Which one for a honeymoon?
Both, for different couples. Passalacqua is a couple’s retreat. The hotel says it’s family friendly, but I’d book it for honeymooners, or for two couples traveling together. Il Sereno is for the couple who wants to be on the water with a great pool and a very good bed.
If the budget allows, split the trip. Two or three nights at each gives you two honeymoons in one, and the move between them is a ten-minute boat ride.
Lake views: the difference people miss
Il Sereno sits right on the water, and every room looks at the lake. It’s the best true lakefront hotel on Como.
Passalacqua is a terraced garden property. It has some lake-view rooms, but most rooms, even in the Palazzo, look over the gardens to the lake in the distance rather than straight onto the water. If the view matters most, ask me for a lakeside room.
The rooms to ask for
At Il Sereno, entry rooms get a partial view, some through the trees. The Grand Suite is where it gets special, with the head-on view and a private terrace.
At Passalacqua, the rooms in the Palazzo and the lakeside rooms are generously sized. Rooms elsewhere on the property can be a bit small. The Junior Suite Al Lago is the one I show couples first, and with so few rooms, it’s the hardest confirmation on the lake.
Dining, the spa and the honest notes
Passalacqua has only two restaurants, so plan to eat off property some nights. By boat is the best way to do it, and I can arrange it. Its spa is Moroccan-inspired, with vaulted ceilings, old stone columns, pierced brass lanterns and peacock wicker chairs, and an underground tunnel connects it to the lower gardens, which I loved. One small thing: clients who stayed recently found the pool service slow and had to flag someone down to order.
Il Sereno has a Michelin restaurant on the water, its own fleet of Riva boats for dinners elsewhere, and a hot tub in the old boathouse that you can book privately by the hour.
