Hotel Bellevue Reviews

Having read some of the earlier reviews pre 2005 we were uncertain as to what to expect. The hotel is now owned by the same company that has the 4* Grand Hotel Menaggio and major renovation work is being undertaken..

The hotel claims to be the oldest on Lake Como and was certainly built before 1823. Having compared a photo we took with that in Thomson's brochure it would appear a third floor has been added to the adjoining buildings to the original hotel and these are still in course of being furbished.

We were awoken on the first morning by workmen hammering at shortly after 07.00. We complained to the rep and thereafter work started at 08.00. At no time had Thomson advised us that building/renovation work was being undertaken. We paid for a lake view. We were not disappointed. It must go down as one of if not the best view we have ever had.

There is a busy road that runs pass the hotel albeit the traffic is usually cars and motorcycles, the latter being probably the noisier. This road runs pass almost all the hotels along this side of the lake including 4* and 5* and if you are a light sleeper it may be advisable to take one of the rear non lake view rooms. Our room was large, clean but disappointingly furnished. The slatted shutters to the balcony were difficult to move. Possibly because of this and the building work that had been undertaken above our room the balcony was dull and dusty It was only in the latter part of the holiday when we happened to see how some of the other rooms were furnished that we realised that our room was only partly renovated; new skirting board not painted, door to bedroom only coated in primer/undercoat. Suspect Thomson have taken the rooms with the cheapest rate for its clients.

We have visited two other Italian lakes staying in 4* accommodation. The food here was just as good though the choice of hot breakfast was limited to fried egg, scrambled egg and bacon. My wife requires a gluten free diet which the hotel were happy to accommodate by pointing out which meals she could not have and cooking gluten free spaghetti or a meal without the accompanying sauce if this was what she wanted. The starter and dessert were buffet service while waiters brought you the pasta and main courses. Servings of these latter courses were not substantial but it is a 4 course meal. Restaurant staff helpful and efficient.

Entertainment is low key. Thomson's brochure refers to live music 3 nights a week. This would appear to consist of a pianist playing background music at dinner.

There is a small swimming pool and sun bathing area at the rear of the property.

Cadenabbia

The little village in which the hotel is situated was disappointing. It appears to be the ";poor relation"; of the other villages/towns. There is a pavement alongside the lake that will enable you to take probably a one to two mile stroll. There are cafes, and restaurants both here and at the adjoining village of Tremezzo. While the pavements in the latter are paved those in Cadenabbia are loose gravel. Other than presumably emptying the litter bins the local authority appears to be doing little to improve the village's appearance. It looks tired and dusty. Possibly the lack of a large 4*/5* hotel and larger restaurants, which the other villages/towns seem to have means it does not have the revenue to justify the cost.

Summary
The hotel would appear to be much improved from earlier reports and I would suspect further improvements will be undertaken during the winter when it is closed. Some of the interior work that requires repainting/renovating cannot be done when it is occupied. It was very busy when we were there with a broad spread of nationalities. There could be concern that when all the new rooms are in use whether the dining room will be able to cope particularly at breakfast when queues were already forming for the coffee, fruit juice machines, etc. Nevertheless if you are looking for a quite, relaxing holiday we think the hotel gives quite reasonable value for money.

NB If you go to this or any of the other hotels on Lake Como and are flying from London Gatwick consider carefully the transfer time after arriving in Italy. Thomson fly only to Verona and the scheduled time for getting from this hotel to the flight departure time from Verona airport is in the region of 5 hours 40 minutes. Inghams and Jules Verne fly from Gatwick to Milan where the same hotel to flight departure time is 3 hours 30 minutes.

This part of Lake Como is very beautiful, and the Hotel Bellevue is in a excellent location to view and enjoy it. We have been going there for several years, eachtime seeing the Hotel and service improve.
This time the food had improved a lot, and waiter service at evening meal a big plus.
There is a four course meal on offer with good choice, a excellent salad bar, and good choice of sweet course. The menu is present at the entrance to restaurant and on table to choose from. Very helpful and obliging waiters and waitresses.

The bar service is good, and improved since last visit.
We had a room with terrace at front of Hotel with beautiful view of lake.
Yes, the traffic is noisy, but not the fault of Hotel. You do get used to it.
Our rooms were very clean and maid sevice every day. The bathroom was large with a good shower. Always clean every day. The maids worked very hard and the corridor outside room hoovered and cleaned every day. A minus point is having just one lift, but the Hotel being the age it is etc, you get used to it.
Everyone must remember that this was a old Palace with a lot of history which you enjoy remembering when there and all the famous people that have been there.
We believe that further improvements are on the cards which we look forward to seeing on next visit.
Receptionists were very helpful and obliging when we asked questions and queries.
We hope that other people, after visiting here will go back again, and enjoy the holiday as much as we did.

Staff at reception were very helpful, and obliging of anything asked and queries.
Plenty to see and do when here, so we went on several trips out which were good value, as well as our own excursions.
We will be booking next year again, and hopefully other people will enjoy a further visit they have been before.

Please , please , please can Shearings and other tour operators stop using this hotel.
Most people in our party that stayed at the hotel last week were disgusted with the standard and I see there are other bad reviews on this website.

The good things about the hotel are that Cadenabbia is a good location to get to other parts of the lake and the view of the lake from the hotel is good ( If you managed to get a room that had a view that is ).
The staff were helpful but the Shearings representative wasn't. When we asked to be moved we were told that if we weren't happy they would arrange a flight home for us ( Hardly the answer you want when you have booked time off work).
The food was plain and boring ( Served to you in school meal fashion ) I had to literally ask for an extra potatoe one night as they only gave you 1.

The hotel needs alot of money spending on it and was probably very grand in it's day but when I looked at other 3 * hotels around the lake they put this one to shame.
The first night we didn't sleep due to the very busy and noisy road outside ( Not mentioned in the booking details) when we moved rooms one night due to the noise they managed to put a party of students in the room next to ours - another noisy night.The bathrooms are tiny and your knees touched the sink when you're on the toilet , there is dust everywhere and if you're really lucky ants crawling from the rotting windows.

Lots of people unhappy with accommadation, some rooms were described as like ";the Black Holes of Calcutta";. Beds were very clean, linen changed regularily, and towels changed every day.

The dining room floor was a disgrace, the parquet flooring having collapsed in many places, and I am surprised that there hasn't been a serios accident there. At times to get a meal meant waiting in a tremendous queue as there did not seem to be any organisation. Some of the meals were tasty, but on the whole not to be reccomended.There were cockroaches on the floor of the dining room, and unfortunately some of these had found their way into the luggage of some of the party,goodness knows how.

The area is very beautiful, although the very busy road that runs at the front of the hotel, apart from being noisy means that going for a stroll in the evening is a little difficult. No complaints about the staff, they did their best and all were very pleasant.