Hotel Lario

While the hotel promised 'beautiful views on lake Como', we were placed on the ground floor with a view on the A/C system of the hotel. The desk employee laughed us off. We had booked a half pension arrangement for 3 days which promised 'traditional Italian meals'. We were offered processed canned food instead. The hotel does have beautiful rooms, but we have been ripped off! Please check the pictures we made ....

I hope you have time to read an elaborate review because boy I have a lot to say about this living nightmare of a hotel.

1. The food is quite literally the worst thing on earth. Beforehand, they tell you the food is ‘traditional Italian food’. Therefore I have inserted the following photos to detest that.
Photo 1 shows the coffee (mind you that Italian coffee is amongst the best of this world) that I can’t even explain to you was so genuinely disgusting.
Photo 2 shows the lasagna on day 2 of our stay. Respectfully, do these people even have a cook or do the waiters make the food?
Photo 3 shows dinner on the second night. Do I need to explain to you why that’s not okay? You eat that at home, not in a restaurant next to Como Lake.
Photo 4 shows my chicken that fell apart on day 3 of dinner. It also had 0 taste.
Photo 5 shows the wonderful desert they served. Crème brûlée, they say, but in reality this was yoghurt with a layer of burnt tasteless nothing.

The dinner was nothing but processed and canned food. Every single night.

If the food doesn’t scare you away, then let me try again.

2. The room had some serious problems.

We paid some good money for a good hotel yet somehow we end up at two of the three rooms on the ground floor with no view on the lake (four people, two rooms). The one room had a view of some bushes (nice, right? When they advertise the hotel with a view of the Como Lake?) The other room had a view on the back of the restaurant (photo 6) with the staff smoking right in front of the window that had a transparent curtain. We therefore had to cover the curtain with an extra towel to make sure the staff couldn’t look inside and see us showering (photo 7).

The first room in question had a shower that fell apart whenever we used it (photo 8&9). The AC was nice but automically shut off after approximately 15 minutes of using it. Moreover, if you set the temperature too cold, it shuts itself off, as well.

3. The staff is literally rude.
The weren’t helpful whatsoever when we expressed our complains about our rooms, dinner or the way they charged us more for the parking price (which is €15/day). It seems they want to be there just as little as you do.

4. There’s no way to lock the door from the inside, for there is only a lock on the outside of the door. You need another person to lock the person from the outside for you.

All in all, if you book a stay at this hotel don’t be surprised at the literal nightmares you will get for months afterwards. This hotel is the worst place I’ve ever stayed at.

DON’T GO HERE!!!! There are many different hotels around Como Lake that I can guarantee are of much better quality. If anything, don’t book a room at Hotel Lario (you have been warned).

Newmarket travel organised the trip. Communication with them is appalling !!! I am still waiting for them to contact me seven weeks after my first email and numerous calls. When I get through I am PROMISED I will be contacted by a manager. Food terrible, 75% of us got diarrhoea and sickness . Lack of staff. Accommodation basic. I am owed a refund for plane seats that I booked after being told we needed to pay. Also a trip I paid extra for I was t able to go as in bed I’ll fit 30 hours. No customer service at the hotel or from Newmarket Travel.

Very disappointed in the standard of food offered by this hotel. Tinned fruit, limited tinned or frozen vegetables, chopped iceberg lettuce, toms and grated carrot for a starter salad, ordinary pizza and a few chips and sorbet as one of the night’s three course option. Not what we were hoping for when we booked a week’s package holiday in Italy, with their reputation for food. The location of the hotel on a main road and with a dangerous walk on sections of the road without pavements to access the lakeside and the ferry terminal added to the disappointment. On the plus side most of the staff were friendly. The area is beautiful but the hotel let itself down.