Varenna Hotel Recommendations

On a RS trip we stayed at the Hotel Royal Victoria - 4 stars and very elegant.
Swimming Pool , nice restaurants (though there are several really nice restaurants in Varenna).
Might be a good place for you since you are celebrating an anniversary - Congrats !!

Jed,

First of all, congratulations in advance on your anniversary.

A couple of hotels you could look at (some as mentioned previously)......

• Albergo Milano - it's a big favourite with many here, and from what I've heard it's excellent. They also have an outstanding gourmet restaurant, so that would be a good place to have your anniversary dinner. I believe they have several properties, so if there are no vacancies in the main building, they may be able to accommodate you in one of the others. I would suggest booking EARLY though!
• Royal Hotel Victoria - a somewhat posh hotel right in the main piazza of Varenna, opposite the Church. They also have a gourmet restaurant, so another possibility for dinner. Again, in July it's a good idea to book early.
• Villa Cipressi - it's also located close to the main piazza and is a hotel with somewhat of an "old world elegance", as it's located in a building that was constructed between 1400 & 1800. Check out the menu for their La Contrada restaurant, as the selections look wonderful. They also have incredible gardens that are a wonderful place to relax. Non-guests can pay a fee to tour the gardens as well as those at the nearby Villa Monastero.

The room prices for all the hotels appear to be within your price range.

I stayed at Hotel du Lac in Varenna about 15 years ago. A quick Google search reveals it is still there and has some rooms for as little as $185. It was very nice with views over the lake, a deck, and fantastic buffet breakfast. I thought it was romantic, and I was alone! If you want to be riding the ferry around the lake, you might prefer a hotel closer to the ferry dock.

We stayed at the Hotel Olivedo in March. Great location--walkable from the train station. With a room on the view side you can do some great people watching over the busy commotion at the ferry dock. The rooms have new windows and sound wasn't an issue when we stayed there. There's a trail up to the castle that begins just behind the Olivedo.

Olivedo is a small hotel and run by Laura. She is full of personality and can rub some people the wrong way, but make a reservation your first night at her really nice restaurant and all will be well. Try her homemade pasta and definitely her pear dessert.

Such a great place for an anniversary!

Hi all! Thanks for the great recommendations and thanks for the early anniversary wishes! A side note- our first trip to Europe was for our one year anniversary. Our anniversary was actually on the flight over and our first night was inn Amsterdam. The flight over (BA) we used points for business class and the flight attendant gave us a bottle of champagne to celebrate (which we did in Paris!).

This gives us a good place to start as we investigate our options. Scott-thanks for the info on Laura. Looking on Trip Advisor, I saw a couple not so positive comments about her. I had liked some of what I'd seen about the hotel, but had some pause after reading the comments. As usual, more info fills in the picture!

Varenna is pretty small, so I think just about any hotel would be easy to access. We stayed at Albergo Milano in 2012. A great experience. Our room had a private deck, with view of Lake Como that was unbelievable. The room itself was fairly basic, but perfectly fine. Just about everyone in the restaurant had a RS Italy book with them, so you won't be alone. We would definitely stay again.

We attempted to stay at Albergo Milano in September, but they were booked. We ended up at Casablanca Rossa, which is an annex of Albergo Milano. Great place with a wonderful view from our room. There was also an excellent breakfast served at Albergo Milano. It was the best room our three week trip.

Jed,

I forgot to mention Albergo Olivedo, but that's also a good choice. It's a somewhat older hotel, but somewhat elegant with some character. It's right next to the Ferry dock, so there's a lot of activity in that area. They also have rooms in a Villa behind the hotel. The hotel is an easy walk from the station (all downhill).

As a previous reply mentioned, I also found the home made Pasta to be excellent there (although the servings were small). I always enjoy sitting on the outside patio at dinner, and watching all the activity at the Ferry dock. FWIW, I get along fine with Laura and always enjoy chatting with her.

if you are interested in thinking about an apt, I want to recommend these people..... the same rental agent manages properties for several folks, we stayed in a bigger 2 bedroom, 2 bath property.....but there are several smaller apts available. if you scroll to the bottom of the pics for a particular property, you will see the location on a town map http://www.apartmentsvarenna.com/albertina.html
I tried to link one that has GORGEOUS windows and location.....

Albergo Milano. That dining on the Terrace!

Hi all! Passing along an update, we have decided, and booked, a room at Hotel Olivedo for our time in Varenna. 170Euro/night for superior room. Thanks all for your help and suggestions!

Jed,

You're very welcome! Hope you have a wonderful time in Varenna!