Bernie Van Der Linde
Lake Como, also known as Lario, is the third largest Italian lake after Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore. The lake is located at the foot of the Alps, and shaped like an upside-down Y. At the bottom of the south-west branch lies the city of Como. We stayed in Carate-Urio, which is an authentic and idyllic postcard Italian village.
In this review, Petra and I will share with you our experiences of our lakeside hotel in Carate Urio which is situated about 10km from Como and ten minutes’ walk from Villa Oleandra, George Clooney’s private residence.
Overview of Hotel Fioroni
When you think about a traditional, family-run, Italian hotel, Hotel Fioroni in Carate Urio immediately comes to mind for most people who know the Fioroni family and Lake Como area well.The owner, Giuseppe, grew up with restauranteur parents and learnt the art of managing and entertaining guests from them.
The style and character of the hotel is authentic Italian with a touch of old school-classic ambience. The hotel is situated right of the water’s edge of Lake Como.
It has a small but very cosy and inviting restaurant that provides the most spectacular views over the lake.
There is direct lake access(with steps) from the hotel for swimming.
Where is Hotel Fioroni located?
As explained previously, hotel Fioroni is conveniently located directly on the water’s edge of Lake Como. The picturesque village of Cernobbio is within 6km of the hotel. The city centre of Como is only 12km away.
Who would enjoy this hotel?
The hotel is ideal for anyone looking for a modest and authentic Italian experience. More mature travellers would find this hotel particularly enjoyable due to its relaxed atmosphere without the pretentious bells and whistles.
The Rooms
There are ten room consisting of three types: standard, comfort and panorama rooms. We stayed in room 5 which is a comfort room on the second floor of the hotel (this is a historical hotel with no lift). Interesting, this was the originally room in which Giuseppe was born.
Some rooms have balconies with fabulous lake views. Our room had two double doors which opened with fabulous lake views (no balcony). It had a very small, closed bathroom with shower and single vanity. This shower gets the award for the smallest shower we’ve ever had in a hotel. Our room had a seating area for two and a fan, basic amenities in the bathroom, strong free Wi-Fi and a flat screen TV.
Having a European Travelbuddy has its advantages. After inspecting our room, I looked quite disappointed at Petra and said: “we will not be able to sleep late tomorrow” pointing to the thin white curtains hanging on either side of the windows.
She looked curious and starred at the windows too. “Why is that?” She giggled. She then started folding the shutters closed in front of the windows. Apparently, shutters are normal in most European countries.
This again shows how our worlds are sometimes very different.
Unfortunately, there was not sufficient plug points in the room to charge all our equipment and we had to ask for an Italian power adapter.
Nevertheless, the fabulous views and hospitality we experienced from this family made up for some of the small shortcoming of the room.
The Facilities
Giuseppe, the owner, plays the piano in the communal lounge in the evenings. He enjoys entertaining the guests with his quirky jokes and Italian charm.
There is excellent Wi-Fi throughout the premises. The hotel provides parking close by. The restaurant offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
The continental buffet breakfast consisted of basic meats and cheeses, croissants, marble cake; fruits and yogurts.
The dinner menu is unique every night and consists of the chef’s specials.
What we most enjoyed about the hotel
We loved waking up to the views of the lake from our bedroom and the hospitality of the Fioroni family and staff.
The best part about staying right on the water’s edge is being able to watch the boats cruise up and down the lake.
The staff
The staff is what makes this hotel so unique and worth a visit. Giuseppe’s grandfather started this hotel back in 1928. Giuseppe and his wife took over the hotel in the early 1980s. Currently, Giuseppe and his beautiful, young daughter Elisa run the hotel. They both speak several languages including German, Italian, French and English and together they have perfected the art of making guests feel welcome and appreciated. Interestingly, Guiseppe’s brother, Danilo, owned a pasta factory in Cape Town, South Africa, that supplied to some of the most well-known hotels including the Mount Nelson.
Dining options
As this is a small, family run hotel, there are not many staff employed and you often have the honour of being served by Mr. Giuseppe himself. For this reason, food options in the restaurant may be limited but it is served with the greatest care and hospitality. The people that visit the hotel (including us) cannot get enough of the host and often mostly visit the hotel to enjoy Giuseppe’s company. There are many other great restaurants within walking distance of the hotel.
Our verdict of hotel Fioroni
The review is intended to assist you to plan a trip to Hotel Fioroni on Lake Como. We enjoyed this hotel for its warm Italian hospitality, and awesome location. We loved our comfortable bed with spectacular lake-side views. The views at night in the lake restaurant is something that you must experience for yourself.
Pro Tip
Petra has been to Lake Como several time. In her experience the best time to go is from April to June and September. The weather is great then and it is less crowed. The months that must be avoided is July and August.
Best Features
- Lake Como views from the restaurant and rooms
- Great location, near many quant villages and city centre of Lake Como
- Charming and service-orientated stafs
Nearby town
- Lake Como, 6km
- Villa Balbianello, 15km
Value for money
Hotel Fioroni offers good value for money considering the hotel is situated on the water’s edge of Lake Como. A panorama room starts from 110€ or R1800 per night including breakfast (during June) and a comfort lake room is 120€ or R2000 per night including breakfast. A standard lake room is 105€ or R1750 per night per room. Many of the grand hotels around Lake Como is separated by the road and often the hotels are not on the water’s edge but only the hotel’s restaurants. This is not the case with hotel Fioroni.
Our reviews are a true reflection of our experiences during our stay at the establishment. This allow us to comply to strong ethical practices to ensure our reviews are fair and trustworthy. We only do reviews of establishments that we have personally visited. This was not a hosted review.
