The Ritz-Carlton brand will be making its debut in Italy, though we’ll have to be patient.
In this post:
Basics of the Ritz-Carlton Lake Como
It has today been announced that the Ritz-Carlton Lake Como will be debuting in 2026. Specifically, Hotel Grande Bretagne in Bellagio will undergo a significant refresh, and will be converted into this property. That hotel first opened in 1850, making it one of the first hotels in the region.
The Ritz-Carlton is expected to feature 105 keys, including 59 rooms and 46 suites, and is on a 16,500 square meter piece of land. The resort is expected to feature a destination spa complete with an indoor pool, an outdoor pool, a private boat dock, casual and fine dining restaurants, a gym, a meditation garden, and much more.
The hotel will be located just outside the iconic village of Bellagio, which sits on land between the two arms of Lake Como. The property hasn’t been in use for the past couple of decades, though has been acquired with the goal of restoring “the prestigious reputation of the former grand hotel through an extensive restoration and expansion project.”
It’s great to see more Lake Como luxury points hotels
Lake Como is of course a super high-end destination. However, the area has surprisingly few luxury hotels, and virtually no luxury points hotels belonging to the major hotel groups (there are some Small Luxury Hotels of the World properties bookable through the Hyatt collaboration, but that comes with lots of restrictions).
Currently top hotels in the area include the Mandarin Oriental, Villa d’Este, Il Sereno, and more. However, there are fewer than a dozen five-star hotels in the area, though the only points hotels belonging to major hotel brands are a Hilton and a Sheraton.
What’s cool is that Marriott is actually opening two points hotels in the area. In 2022, plans were announced for the Lake Como EDITION, which is expected to open in 2025, and will feature 142 rooms. This is being opened by rebranding and refreshing the Britannia Excelsior Hotel.
Some of course argue that bringing these major brands to Lake Como takes away some of the charm of the region. Then again, I think that ship has sailed, as Lake Como isn’t exactly a well kept secret at this point.
Bottom line
The Ritz-Carlton brand is coming to Italy with the opening of a property planned for Lake Como in 2026. We’re seeing the conversion of a historic property, which has been closed for quite some time. Between this and the EDITION, we’ll have some great Lake Como points options in a few years time.
What do you make of the Ritz-Carlton Lake Como?
The Vista Palazzo Lago di Como (an SLH property) bookable via Hyatt (I used 40k WoH points) is a fantastic property.
Here are some renderings, I believe, of the firm leading its redesign.
http://www.studiomhz.com/portfolio_page/hotel-grande-bretagne/
Lots of other photos out there on the web showing its current state, too.
Can book a few with IHG & there Mr and Mrs Smith Partnership
Agree that St Regis is a superior brand. The seven months on five months off is very common in this part of Italy. The fact that the article comments about how few luxury hotels are there shows the blogger's experience. This is actually quite common in towns like this in Europe
Last year i worked there, unfortunately after the summer all the hotel will closed down, Cadenabbia where will be Edition its far away from Como, and around the area are nothing to do, all closed, Rirz Carltom will be facing the same, 7 months open and 5 closed
Do you think the operators of that hotel are unaware of how the local tourist economy operates?
Most of the businesses in the area are on that schedule.
The Doubts have been annual visitors to Bellagio for almost 20 years, and have wondered if that, seemingly derelict, hotel would ever be resurrected. The southern end of town will be the better for it.
Every time I hear of a new Ritz Carlton opening, I think its a lost opportunity to open a St. Regis.
Well it should make you wonder - why did Marriott and the developer choose the Ritz brand? St Regis is available in this market. Maybe they think a Ritz would generate better profits, probably due to the Club rooms?
I would rather see these older hotels restored / reopened under their prior names (either as true independent hotels or something like Luxury Collection) and see brands like Edition, Ritz Carlton, etc build and open new hotels (geography / space permitting). There should be more resort capacity in these kinds of locations.