Lake Como for mom and daughter

When?
I'm confused- you're coming from the Alps, then returning to Switzerland? Have you considered flying out of Milan, on a multi-city (open jaw) ticket?
We like Hotel Lu Lac in Varenna, Lake Como, and are going back next year. I highly recommend a lakeside room with a balcony.
Enjoy!

Coming from Austria, Germany then to Lake Como - all in theory at this point. Zurich for departure so we can do a direct flight to LAX.

Well, given your time frame I would say that hotel availability is going to dictate your choice. Most Italians go on vacation to the sea and the lakes in August.

That said, Varenna is the easiest because the train stops there. That is the area of the lake that is most scenic so you’ll want to look in Varenna, Bellagio and Menaggio. I would look all along the east side of the lake where there are train stops. Booking for next month is really going to limit you, so I would start searching immediately on booking.com, TripAdvisor, Airbnb, etc.

Yes, I definitely want to do something that will be easiest for transportation given our short time frame so will look there! If we come from Munich, we are hoping we can get a train to our location on the lake. Will start looking and appreciate the input!

Varenna is easy to get to using train service. Suggest you check out Hotel Villa Cipressi which is lovely place to stay and is within walking distance of the train station. Be aware that the train doesn't stop for long so be prepared to get off quickly. The hotel does have a good restaurant as does Hotel Montecondeno. Would eat at either of them again without any hesitation.

People have been reporting difficulty finding hotels in Varenna for this summer—-they are mostly all booked.

You might look at transport connections to Varenna before spending time looking for lodging—-it is a journey of 9+ hours by train from Munich, with 3-4 changes on the way. And you would have a fairly long journey back to Zurich for your flight.

It would be a shorter journey to Lago Maggiore, specifically the Swiss town of Locarno or the neighboring resort of Ascona. Locarno would be 7 hours, with 2 changes on the way. Locarno back to Zurich is 3.5 hours with no changes; just over 3 hours if you make one change on the way.

Or how about a lakeside village on Vierwaldstättersee (Lake Luzern)? Luzern is 4.5 to 5 hours from Munich, with a single train change on the way. From the Luzern train station you walk across the plaza to the boat dock and take a ferry to one of the towns on the lake. It’s not Italy, but it is quite scenic, and a whole lot more convenient.

We stayed at Albergo Milano in Varenna, lovely room with a balcony - our room was in the Casa Rossa. The breakfast was delicious. It was an easy walk from the train station and easy to hop the boat to visit Lenno and Bellagio. One of our favorite memories was having dinner on the terrace at Albergo Milano and watching the sun slide down the edge of one of the Italian Alps as it was setting. Unforgettable!

We love Albergo Milano too but it is most likely fully booked. At least one person we saw posting here a couple of days ago gave up on Varenna and started looking at other towns on Lake Como.

Pamlpetersen has started a new there in “General Europe” asking for help with other options for their trip, so it appears they too may have given up on Lake Como. I am sure they would welcome suggestions there.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/suggested-itinerary-from-vienna-to-zurich-for-mom-adult-daughter

I haven't given up there just yet, but do want to see if there is a better alternate plan we should consider. All help appreciated!