Villa Lario Resort Mandello

The lake views and grounds at Villa Lario Resort are stunning. We stayed four nights for my 55th birthday after my husband chose the hotel, and the largest villa had a wonderful balcony with open views over Lake Como. The grounds felt like a quiet private park. There’s a pool by the lake, a dock for private boat pickup, and a landing area for helicopters. Breakfast was included and full, and a real treat each morning. Staff started out friendly, professional, and helpful. We ate at the restaurant for the first two nights, then had more private meals in our villa for my birthday and final morning. It’s a peaceful spot near Lecco and Varenna, though our stay had serious problems for a place costing around $1,000 a night. The villa’s condition was poor. Some leather furniture was torn, uncomfortable, and didn’t belong in a luxury room. There was also a strong cat urine smell when we arrived. The residue triggered a severe allergic reaction for me, with watery eyes and congestion, and I needed medication throughout all four nights. When we told the front desk, housekeeping put an oil diffuser in the room to cover the odor instead of cleaning or treating its source. The poor sanitation, visible wear, and effect on my health were unacceptable at that price. Privacy was another major problem. On a quiet birthday morning, while we were having coffee on our private balcony, a photographer and a “non-paying guest” were doing a commercial shoot on the property. The photographer flew a drone right over our balcony. I called down, and it stopped for a short time, then quickly started again. I recorded the second intrusion on my phone. It seemed like the non-paying guest had more freedom than we did as paying guests. I’ve worked professionally in hospitality at Marriott, and see this as a serious violation of guest rights. I asked several times to speak with a manager about both issues, but got no call back, personal apology, or effort to make things right. The poor boundaries and priority given to the outside photo shoot made us change our birthday plans and leave the property early that morning. It’s a beautiful destination with impressive grounds and amenities, and my husband had planned a lovely Italian getaway. But management failed to address the sanitation and maintenance issues, and mishandled a serious privacy intrusion. That level of service was unacceptable for the price and star rating.