*Pentru varianta în limba română, apasă AICI.
Every time I visit Italy, I feel like I was born in the wrong country. If you have been following my blog and Instagram account, you already know I have a huge crush on Italy and I have visited it many times. So much beauty lies within this country from North to South, from West to East that I feel like I could spend one life there and I would still have something new to discover, whether we are talking about a charming little village or a new Italian flavor.
I felt this better when I got to visit Como Lake again even though I was not new to this area, my first time there being in 2012, if I recall correctly, when Oana, my childhood friend, and I had an Italian summer escape together.
This time though we were lucky enough to enjoy „la dolce vita” at the luxurious Grand Hotel Imperiale Como and if I had to define our experience there in a couple of words, I would probably choose „royal treatment”. Let me tell you why!
Hotel: Grand Hotel Imperiale Como
Location: Moltrasio, Como Lake, Italy
Accommodation: Luxury
Price Range: starting from 152 Euro/night
THE HOTEL
Grand Hotel Imperiale offers stunning views of Como Lake, being located in the quiet and picturesque village of Moltrasio. The hotel building is an architectural masterpiece built in the early 1900s and it started receiving guests under the name Hotel Regina. After receiving the touch of the architect Terragni starting with 1995 and the renovation of the Villa Riva in 2012, the resort welcomes guests all year round in an elegant and luxurious location.
The four stars resort has a total of 120 rooms, including 4 panoramic suites, 4 family suites, 4 junior suites and 9 prestigious rooms in the Villa Imperiale.
As I will tell you below, Grand Hotel Imperiale also offers two restaurants: La Cascata and Imperialino, a Piano Bar, 10 meeting rooms for up to 300 people, welness spa area and a panoramic outdoor pool. I should also mention here the beautiful garden area which stole my heart.
The Como Lake area is famous around the world as one of the most luxurious destinations and Grand Hotel Imperiale Como will make sure you will live your own exquisite Italian experience.
CHECKING IN
We arrived earlier than planned at Grand Hotel Imperiale Como, but that gave us the chance to explore this beautiful property peacefully till our room was ready. The first thing that attracted my attention was the garden area which was in full bloom. So many beautiful colorful flowers and well preserved green grass. We decided to stop a little and enjoy a cup of good Italian coffee by the pool. The weather was just perfect to relax by the lake.
Grand Hotel Imperiale Como took good care of us and gave us the room as soon as it was cleaned, so before the checking in time which is 3 pm. Let me give you the room tour.
THE SUITE
Our Junior Suite was waiting for us at the 5th floor facing the beautiful Como Lake. I was so excited to see the view that I rushed directly to the balcony when we entered the room. The balcony we had was not very big, but the view was not disappointing at all. I hope we managed to capture its beauty through the following pictures.
Still the hotel offers various types of rooms even with bigger balconies or large terraces where you can relax and read a book or just admire the magical panorama.
The sweet welcome by Grand Hotel Imperiale Como made us enter in “la dolce vita” mood and we decided to stay there for a while and just enjoy the moment while sipping a glass of prosecco.
I must say the room was exactly my cup of tea: very spacious with all white elegant furniture, perfect for Italy and the architecture of the building. As for the bed…let’s just say I was in desperate need of a good sleep after a busy period at work and also traveling and Grand Hotel Imperiale Como made sure I will sleep like a baby.
THE BREAKFAST
Do you know those lazy holiday mornings when you just want to sleep a little more and take your time in bed thinking you should skip breakfast? Well, you should definitely not do this while staying at Grand Hotel Imperiale Como because breakfast in the garden is sure a wonderful experience. Moreover, I would recommend getting up earlier and allow at least one hour – one hour and a half to indulge „la dolce vita” from the beginning of the day. We were lucky enough to enjoy the perfect sunny summer morning.
Whether you are a „colazione” kind of person, looking for a tasty croissant and something sweet accompanied by a true Italian coffee or you are the American breakfast one, looking for bacon&eggs, you will sure find your „cup of tea” at Grand Hotel Imperiale Como. We admit we are a little bit of both so we found ourselves in the breakfast heaven.
Top that with a glass of prosecco and your Italian holiday morning is complete!
THE RESTAURANTS
Grand Hotel Imperiale Como has two amazing restaurants ready to conquer your heart with Italian flavors: La Cascata and Imperialino.
I must start by saying I am a true Italian cuisine lover, being probably my second favorite food in the world, immediately after sushi. I know, right? They are slightly different, but is there someone that doesn’t love pasta and pizza?
