Villa Passalacqua | Lake Como, Italy

Passalacqua, a luxury boutique hotel on the shores of Lake Como in Italy has been named the best hotel in the world for 2023.

The world's 50 best hotels for 2023 named

flondon2017 wrote a review Aug 2022

London, United Kingdom3 contributions10 helpful votes

Faux Interiors and Poor Service

Whilst Villa Passalacqua benefits from a better view than Il Sereno Como or the Mandarin Oriental Como, its the interiors and its service levels that are a major let down. 

Arriving at Passalacqua is a head ache affair: the receptionist appears good willing but inexperienced. The general manager encourages guests to speak with him directly, as opposed to "bla bla bla" (verbatim) with his subordinates. 

The rooms are vast and beautiful at first sight : yet monies have been saved here and there (faux carpets, 'iron free' linens, inadequate air conditioning, disappointing finishes etc).

 Everything 'looks' lovely in a Luke Edward Hall or Il Pellicano sort of way, yet its the details that truly disappoint. The gardens are disappointing (its historic layout is magnificent, yet insufficient investments have been made and maintenance appears inadequate). 

Waiters appear to spend more time chatting with one another or checking their phones than looking after their guests. 

For a hotel where entry level rooms (with no views !) start at about EURO 1800/2000 Passalacqua is a hotel where value for money is non existent. 

Once this hotel gets its service levels right (learn from Villa Feltrinelli on Lake Garda!) and stop piping elevator music into every single space (gardens included) then this place might have a chance to live up to its extraordinary PR hype.