Hotel, in Como: purchases and restorations prepare for future seasons

International capitals and luxury hospitality chains increasingly active on Lake Lombardy.

On the one hand, LVMH's acquisition of the Urio Castle, a historic Opus Dei property, and on the other the new hotel in Laglio designed by star architect Dante Benini. The two extremes well represent the liveliness of hospitality on Lake Como. Hotels are rarely built, renovated and repositioned, large hotel brands open which until yesterday were not present on the market. Rumors are flying and it is said that the real estate developer Giuseppe Statuto is looking for a four-star hotel in the Cadenabbia area to bring Six Senses to the lake, after having acquired the structure in Rome that houses the brand. In the summer KSL Capital Partners purchased the two structures of Sereno Hotels, a company of the Contreras family, the one on Lake Como and the twin in Saint-Barthélemy. The sale of the Imperiale in Moltrasio is close to closing, in the sights of a family office.
What makes the lake a popular destination for international tourism is the beauty of the place, but also the return to travel in the post-Covid era. During the tourist season, which also extended thanks to the vision of many hoteliers to enrich the calendar with events in the cooler months, employment reached its highest levels. American and English tourists have returned en masse, accompanied by French and Swiss who are increasingly frequenting the area. «Italian entrepreneurial families have always acted in the same direction on the lake - says Luigi Passera, CEO of Lario hotels, a four-generation family group that is expanding in Italy with the Vista brand -. For example, we aim to invest in Villa Flori, while Vista Como continues its growth."
Luxury hotels are in the sights of large investors. On the side that goes from Cernobbio towards Menaggio there has often been rumours, as mentioned at the beginning, of the imminent purchase by the French luxury group LVMH of the Castello di Urio, part of the real estate assets of Opus Dei after having been purchased by the founder of Josè-Maria Escrivar movement which made it a place of reflection and prayer. Confirmation of the negotiations came over a month ago from Belmond, the brand purchased in 2018 by Bernard Arnault's group for over three billion euros, which will manage the castle. The property of almost two hectares, with a shoreline of 180 meters on the lake , includes a building surrounded by an Italian garden. Originally from the late seventeenth century, it belonged in sequence to the Della Porta counts, the Castelbarco and the Dupuys and at the beginning of the nineteenth century to the Melzi d'Eril. On this side CBRE has started to market the Menaggio golf club, the second oldest in Italy, with a 70-room hotel project.
The opposite bank is also experiencing a moment of rediscovery after Mandarin Oriental took over Casta Diva in 2019. The Ritz-Carlton will open in Bellagio in 2026 in the former Hotel Grande Bretagne. An impressive conversion will change the appearance of the structure, one of the first luxury hotels in the region, inaugurated in 1850. After years of abandonment it was purchased by the Galbusera family, owner of Grimit, with the aim of bringing it back to its original success thanks to the agreement with Marriott International. The Edition brand, also from Marriot, will open in the former Britannia, acquired by Bain Capital and Omnam Group. The operation is part of the two investors' strategy to focus on the hotel sector in Italy, of which Britannia represents the first acquisition. The iconic building, which will be part of a fund managed by Kryalos, will be redeveloped to transform it into a 5-star hotel.
Declaring the lake's success: Villa Passalacqua's crowning as the best hotel in the world in the annual ranking of The World's 50 Best Hotels.