That being the case, I can become pretty picky when it comes to trying new Italian restaurants, but I must say with all my heart, that La Cascata Ristorante is definitely worth visiting.
Let me show you the dishes I can vouch for. At pasta night, I went for the classical Spaghetti Carbonara and I wish I could have another portion right now. Yummy!! I know it is hard to go wrong with this type of pasta, but this one was actually one of the tastiest ever. My boyfriend went for “spaghetti ai frutti di mare” or, as you will find it in the menu, homemade spaghetti with clams, potatoes and anchovies bread powder and, of course, I couldn’t help myself from tasting as well. Just check how good they looked in the pictures below.
If you are in hungry mood, let me recommend you the dish that stole my heart for good: Grilled beef served with season vegetables. It was my boyfriend’s choice, but I ended up finishing everything in his plate because I loved the way the beef was cooked. I am not overreacting, but this was the yummiest beef ever!
Another good choice would be Veal cutlet Milan style served with new roasted potatoes, rocket salad and Pachino tomatoes if you are a fan of schnitzel as I am.
For dessert, I always choose dishes with fresh fruit if available, so I went for Buckwheat pie, lemon and strawberry cream. At the opposite, my boyfriend loves chocolate so his choice was Chocolate and pears Parfait with mousseline of sweet Ricotta cheese. This is probably the only meal we do not share since I hate chocolate, but we both left with a big smile on our faces though!
Regarding drinks, while in Italy, we always choose wine, especially red dry one which is our favorite. This time, we decided to taste some local wine and we took the restaurant recommendation: Domasino, known as the wine of Como Lake, and the choice turned out to be perfect for our beef and veal dishes.
We were sad that we couldn’t have dinner by the lake at the beautiful Imperialino Restaurant, but the location was not available due to a private event. We were still able to enjoy a cup of coffee in the afternoon, right before a big storm, on the terrace by the lake. It was such a peaceful moment for us and it was just like I imagined a well spent afternoon at Como Lake.
If you want to find out more about Imperialino Restaurant and their menu, just click on the link below:
https://www.imperialino.it/it/menu-a-la-carte/
THE OUTDOOR POOL
Grand Hotel Imperiale Como offers you the complete luxury experience and invites you to relax and tan under the Italian sun at the outdoor pool that offers panoramic views of the lake. In my opinion, this is one of the strongest points of this hotel and you should definitely consider staying here if you visit in summer time.
Unfortunately, when we were there, the weather was still pretty moody and the water was not warm enough to swim, but the pool is open between 15th of May till 15th of September every year, of course depending on the weather conditions.
Since we got some sunny days as well, we took advantage and relaxed by the pool overlooking the lake. It was the perfect way to enjoy your Italian getaway!
THE SPA
One thing I loved about Grand Hotel Imperiale Como is that you are not weather dependant in order to have a relaxing weekend. I say this because if you catch a rainy day and cannot explore the area, you can always spoil yourself at the spa.
Spring and autumn can be pretty moody in the Northern region of Italy, so you have a pretty good chance to enjoy sunny weather in the morning and rainy one in the afternoon.
If this is the case, Grand Hotel Imperiale Como has you covered. Just head to the spa where they welcome you with a hot cup of tea and a large range of facilities such as sauna, steam room, emotional showers, relaxation rooms and hydro massage pool.
Be sure to check when you book the room to have spa access included. If you do not have this option, the entry costs 20 Eur/person for hotel guests and 30 Eur/person for outside guests.
Guests of the spa can also enjoy a selection of beauty and relaxation treatments. Additional charges will apply and you will receive all the information you need at check-in.
LOCATION AND PARKING
Grand Hotel Imperiale Como is located on the shores of Como Lake in a picturesque and typical Italian village town, Moltrasio. The thing I loved most is that you can enjoy the peace and quiet of this little village, but you are just 10 kilometers away from the famous and crowded Como, the most visited city located on the lake.
The best way to arrive is, of course, by car and it is also really useful if you want to explore the area.
Grand Hotel Imperiale Como offers private parking at 20 Eur/day or you can also park in the public parking lot situated just outside the hotel and it will cost you 1Eur/hour between 08.00-24.00 in summer time.
As you can imagine, this weekend getaway was pretty special for us and Grand Hotel Imperiale Como took care and made it even more special. I truly recommend choosing this amazing hotel for a couple getaway. We felt spoiled and we cannot wait to be back for more <3
