Grand Hotel Victoria Review: Menaggio, Italy

My wife and I take a trip every year for our anniversary, and this past September we spent three nights at the Grand Hotel Victoria in Menaggio on Lake Como. We visited in mid-September, and the timing couldn’t have been better—the weather was perfect, and the summer crowds were gone. Here is my review of our three-night stay.

Location

Grand Hotel Victoria is located on Viale Benedetto Castelli, right along the Como lakefront, just a few minutes’ walk from the heart of Menaggio.

From the main entrance, it’s roughly a 5-minute walk to Menaggio’s central promenade, ferry terminal, cafés, shops, and restaurants. The walk is flat and easy, following the lakeside rather than climbing hills or stairs.

The hotel sits just far enough outside the core to feel calm and resort-like, but close enough that Menaggio’s center feels immediately accessible.

Menaggio has a lived-in, residential quality—there are restaurants, cafés, and shops, but they feel geared toward both locals and visitors rather than exclusively toward day-trippers. I found it easy to walk around without crowds, even during peak hours, and the pace felt slower and more natural.

Just a short ferry ride across the lake are the towns of Bellagio and Varenna. Bellagio is extremely beautiful, but very busy and touristy. Its a place you have to see, but I personally would not spend too much time there.

Varenna, the other town across the lake, offers a different experience altogether. It’s charming, compact, and very romantic, with narrow lanes and postcard-perfect lakefront views. We took there ferry over for lunch one day and had a great time. It has many great restaurants with beautiful waterfront settings.

Lobby

The hotel occupies a restored 19th-century villa alongside a modern “Palazzo” wing, marrying historic elegance with contemporary design. The common areas and lobby reflect this — a fusion of classic architectural charm and modern luxury.

What stood out to me right away was how well the hotel balances its historic roots with a modern feel. The main spaces move seamlessly between the original 19th-century villa and the newer Palazzo wing, and the transition never feels abrupt. The lobby areas feel elegant but relaxed—stylish without being formal—and set the tone for a stay that feels refined yet comfortable rather than stiff or overly traditional.

Rooms and Suites

The hotel offers 81 rooms and suites: a mix of classic rooms in the villa and more modern accommodations in the Palazzo. The rooms have either lake- or garden/pool-views, many with balconies.

There are two separate sections of the hotel. Rooms in the historic Villa lean more traditional in character. The design references the building’s 19th-century origins with softer lines, warmer tones, and subtle decorative details. Rooms in the Palazzo wing feel more modern and streamlined. The décor here is cleaner and more minimalist, with a focus on light, space, and natural materials.

We stayed in the Palazzo wing and I think our room might have been the smallest one in hotel. But that didn’t matter since we wouldn’t be spending too much time there and they were so well done that it felt very luxurious.

Bathrooms are modern and spa-like, typically featuring walk-in showers, high-quality stone or tile finishes, and sleek fixtures.

Restaurants and Bars

Dining options include the fine-dining 1827 Restaurant, offering tasting menus curated by Chef Maichol Morandi, and the all-day Lago Restaurant serving contemporary Italian dishes and gourmet pizza on a lake-view veranda.

For drinks and casual bites, there is Bar Manzoni (a lounge bar in the historic villa) and Bar Griso (pool-side in the garden). Additionally, the hotel’s associated Victoria Beach Club offers a lakeside restaurant and bar for a more relaxed, lakeside dining experience.

We sat in the front courtyard on two separate evening for cocktails and appetizers. I think the courtyard is definitely something that sets this hotel apart from others. It was a beautiful, relaxing setting to have a drink each night before dinner.

Amenities

The hotel’s ERRE Spa — a 1,200 sqm wellness center — features a heated indoor pool, several types of saunas, steam baths, a salt room, emotional showers, and various treatment/relaxation areas.

There is also an outdoor seasonal pool and a gym. Since summer 2024, the new Victoria Beach Club provides a private beach, two infinity pools (plus a kids’ pool), sun loungers, cabanas, and direct lake access — ideal for swimming or lounging by the water.

The hotel owns two boats that are available for private boat tours of the lake. We took advantage of a tour one day and loved it. The tour was about three hours and gave us a great view and history of the many small towns on the lake.

Pros and Cons:

Overall, staying at Grand Hotel Victoria was a great choice for a short vacation to Lake Como! Menaggio gives you the beauty of the lake without the crowds and chaos of Bellagio, and the hotel is close enough to the town center that you can walk everywhere—ferries, restaurants, shops—without feeling like you’re staying in the middle of the action. That balance ended up being one of the biggest advantages of the stay.

The hotel exudes quality and refinement across the board. The service was professional but not stiff—staff were attentive, helpful with boats and reservations, and genuinely easy to deal with. The property does a nice job blending its historic villa with the newer wing, and that carries through to the rooms, which feel clean, comfortable, and well designed without being overdone. Everything feels calm and well thought out, from the common areas to the spa.

The food was another strong point. Having both a serious fine-dining option and a more casual restaurant made it easy to mix things up without leaving the property. Breakfasts were relaxed and scenic, lunch by the pool was great, and dinner could be either polished or low-key depending on the mood. The front courtyard was an amazing spot for a cocktail, especially in the evenings.

There are a few trade-offs. Some amenities are seasonal, and the best rooms and experiences come at a premium. Our room was small and the view was not great, but I really didn’t care since everything else was so great.

It’s also more of a refined, relaxed hotel than a high-energy scene, which is either a positive or a negative depending on what you’re looking for (I consider it a positive). But overall, if the goal is to experience Lake Como in a luxurious, well-run hotel with excellent location, great food, and a quieter feel at night, Grand Hotel Victoria delivers on that and more!