4 days.

We were in Rome for 6 days, Sorrento for 4 days (where we had the most problems), Florence for 6 but now extended to 8. I was thinking maybe Verona or Padua and side trips to neighboring towns, but we're a little burned out on side trips to little towns.

most places in Venice don't have air conditioning

That's true Nigel, but because of all the water in Venice proper and the old buildings with portions below water there is quite a bit of mold. Again, not visible to the naked eye but anyone with a sensitivity to it will pick it up. I have a mild allergy to mold, annoying but not life altering, and I find even newer hotels in seaside towns, and hotels in areas with lots of humidity have enough mold and mildew to make it more difficult for me to breathe without some kind of inhaler or medication. I feel for the OP if her health issues prohibit her from enjoying Venice by staying there in order to enjoy the early mornings and late evenings. It's such a wonderful and unique place. Don't have any advice about the lakes, except that some places like Stresa on Lake Maggiore have a lot of somewhat larger hotels to choose from. It's been so long that I don't remember what hotel we stayed at in Stresa but I don't remember any health issue there - I was with a tour so it was a larger hotel that could accommodate our whole group.

Cindi,

Is this a good time to visit the Lakes or is it too late in the season, ferrys shutting down, etc?

We visited Varenna on Lake Como around this time of year in 2014. The day we arrived was nice & sunny, but the next couple of days we experienced drizzly weather.
The lake ferries are still running this month.

You should check the weather before committing to a place.

Another option is going to Verona, but I don't recall seeing any large hotels there either.

Which airport will you be flying home from? You may consider a place close by, so you don't waste time traveling back to where you need to be at the end of your trip. ( I read your other post too).

I hope you enjoy your last week, wherever you end up going!

Cindi,

The Hilton Mulino Stuckey in Venice is a gorgeous, huge property in Venice. It's a clean and new(er) Property and they are just across the canal from Venice so you look over at it. They have ferries that run every thirty minutes. Highly recommend. There are also two Marriott properties in Venice, but I wouldn't recommend because they are in older buildings.

In Bellagio there is a place called Borgo le Terrazze and I don't know how old it is, but I remember we were very impressed by the cleanliness of the rooms. No carpet in the rooms. Very Scandinavian in design so not a lot of stuff to collect dust and mold.

I hope that you find something and enjoy the rest of your trip. Please report back on your decision.

On and RS tour we stayed at Royal Victoria - Varenna. It is a very elegant old hotel right near the lake, it has a swimming pool, nice restaurant and is very close to everything in Varenna. I would recommend it.
We bought all day passes for the ferry and rode to each of the main towns. Enjoyed walking around them and seeing the lake from all the different views.
The day pass allowed us to spend as much time as we wanted in each town - lovely day.

We have twice stayed at Albergo Milano in Varenna, both times in the Casa Rossa annex, in the large bright modern room on the top floor. I cannot imagine any mold issues in the room---it has bare wood floors, spare furnishings, and a newly-remodeled bathroom with spotless red tile. The only air conditioning is a gentle breeze from the lake. The hotel is managed with Swiss attention to cleanliness and detail because Bettina, the wife of the owner couple, is Swiss.

We last stayed there a year ago, around this time (early October). It was a bit rainy, so check the weather before deciding to go there.

Not sure if you are locked into Lake Como but i just returned from Italy and spent 4 days on Lake Maggiore which I enjoyed more then Lake Como. The town of Stresa has some of the large hotels but they are in the 5 star range. We used Hotel La Palma and the rooftop bar had great views for sunset.
http://www.hlapalma.it/en/

These were 2 of the nicest ones we walked in the lobby and around the grounds.
Grand Hotel Borromees - http://www.borromees.com/en
Regina Palace - http://www.booking.com/hotel/it/regina-palace.html?aid=389181;label=metagha-link-mapresultsUS-hotel-176106_dev-desktop_los-1_bw-11_dow-Sunday_room-0_lang-en_curr-USD;sid=bff04dd20dabb56566a6683b4adc630b;all_sr_blocks=17610601_91910701_0_1_0;checkin=2016-10-16;checkout=2016-10-17;dest_id=-130280;dest_type=city;dist=0;group_adults=2;highlighted_blocks=17610601_91910701_0_1_0;hpos=1;no_rooms=1;room1=A%2CA;sb_price_type=total;srfid=0d624a93a5e8f430922b86f891085c3dfcf081cbX1;type=total;ucfs=1&