A Charming Stay in the Italian Hillside Surrounding Lake Como

Five years ago, my mother, grandmother, and brothers went to visit family in Switzerland. While we were there, we made a last minute detour into Italy after visiting Lago Maggiore. My mother tasked me with finding a place to stay. I was determined to find a villa and stumbled upon Villa Alceo online. I booked our rooms and we headed down the winding lakeside roads to the hillside village of Viggiù.

When my family and I arrived at Villa Alceo, our host and the hotelier, Bruno, was both kind and attentive. Before showing us up to our room, our host served up some delicious peach bellinis and shared the villa's history. It was clear that he put his heart and soul into this place. It felt like we were welcomed into someone's beautiful home. In fact, our host grew up in the villa with a dream of turning it into a hotel. He did a marvelous job.

After taking in our surrounding, our host showed us up to our rooms which were exquisitely decorated and made to be incredibly comfortable. Everything was immaculately clean and well made. The room was beautiful and so was the view.

Our host then gave us a tour of the rest of the villa. The walls were anointed with brightly colored artwork by an artist who often stays at the villa. Our host let us peek into some rooms he was fixing up and even offered to make us dinner. Unfortunately, we did not take him up on his offer due to our lakeside feast at lunch.

After a relaxing afternoon, we headed into the village in search of gelato. The town was charming and felt entirely untouched from the tourism in the surrounding area. Everyone around us was enjoying a normal evening, smoking cigarettes, and chatting with friends on the cobblestone street. We walked back up to the villa and watched a gorgeous sunset from the hillside.

When we returned to the villa, we heard someone playing the piano and saw our host walking out with a plate of the most incredible smelling risotto. We immediately regretted our decision not to eat dinner. He had cooked dinner for a couple that was also staying the night and served it on the patio next to the fountain. We learned later that the couple was on a proposal trip and the villa had helped the man craft a unique and memorable engagement. Our host and his team also specialized in wedding ceremonies and receptions.

The next morning we were greeted downstairs by our host for breakfast and shown a beautiful breakfast spread of meats, cheeses, pastries, fruit, and bread. We grabbed a plate from the beautifully set table and helped ourselves to a delicious and filling meal.

When were leaving, we determined our stay at Villa Alceo was entirely too short. Our stay was wonderful not only because it was comfortable and well anointed but because of its rich history and our hosts passion for sharing this place with other people. There was no aspect of the villa that did not have a personal touch. I have not had the chance to return to the Como area but the next time I do I will be staying there.

This place inspired me to be intentional about my home. Sharing and telling stories about your home is a special part of hosting, If you are passionate about your home, guests will appreciate that and often enjoy learning about what makes it special to you.

As always,

Alli