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Villa Belvedere - Lake Como

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Accommodates 12 - 7 Bedrooms, 5 Baths

Villa Belvedere is spectacularly located right on the water along Lake Como's northwestern shore, about 10km north of Menaggio. As its name suggests, the house enjoys magnificent views of the lake and of the surrounding mountains.

Moreover, it's a perfect house for couples. So often, we get asked the following: "We're a group of 4 couples, and we'd all like a king-size bed. No twin beds for us! And we'd all like our own bathrooms, too!" This is an almost impossible request to meet. Almost, but not quite, as Villa Belvedere amply fills the bill, and not only for 4 couples but for 5.

Specifics: It's a free-standing two-story villa, about 3200 square feet each floor. Downstairs, you'll find a very large living room equipped with 3 sofas, satellite TV, DVD and CD player, and internet corner (dial-up: high-speed isn't available in this part of the lake). French doors give out onto a 3500-square-foot terrace with those marvelous views. Also on this level are a separate dining room for 12 persons and the villa's fully-equipped kitchen. Telephone, washing machine, dishwasher, daily housekeeping.

Upstairs are Belvedere's 5 double bedrooms, each with an indivisible matrimonial bed, with bathroom adjacent. Two of the bedrooms also have a small adjacent single bedroom, thus forming a sort of "suite" for an additional child or to be used as a snit room or to escape from a snoring partner!

Are the bedrooms equal? Well, almost. One of them doesn't have the view that the others enjoy, though it's a very nice bedroom. One of them has its own private terrace. So you have to draw straws. But no one is going to be really unhappy.

Directly behind the villa, i.e., on the side away from the lake, is a delightful nautical museum, open to the public, displaying more than 600 boats of all sorts used on Lake Como over the past centuries. There's also a small boatyard adjacent to the villa and adding to the special atmosphere of the place.

Sightseeing includes the many gardens and villas open to the public along the lake, all of the hilltowns bordering the lake, and all of the boat excursions you can take. Sporting actitivies include, obviously, boating and swimming, but PLEASE remember that Lake Como's water is COLD. This is not the water of a heated swimming pool in an American suburb. This being the windiest part of Lake Como, it's a paradise for windsurfers and sailors. In addition, golf, tennis, and hiking are all available within a short distance. For those who consider shopping a sport, there are all sorts of outlet stores within a 30 to 60 minutes' drive: Armani, Gucci, Ferragamo, Versace, and many many others.

The nearby village, with simple shops, is a half-kilometer or so away by foot. So yes, you can actually walk to a few things like simple trattorie.

And this brings us to the "negative" issues. If you've browsed Vacanza Bella's website for even a few minutes, you've no doubt come to realize that we tell it all: the pluses and also what we think of as "minuses". There is no house on our site that we don't like. We've already eliminated those during our many inspection tours. But nothing is perfect, and we do tell the imperfections. So what's not to like about Villa Belvedere? Nothing, really, but:

- The swimming pool at the property, set out on the front terrace, is an aboveground affair 3 meters in diameter. It's really for kids to get themselves wet if they don't want to swim in the lake.

- The lakefront has public access. There is a fenced path along the shore directly in front of the house - and indeed all along the shore. What does this mean? It means that this is NOT the kind of house you go to if you never want to see a stranger. In summertime, especially, but really all the time, you'll see cyclists and runners and walkers of all kinds using the path, and those folks can see you. We're not talking thousands. But there is a presence. In addition, the nautical museum and the boatyard mean activity. This is not an isolated property.

- You want Lake Como because George Clooney has his home here? Fine. But you MUST realize this: There's Lake Como and there's Lake Como. There's an upscale, fashionable Lake Como which is centered along the southwest shore, south of Menaggio. The closer you get to Como city, the more upscale and fashionable the lake becomes. The epicenter of fashionable Como is Cernobbio and the Villa d'Este. Our Villa Belvedere is most definitely located in the unfashionable part of the lake, well north of Menaggio. This is not George Clooney country. The villages are pretty, and so is the scenery, but this is not an area where you're going to find the jetset or fashionable restaurants, or upscale shopping. If that's what you're looking for, a certain image of Lake Como, this is not the place. If you can get over not being in the Beverly Hills part of the lake, then you'll love Villa Belvedere.

- What is it that you really want to DO at Lake Como? Rest and relaxation? Or do you want to do a lot of sightseeing? You must understand that roads along Lake Como (and indeed at all of the lakes, so these comments really apply to all of the lake area - but especially to Como) are narrow. And they're trafficked. From spring through fall, you're not going to average more than 20mph along those roads. If you think you're going to get over to Lake Maggiore to see the Borromean Islands or to take a nice leisurely drive down to Milan for the day, you need to think realistically. After 7am in summer, roads are very slow going indeed. If you think LOCAL, you'll be OK. If you've got a checklist of 5 things you must see today, you're not going to be a happy camper.

Do we want to discourage you? No. We think Villa Belvedere is a great gathering place for a group. Fantastic, really. We want you to be realistic and to have realistic expectations. If you do, you'll be just fine. Take a look at the accompanying photos - you can see how neat the place really is.

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