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| Review Date: |
Nov 17, 2008 |
| Reviewer From: |
BRISBANE |
Location, great location and best view
My husband and I stayed at the Barchetta in Oct 08. It was a wonderful hotel in a beautiful place. However not all rooms in the hotel do have a lake view or balcony. Standard rooms are at the back of the hotel and have neither. Fortunately we were able to upgrade to a lake view/balcony room for only 50 Euro per day extra, definitely worth it, but in peak season I suggest ensure a lake view room is what is booked if wanted. The rooms and balconies are large, and fitout of bedroom was exceptional, bathroom was large and safe also. Housekeeping standards fastidious. Breakfast room and public areas spacious, breakfast was excellent and wait staff and reception staff extremely pleasant, helpful and all speak English for those of us struggling with Italian. The hotel is possibly approaching a need for updating soft furnishings and a bit of freshening up, not that easy for a very popular establishment, although it is spotless everywhere, but contrary to a couple of comments from others in reviews about this we did not find it a problem. Rooms were still quite luxurious. The site of the hotel is perfect. Taxi and ferry boat stations are on the lake right in front of the Barchetta. The regionale train and the funicolari station are an easy 5 minute walk down the road too. The funicolare ride up the mountain side to hilltop ancient Brunate is well worth the minimal effort. The funicolare track itself is extremely steep - 55 degrees off the vertical I believe and very long for a funicolari ride, very different to others we have ridden in Italy, Capri and others, so definitely a must do. The Como scenic ferry rides are cheap and a wonderful viewing and photographic experience. Beautiful little Bellagio which is almost at the other end from Como is a lovely lake town to get off the ferry to walk around for a change from Como then you can either return by the ferry or a bus, check timetables etc., first however. Como and the smaller lake towns rely on seasonal scheduling of facilities and tourist activities. October is the start of the quieter less tourist months so many services are reduced dramatically. The bus trip is totally different to the ferry ride so worth doing too. Como lake has many swans which we hand fed with soft bread from the supermarket. The swans were happier being fed up close and I had them standing on my feet eagerly but gently taking the bread from my hand, a great experience. A personal choice but we suggest staying in Como itself for a lake holiday, then visiting the outlying lake towns of choice from Como. The Como centro storico is in the immediate vicinity of the Barchetta and is a lovely area in itself. Plenty of top restaurants. There is a McDonalds in the street behind the hotel for Monday night restaurant close night. A leisurely walk around the lake either left or right from the hotel has a diverse cross section of villas, parks, public buildings and the Como airport. The waterplanes taxi-ing in and out are a great to watch too.
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