il Sereno Hotel — Hotel in Torno

After reading numerous articles on the much anticipated opening of il Sereno, I booked a room at the hotel in September 2016 to spend our wedding anniversary on weekend 8 July 2017.

At the point of booking, I specifically asked the hotel whether the spa would be open and they confirmed it would be ready before the season started.

A week before we were due to arrive at the hotel (30 June), Guest Relations sent an email stating that the Spa facilities would not be available.

To express my annoyance and disappointment, I wrote to the Managing Director stating that informing clients a week before was not professional/acceptable. The hotel had plenty of time to inform us ahead of our arrival so that we could make alternative arrangements.

I explained to the MD that we were flying from London to Lake Como purely to spend our wedding anniversary at the hotel. We had no intention of exploring the area as we had only booked to stay one night and wanted to make full use of the facilities. I also expressed that it was unreasonable to charge 100% room rates given that not all facilities are available for guests to enjoy.

It is also not reasonable to communicate such information 1 week before arrival when the cancellation terms are 21 days in advance.

Despite my explanation, the MD’s response was not only insensitive but rather abrupt. He offered 2 free in room massages, to which I declined. I had already expressed that this was not a service we would use as it is a somewhat substandard experience to receiving treatments in a Spa. After declining the insulting offer of free massages, the MD offered to cancel our room without penalty.

As flights and transfers were already booked, we would forfeit this cost and risk paying extortionate last minute rates to change our plans to another hotel/destination. Therefore, we had no choice but to proceed as planned.

Within 6 hours of filing the complaint to the MD, the Hotel Manager writes to inform me that they are no longer able to accommodate us due to “unfortunate last minute circumstances” . She offered to secure a comparable room at Villa D’este as il sereno was “completely sold out”.

I looked online and found that the Alcova Suite was still available and asked the Hotel manager why we had not been offered this as an alternative. I also requested an explanation regarding the issue and why we were not informed in advance. The response I received was that the room experienced “extensive damage due to the recent rainstorm” and that the hotel was definitely sold out. She completely dismissed the screen shots that I sent showing room availability and proceeded to insist I provide credit card details if I wanted to secure the room at Villa d’este.

In my view, it is rather unusual that such extensive damage was not communicated during any email correspondence between 30 June and 4 July, until I made a complaint regarding the spa. Therefore, my gut instinct tells me that the hotel now operates a 2 night minimum stay for weekends and as we had booked an “entry level” room for EUR 950, the hotel no longer wanted to welcome us given the complaint.

After much deliberation with my husband, we will not be proceeding with our trip to Lake Como. Had we wanted to stay at Villa d’este, we would have booked this from the offset.

Needless to say, the entire saga has been highly upsetting and distressing given we are not only at a financial loss but also unable to spend our anniversary as planned.

Additionally, I feel the hotel management failed to uphold their contractual obligations (by choice) and acted in an unreasonable/illegitimate manner towards a client. It is quite evident that they lack both professional conduct and integrity.

Given my appalling treatment, I would urge you to think carefully before booking this hotel. There appears to be much positive marketing and I am shocked that the Telegraph rated this hotel 9/10. Not sure how this is possible if the facilities are not...

I want to clarify before diving into this review that I’m not one of those overly critical travelers who sets out to write negative reviews. This is only my second review on TripAdvisor. When it comes to value for money, Il Sereno was the least satisfying of all the places we stayed during our two-week trip to Italy, even though we visited some very lovely hotels.||||Upon arrival, we were immediately struck by the breathtaking mountain views of Lake Como, despite the rain. The staff was friendly, and we appreciated the welcome drinks in the lobby. The decor in the lobby and our room had the contemporary chic style I expected from Patricia Urquiola, and I particularly loved the full-slab stone sink and the heated floors, which were a nice touch in mid-September.||||We discovered Il Sereno through extensive research and were drawn to its impressive accolades, including being named the #1 Resort in Europe by Travel + Leisure. However, our experience fell short, particularly when it came to dining. The restaurant’s offerings were disappointingly bland and the underwhelming experience stood at great juxtoposition to how beautiful the property was.||||My wife and I chose the "Omaggio Alla Tradizione" tasting menu for dinner, which features five courses of traditional local dishes. The first few dishes were mediocre, and the quality only declined from there. The rigatoni with artichokes consisted of just three pieces of pasta, while the first secondi, filet de lavaret à la plancha, was undercooked and had an off-putting fishy flavor, reminiscent of frozen fish. The second secondi, "osso bucco my way," was served lukewarm and tasted pre-prepared rather than freshly made. These dishes reminded me of business class airline food—prepared beforehand, reheated, and served without care.||||Overall, the dining experience at Il Sereno was very disappointing; the chef seemed to lack creativity and attention to detail and didn't put too much thought into the combining and contrasting layers of textures, colors and shapes into the menu that would normally be expected at a Michelin restaurant. Simply downsizing typical restaurant dishes and labeling them as “gourmet” doesn’t create a true fine dining experience. I suspect that discerning travelers paying over €3000 a night would...

This was our second visit and we were expecting the same perfection as last time but were disappointed. Maybe we should have heeded my mother-in-law's advice about all things in life...you can never go back! Here are some pros and cons:|The Room (We were placed in the new section completed after our last visit. The smallest room has gotten smaller with limited closet space, but an outstanding direct view of the lake. This room had a musty smell. The welcome champagne and snacks were outstanding).|The Concierge (Yannis and his team are terrific and they quickly pulled together a four-hour private boat trip of the Lake and its villas. A real highlight. Also, they moved dining reservations in and out of the hotel on a dime).|Food and beverage: A shout out to the bartender that has been there since the beginning...he makes an amazing martini. The restaurant now has a Michelin star, but the food now has that international you could be anywhere taste. Some of the breakfast extras that made it special (e.g. the donut cart, beautifully cut fruit, etc.) are gone. The morning offering pales against other top luxury breakfast buffets in Italy. Have breakfast on your terrace and the view will be your treat. Also, the team at the pool is over-whelmed ...not asking if you'd like a drink, forgetting your order, etc. Two charming but young apprentice workers are part of the team and the crowds have them beat. By adding the new section of rooms the hotel added more chaise lounges, so its crowded.|The other guests: This is beyond any hotel's control, but the people around you define an experience. When we were there, yelling unsupervised small children dominated the pool one afternoon and the breakfast area the following morning. Many outside restaurant visitors and hotel guests are often positioned in your view doing social-media photo shoots. The amount of luxury brand swag can allow you to go on a safari and "bag" the big 5... Hermes, Loewe, Dior, Prada and Fendi .. in the first walk through the lobby. Il Sereno is no longer the chic low-key hideaway that built its reputation. But everyone on staff works hard to make it special. The setting, gardens, architecture are tops. And the rates...