Britannia Excelsior

"We spent three nights at The Lake Como EDITION and came away very happy with our stay. Having read some of the earlier reviews, I wanted to share a few practical observations for others planning a visit. One area that could still improve is pre-arrival communication. I initially emailed guestrelations.como@editionhotels.com on June 16 with questions about arranging a private boat tour and followed up again on June 21. I ultimately received a thoughtful response on July 13, with an apology for the delay and helpful information about boats, restaurants and other experiences. That correspondence also included concierge.como@editionhotels.com, which may be a better address to try for concierge requests. Closer to our stay, the Guest Experience team was responsive as well. So, if you have something time-sensitive that you want to arrange well in advance, I would recommend following up rather than assuming your first email has made it to the right person. Because of the delay, we booked our sunset boat independently with Lake Como On Boat, and that turned out to be a fantastic decision. Francesco was wonderful and gave us a memorable evening on the lake. I would absolutely recommend him and the company to anyone looking for a private boat experience. At the hotel, Fatima was another standout. She was incredibly welcoming and kind and gave us some excellent advice about future travels. Those personal interactions make a difference at a hotel like this, and she was terrific. I had applied Marriott Nightly Upgrade Awards to the reservation, but they did not clear. We ended up in a room without a lake view and honestly still enjoyed it very much. The room was extremely spacious, well stocked and comfortable, with excellent bedding. I had seen other reviews mention noise from the road behind the hotel, but we did not find it particularly bothersome—the road was not very busy overnight during our stay. Water was replenished regularly, and turndown service included setting up tea each evening, which was a nice touch. The facilities are excellent. The gym is unusually well equipped for a hotel, and the pool area is fantastic. Pool chairs did tend to fill up by around 11 a.m., but we never had a problem getting good seats when we arrived earlier. Service around the pool was also quite good. Breakfast was included with our stay and was substantial: coffee, fresh juice, an assortment of baked goods and a fairly robust à la carte menu of hot breakfast options. We only had dinner at Renzo during our stay. The setting and views are spectacular, service was good, and the pasta was very solid. The location also worked extremely well for us. Cadenabbia is much calmer than some of the busier towns around the lake, but you aren’t isolated. There are restaurants within a short walk, and the ferry is also easily walkable, making it straightforward to explore other parts of Lake Como without a car. Overall, this is a beautiful hotel in a wonderful location. My impression is that the property is already addressing some of the service issues described in earlier reviews. At the same time, I suspect part of the mixed feedback comes from the expectations attached to a new EDITION at this price point—guests understandably arrive expecting an exceptionally polished experience. Ours wasn’t flawless, particularly with the early concierge communication, but once we arrived we found the staff warm, the service generally quite good, and the property itself exceptional. We would happily stay here again."

"I rarely leave negative reviews, but our recent stay at The Lake Como EDITION was overwhelmingly disappointing and nowhere near the luxury standard promised by the EDITION brand or its high nightly rates. As a Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Elite member, this was one of the most poorly managed property experiences I have encountered. Misleading Room Representations: Upon check-in, it was immediately clear our assigned room did not match what we booked based on the website imagery. When we raised this issue, different managers offered conflicting excuses. We were told the photos "were never intended to represent the room you would get," followed by an admission that the website had the wrong photos attached to room categories—and that it "didn't matter." With sparse online descriptions and inaccurate photos, booking accurately is impossible. Severe Housekeeping Failure: While spotty housekeeping might be chalked up to opening growing pains, one evening crossed every acceptable line. We returned to find a pile of wet, dirty towels and soiled linens left directly on top of our made bed. When we called for help, staff merely brought a bundle of clean sheets and left us to strip and make our own bed. Complete Lack of Follow-Through: During our stay and at least five times over the past month via email and text, management promised to reach out with a resolution and compensation. To date, we have been completely ignored. A luxury property charging premium rates cannot simply abandon basic hospitality standards. Leaving dirty laundry on a guest's bed and ignoring repeated outreach points to a fundamental breakdown in upper management. Marriott needs to conduct a serious quality audit to determine if this property deserves to have its EDITION flag pulled."

"The Lake Como Edition hotel is great! I was nervous after reading some of the reviews but our stay was amazing. What stands out most was the service. Every staff member seemed genuinely vested in our happiness. When we arrived early, our suite wasn’t ready yet. They greeted us with a welcome drink of sparkling wine and gave a us a tour of the property. They escorted us to the spa where we could shower and relax. The spa has a large relaxation pool, cold plunge pool and multiple experience rooms. We then headed across to the outdoor floating pool. While we had lunch at the pool restaurant, they arranged loungers for us by the pool so that they were available after we finished lunch. We never had trouble getting loungers any day. Yes, the floating pool is across the street from the hotel but this is common for all hotels with floating pools in Lake Como. The suite itself was incredible. This is a place where it is worth it to splurge for the lake view. The beds are comfy and the sheets are luxurious. It is a nice touch that the rooms are equipped with Bose speakers in the ceiling so you can hook up your music to play throughout the room. The food is good at Renzo. Breakfast is included for everyone regardless of status and there are plenty of choices. And if you don’t see what you want on the menu, just ask and they can likely make it happen. We also had dinner there one night and it was delicious. The restaurant staff are incredibly attentive. Location is good. Walkable to Tremezzo and lots of little restaurants. Short cab ride to Menaggio. We did not take the ferry, but the ferry stop is minutes from the hotel and will take you across the lake to Bellagio. Alternatively you can ask the concierge to arrange private boat transfers. We booked a private boat tour one day and the boats pick you up at the dock right in front of hotel. We were there during a heat wave. It reached 36 degrees some days. The rooms can supposedly be cooled to 19 degrees but it was tough to keep up. This isn’t a problem just for this hotel but something we experienced at all hotels throughout Italy during the heat wave. Just something to keep in mind if travelling during the summer. One suggestion that I have is that it would be nice to have staff assist with crossing the street like they do at the Grand Hotel Tremezzo. We had such a wonderful time and will hopefully return!"