Hotel Lario

My sister and I booked a week at this hotel with Newmarket Holidays, when we arrived at 10.00pm on an extremely wet evening we had to carry heavy suitcases up some steps then an incline to get into the hotel, no one came to help, we were given some soup and dessert and then given the key to our room. The room we had was a disabled room although we had not requested one and we were disappointed with it, upon using the shower the next day, the bathroom was flooded by the time we had finished and we had to use the towels to mop up the water. Each evening we were presented with a piece of paper with the following nights dinner menu on and we had to pick what we wanted. Here we were very disappointed we were expecting some delicious Italian dishes, we were offered beef and seasonal veg one night which turned out to be a plate of beef and a pile of steamed spinach, another night it was pork shank and seasonal veg, this turned out to be pork and chips! This went on all week, the worst was a beef stew which was inedible, it was grey in colour and tasted revolting! The breakfast by contrast was well done with plenty of continental choice plus toast boiled egg, scrambled egg and bacon. Our biggest shock was on the final evening, when we were told that the bedroom tax must be paid in cash, we knew there might be a tax to pay but as nothing had been said to us either by the hotel or guide we thought we didn’t have to pay it and the majority of guests like us had used their euros on the last day, there was a mad scramble for us all to get together the correct amount, which was 3 euros per person per night. We have loved Lake Como and the surrounding area but would not use this hotel, it needs updating and needs to have a serious think about what food it offers their guests.

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.

I have just returned having stayed at The Lario through Newmarket Holidays. The Lario staff were polite and helpful and our Newmarket Guide Florea Alexandru Gabriel (Alex) was superb a very knowledgeable guide and most helpful. I would definitely recommend this trip. 😎👍

Stayed at the Lario for a week as part of a Newmarket tour of the area. After reading previous reviews I was quite concerned and packed lots of food to supplement our meals. These thankfully weren’t needed. The hotel is definitely 3* and does ,as previously mentioned, need some tweaking, BUT it was also a clean, quiet, friendly base for our week. Our room at the back was clean, quiet with ample storage, hot powerful shower, large comfortable bed and a small balcony with chairs and a lovely view overlooking the mountains and ancient historic church. Breakfast was a typical European affair of yogurts, bread for toasting with preserves, cold meat and cheese, fresh and tinned fruits, cereals . There was also scrambled eggs and bacon but I never ate those as they didn’t look very appetising. The evening meal consisted of 3 courses with a choice of 2starters and 2 mains. You were asked to make your choice the evening before which did seem to upset some people but did mean that our food was ready to be served promptly when we sat down, which as there were several large tour groups in the dining room could have been an issue otherwise, and also meant that if there was nothing that met your dietary requirements as happened in our group a few times, meant the staff could offer you an alternative. The food was not haute cuisine but was perfectly edible and in several cases delicious, particularly enjoyed pizza night , beautiful freshly made variety of pizzas and as many as you wanted. The soups were nice too and certainly not rehydrated. We never left the dining room hungry! The pool and outdoor seating was a nice place to relax on return from a hot days travelling, with the sun on the terrace until late afternoon. Staff were very friendly and helpful. As mentioned before it would be nice to have an area for socialising in the evening, our group tended to go out to the local bar as the weather was so nice, not sure we’d have gone in rain or cold. All in all a pleasant base for touring around with all basic needs met.

We stayed for a week on a dinner, B&B basis. The room was clean and modern with working facilities and quiet as we facing away from the lake. I heard that lake facing rooms could be noisy but, then again, guests at the Grand Hotel Tremezzo have to listen to the same traffic noise. The breakfast buffet did its job we don't travel a full English anyway. Dinner was again OK and reflects the star rating for the hotel. The staff were generally friendly and helpful . The centre of the nearby village with a couple of cafes, a restaurant, a mini supermarket and the nearest bus stop, is only about 300 yards away with a narrow pavement along the busy road. A quiet lakeside view is in the same direction down a paved alleyway. Tremezzo with more restaurants, cafes and the important ferry stop is about a mile in the other direction, mostly with a pavement but with a 300 yard stretch when you need to walk in the road and show no fear. Lenno, about a mile away the other side of the local village, is a quiet relaxing place to while away some time. Getting there is mostly off road following the Greenway with about a 300 yard stretch of road walking. Como is an easy hour's bus ride away. All in all, not a bad budget hotel and base for exploring the area but people with walking problems would be better off staying in nearby Tremezzo. I think the hotel is missing a trick by not converting part of their conservatory into a seating area for guests to enjoy pre or after dinner drinks. There is outside seating at the front, which suffers from overlooking the busy road. The pool and sunbeds are better for relaxing outside.