Hotel du Lac closing, reopening as Casa du Lac April 1, 2025

Pat -- We are having the same problem. We're trying to find lodging in Varenna for a week in July and having a lot of difficulty. Since we won't have a car, we thought Varenna would be the perfect location on the train route but we can't find anything acceptable there so far.

I'm wondering if there are other desirable places like Menaggio or Bellagio that have frequent ferry access for both our arrival and departure on the train? Since we are going to be there for a week, we'd like to stay in a town that has some good restaurants and interesting things to do (like shops, walking tours, etc.) Any recommendations?

In case this is of any help, my RS book recommends for Varenna: Villa Cipressi, Royal Victoria, Villa Monti, Albergo Milano, Albergo Sole, Hotel Montecondo, Albergo Baretta as well as Hotel du Lac. I stayed at a much lower budget guesthouse (Fio & Gio) that worked well for me but would not be a suitable alternative for Hotel du Lac customers.

Lodging in Varenna is tough. I couldn't find anything suitable for me at a reasonable price for this year's trip. I ended up in Tremezzo at a comparatively affordable place within walking distance of a ferry stop that was served fairly often, as well as not too far from a bus stop. However, being right in Varenna, Bellagio (probably more expensive) or Menaggio would really be more convenient; I think they're served by more frequent ferries. Varenna also has great train access, and the other two have a lot more lodging and restaurant options. There are some sightseeing pluses to being on the west side of the lake (which Bellagio is not, but Menaggio is): proximity to Villa Carlotta, Villa Balbianello, and the Lake Como Greenway. I quite liked Menaggio, though it isn't quite as cute as Bellagio or Varenna.

For most of us, finances place some limits on our lodging choices. For a long stay like yours on Lake Como, I'd pay a lot of attention to the convenience of the location, but then I'm not one who falls in love with a hotel because of the decor or the view, and I'm not interested in relaxing around a pool, however beautiful the surroundings. Then again, it can be very hot on Lake Como in mid-summer, so a pool would be appreciated by many people.

We stayed in Bellano in 2021 when we made a pretty last minute trip to Italy when it opened up after being closed because of Covid. It is one stop beyond Varenna on the train line. It is not part of the midlake ferry route so not as easy in that way. It is on ferry lines but just not as frequent. One night we took the ferry from Bellagio to Varenna, had dinner, and took the train back to Bellano.

So while it isn't quite as convenient, we did fine without a car.

Bellano is more of a real town that doesn't completely cater to tourists. It has three grocery stores for example. It has a beach which our adult children liked a lot. We had our best meal in Italy there (as well as really good pizza).

I gave up looking for a place to stay in Varenna for this coming July's visit to Lake Como with my husband and teenage son. I wanted to book early, but few places in Varenna were available for booking a few months ago, and the ones that were available, were very expensive. That led me to scan google maps for a different location in the Lake Como area and I stumbled on Agriturismo Il Colle. It is just uphill from Bellagio with a lake view. We booked the triple room with A/C for about $200 a night, which I think is a great value. It is highly rated on Booking.com. Here is the link for it:
https://www.agriturismoilcollebellagio.it/

Pat, any word back from Casa du Lac? I traded several emails with them (one response was with a discount offer for the Royal Victoria, but even with a discount, it was significantly above the rate I recall seeing for the Hotel du Lac prior to their going off the air.
At that point I gave up and booked a hotel in Menaggio, which ended up working better for our itinerary since we are heading to Lucerne after Lake Como. There were (are) a ton of stellar reviews for the former Hotel du Lac, so I hope the new management can keep that ball rolling-maybe we can stay in the "new" hotel on a future trip to the lakes.

Webdweeb, I have heard nothing. After my last email, the hotel kindly said they would contact me. I also posted on the Varenna fb group asking the status, also with no results.
Soon, our back up hotel will be asking for the refundable bill to be paid. Once I've done that, don't think I'll worry aboutCasa du Lac anymore , (sigh emoji.) perhaps the renovation is taking longer than planned? However, I already thought the hotel was very nicely done.

We have had four wonderful experiences staying in the upper( views!) part of Bellagio. Lots of good dining.

Also interesting Pat is that your link shows as being invalid. I truly hope that the hotel reopens. It was one of our favorites. Time must be flying by, first one of our favorite restaurants up the hill from town closes because of the chef’s unexpected passing and now the closure of this hotel.

Pat, thanks for the update. I too get an invalid/connection is not private message when I try to log on to the original web site, so maybe some hacker took over the web address-I don't want to find out, so I just closed the browser tab.

Hi - I can’t seem to access their website anymore either. Are you able to share their email? I was hoping to get in touch with them to make a reservation for my trip in May! Hopefully they will be able to provide an update on when they will be taking reservations for 2025!

Cheers
Brandon