Villa Menaggio

We loved starting the day on the terrace with brioches, and waking up to the view of Lake Como was breathtaking. The suite was comfortable and well appointed, with a small stove and refrigerator that had recently been added. We used them to have pasta from the local grocer. Right in the town square, the Suites of Menaggio made it easy to enjoy the shops and restaurants nearby. Alberto was attentive from our first inquiry, answered our questions promptly, and made the stay memorable. We highly recommend it and are grateful for his hospitality.

The next morning I had to call Alberto myself to ask whether we could check out. He acted as though nothing had happened and said not to worry because the issue was resolved. I found it very unprofessional that he didn’t contact us once he knew we’d done nothing wrong. The night before, after 45 minutes of tense discussion, he finally left our room, and we were left stressed and anxious. We were on an engagement trip, and I told him his behavior was ruining it, but he showed no empathy. We had booked two nights at Suites Menaggio through Agoda, part of Booking.com. On the second day, Alberto, the general manager, said he hadn’t been able to charge us for the first night and insisted we pay by card right away, even after I showed the confirmed payment in my bank statement and Agoda booking. I called Agoda support, whose agent confirmed the property had received the full payment and called Alberto to explain. Still, he pressured us to pay again and treated me like a thief. A reasonable manager should have recognized the issue was on the property’s side. Alberto handled it with such disregard for basic hospitality that I can’t recommend this place.

Our room was spacious, and we enjoyed the stay!

The location was the one positive for us. Menaggio has plenty of cleaner and safer options at this price, and I wouldn’t risk a vacation here. We’ve visited Menaggio more than five times and stayed in different apartments and hotels; Suites Menaggio was our worst stay. We arrived at the official 15:00 check-in time, but cleaning in one apartment wasn’t finished. The front door lock in one of the apartments was faulty, taking 5 to 10 minutes of struggling every time we entered or left, which felt like a serious safety hazard. The apartment was poorly maintained, with a large patch of mold on the bathroom floor that concerned me as a health issue. Weeks before the trip, I politely asked Alberto for extra blankets because our group of friends wanted separate bedding. He refused without trying to help, even when I offered to pay extra to rent blankets from him or elsewhere. He said I was the first person ever to ask, which made me feel as if I’d requested something illegal. We were there in April during rainy days, and the apartment had no umbrellas. When I asked Alberto, he told me to buy them at a nearby shop. When I raised these problems, Alberto, the host, lost his temper, confronted me, and directly threatened me. He said that if I kept messaging him, “he would let me know what could happen,” hinting he could put us out on the street. We also found a book with explicit pornographic images, not artistic erotica, in one apartment, which felt unacceptable and unprofessional for a vacation rental. I found Alberto incredibly rude and unstable.