Lake Como Hotels/ B&B's... Varenna or Bellagio?

I just booked a couple nights with this B&B in Varenna http://www.villamichelabb.blogspot.com/
I talked with Laura, Michela's daughter, she was ABSOLUTELY wonderful! The rooms look great and they even have an independent apartment, which is what we are staying in as there are four of us. I've never been there but just based on communication with Laura I cant imagine it being anything but great. (sorry, guess I'm kinda excited =) )

Hi Stephanie. I would personally suggest staying in Varenna as opposed to Bellagio but it's just my personal preference. Varenna is very picturesque and low-key and I enjoyed walking around the lake-side promenade whereas I found Bellagio to be not as quaint and much busier than Varenna. We visited Lake Como at the end of our trip and enjoyed the peacefulness of Varenna after our hectic itinerary. We stayed in a wonderful hotel in Varenna (Albergo Milano) & loved it however it's more than 100 euros/night. Enjoy Lake Como; it's beautiful.

Without a car I think that Varenna is the better choice. Last September we stayed 3 nights at the Orange House. It is not far from the train station (we did not hear the trains) and we paid 73 euros per night. They have 2 rooms, upstairs is a double with bath. We had that room. Downstairs is a double with a bathroom across the hall. That bathroom is for the use of the downstairs room. They provide a nice breakfast. If you are looking for something really fun and special to do while you are at Lake Como, I highly recommend the cooking class at Il Caminetto. It was one of the highlights of our 3 week trip to Italy. They picked us up at the Orange House around 10:00 a.m. and dropped us back off around 5:00 p.m. It was a blast and well worth the 35 euros they charged.

Hotel Olivedo in Varrenna is a great place. They require dinner at their place which is outstanding.They also have another nearby place that doesnt require dinner.

We are going to Lake Como in June and are confused as to where to stay. RS says Varenna but others have said to stay in Como. Which is more central? We will not have a car and we want to go to the other lakes and perhaps to Switzerland for one day.
Any recommendations?

Stephanie, I can recommend Albergo Olivedo but you can also consider Albergo Milano or Royal Hotel Victoria in Varenna. I suspect you may have to increase your budget slightly though.

We did not have a great experience with Olivedo. Beds were awful and breakfast meager. Lots of noise from the ferries in front of the hotel. This hotel needs a major redo of the decor-tired and worn looking. Varenna is a nice little town and works well if you arrive/leave by train. You might look at Eremio Gaudi-gets good reviews.

stephanie, i echo eveyone else about Varenna vs. Bellagio. you can take the ferry to bellagio during the day; at nite you will be glad to get back to Varenna. If you want to stay under 100 E / nite, try Hotel Montecodena (sp?) - its in RS book and it was very comfortable and reasonably priced - one block from Varenna ferry landing.

I agree that Varenna is a great place to stay to visit other Lake Como towns. It's the smallest of them all, and so it's very walkable, including a pretty lakeside walk. Well connected by ferry to most other towns. We recently stayed at the Hotel Olivedo, which conveniently faces the ferry dock. We didn't find it noisy, as another answer reported, nor were our beds poor. The hotel is an easy short walk from the train station (unmanned, so get tickets in a travel agency halfway along.) Dinner there is not obligatory, but the food is good, although it's true that the breakfast is so-so. Be advised that the Olivedo has no elevator, if that's a problem for you. Be also advised that the owner, quite fluent in English, does not accept credit cards - cash only!

We didn't stay at Hotel Olivedo, but we did eat there. I DO NOT recommend it. Maybe it's different if you stay there, but they totally ripped us off. They brought us food (bread & salad) we didn't ask for. Even with that, we didn't have anything besides water to drink, no dessert, no main dish, and it was the most expensive restaurant meal we had in Italy. I had pasta and my husband had fish. And when I say fish, that was all it was. I would say it ranked pretty low on the quality/enjoyment scale for us. When they brought the bill it was on a scrap of paper with some illegible scribbles and a number for the total. The next night we ate in Bellagio, and we each had a glass of wine and dessert in addition to our food. The food was delicious and it was 15 euro less than at the Hotel Olivedo.

We are staying at the Orange House in June- in Varenna. It had great reviews on Trip Advisor and it is cheap. Plus, Andrea and Jim loved it when they stayed there last fall- she already posted you about it. She is my RS BFF for our Sacramento group, so I trust her!

Thank you all for the advice! We ended up booking Hotel Montecodeno in Varenna. It is recommended in Rick's book and had pretty good reviews on trip advisor, plus it was right at our budget. Hopefully it will be a good choice! :)

Albergo Milano is a great place in Varenna.