Villa d’Este on Lake Como; Melia, Maserati and Mandarin in Milan

From nuns’ refuge to a haven for the great and good, the Villa d’Este on Lake Como is a hotel like no other.

WISH 4 Sep 2015

It’s easy to see why the great and the good flock to this luxury Italian hotel on the shores of Lake Como every summer.

The Villa d’Este is a truly unique hotel: there is nothing else like it on Lake Como, or anywhere else for that matter. The history of the site dates from 1442 when a group of nuns seeking refuge from the civil war built a monastery here. In 1527 Cardinal Tolomeo Gallio demolished the nunnery and commissioned the architect Pellegrino Pellegrini of Valsolda to design a residence for his own use. The villa was purchased by Caroline of Brunswick in 1815 and later transformed into a hotel in 1873. Lake Como was as fashionable then as it is now; the hotel has attracted everyone from royalty to screen stars over its more than 500-year history and it continues to do so. Rooms in the hotel’s two main buildings are spacious and most have views of the lake, but a view of the garden is no less breathtaking. In her 1905 book Italian Villas and their Gardens, the American writer Edith Wharton described the gardens of the Villa d’Este as some of the most magnificent in Italy. “The rich leafage of walnut, acacia and cypress, the glimpses of the blue lake far below, the rush of a mountain torrent through a deep glen spanned by a romantic ivy-clad bridge, make this bosco of the Villa d’Este one of the most enchanting bits of sylvan gardening in Italy,” she wrote. The 10-hectare gardens of the hotel offer extensive walking trails as well as tennis courts and a putting green (the hotel’s own golf course is 15km away). As well as the hotel’s famous floating pool there’s also an indoor pool for the cooler months. Despite its grandeur the Villa d’Este is still a relaxing place to holiday, but you need to dress for dinner. Jacket and tie required.

Spanish luxury hotel group Melia Hotels International has landed in Milan, opening a Me by Melia in the heart of the city’s fashion and design district. There are 100 rooms and 32 suites in the hotel, designed by the late architect Aldo Rossi, and in the former site of the I’Hotel Duca di Milano. The Me by Melia hotels are also known for their rooftop bars, with London’s Radio Rooftop Bar one of the most popular (and hard to get into to) bars in the British capital. The Milan establishment will also have its own rooftop bar (with an exclusive elevator) as well as two contemporary Italian restaurants. One of the top suites, Suite Me, has a 100sq m private terrace for the best views of Milan’s Piazza della Repubblica.

It may be odd to see a car yard in the middle of whole lot of clothing boutiques, but that is what Maserati has done in opening a premises in Milan’s Piazza San Fedele. Okay, so it’s not really your average car yard when you’re talking about Maserati, and it is not your average row of shops when you’re talking about the exclusive fashion district of Milan. At the Casa Maserati boutique you can book a test drive and pick up accessories from Maserati and other Italian brands. There is also a bar/lounge area for a drink or two (after your test drive, of course). Turn to page 94 for more Maserati.

Eight years after Mandarin Oriental announced its intention to open in Milan, it has finally happened. The luxury hotel group, which began in Hong Kong in 1963 and now has 45 establishments worldwide, redeveloped four 18th-century buildings in the heart of the city, just steps from La Scala. The hotel has 73 rooms and 31 suites, a fine-dining restaurant run by acclaimed chef Antonio Guida, a bar, and a 900sq m spa with a vast array of treatment options.