September 8, 2025

Villa Làrio: A Lake Como Retreat Where Old-World Elegance Meets Modern Design

In keeping with its storied history that stretches all the way back to antiquity, the banks of Lake Como are strewn with grande dame hotels. Luxurious edifices with elaborate gardens, intricate frescos and period furniture. In recent years, there have been new properties desperate to break the mold, but most have gone too far (read: cold and soulless). And then there is Villa Làrio, a masterclass in seamlessly blending the new with the old, in the bijou village of Pognana Lario (imagine, for a moment, that Lake Como is an inverted ‘Y’ and you’ll find Pognana on the eastern banks of the more westerly arm).

In reality, the Villa is made up of three villas — Il Palazzo, a 19th century neo-Classical building, Villa Bianca, a new-build decorated in Scandi-Italian style, and the two-bedroom, exclusive-use Pavilion — and a standalone garden suite. The four independent spaces are scattered over two acres of landscaped gardens, sandwiched between the lake and vertiginous cliffs. Villa Bianca clings to the latter with a lift carved into the rockface transporting guests ever downwards to where Il Palazzo sits pretty, overlooking the hotel’s private pontoon. What binds them together is the effort taken to ensure that the lake is the sole focal point. There are no televisions in any of the 18 rooms and the few bits of artwork that are there, rest of picture rails installed below eye level. The walls are mostly white, but several have been removed altogether in favour of dramatic, floor-to-ceiling windows — no more so than in the Il Palazzo Tower Suite which boasts a greenhouse-style living room whose large glass panels can be peeled back, on warm days, to create the illusion that the indoor space is in fact a terrace. It’s Italy, but pared back, polished and peaceful.

As well as an infinity swimming pool, there is a small gym and watersports on request. Yoga classes, taken underneath the branches of the stately cedar trees, are included in your room rate. In the summer, dive straight into the lake; in autumn, when the water’s surface looks somewhat impenetrable, hotel staff recommend hiking part or all of Dorsale del Triangolo Lariano, an 18-mile trail from Como to Bellagio that follows a 4,000-ft-high old horse-and-cart track. Refuel at one of the two dining options: Villa Bianca restaurant, whose rich, but unfussy food is typical of the Lombardy region, and the lake-level bar, which specialises in delectable finger food and excellent cocktails. Alternatively, request a picnic basket that is best enjoyed on a private boat tour. Pootle northwards and you’ll come across brave swimmers leaping from the Ponte della Civera — an ancient stone bridge that spans the mouth of the Orrido di Nesso gorge.

Wherever your Lake Como adventure takes you, it’s worth returning to Villa Lario, which faces west, for sunset. From one of the hotel’s many vantage points, watch as the sun begins to dip behind distant hills, villages and palazzos, silhouetting them against a sky that turns from dusty rose, to brilliant amber and finally an inky blue.