The restaurant on the terrace
Breakfast, lunch and dinner, outdoors or in the frescoed Sala Ovale; since November 2024 non-residents can book too, by email or phone.
Passalacqua
Passalacqua, at Moltrasio on Lake Como, is a late-18th-century villa of 24 rooms and suites, where Bellini wrote La Sonnambula.
A week here, month by monthPassalacqua suits couples who want to spend their time in gardens and at the table; the lowest price any seller showed on Google was €1,121 for one night searched alone, for 2 adults. For trips out, I would see the lake by boat rather than by car.
Passalacqua restaurant: the cooking, the prices and how to book as a non-resident Check rooms and rates on the official site The kitchen and the bar The spa and poolsWould you go?
Keep it among your hotels and see it on the budget globe, month by month.Our verdict
The villa was designed at the end of the 18th century by the Milanese architect Carlo Felice Soave for Count Andrea Lucini-Passalacqua, and here, the hotel says, Vincenzo Bellini wrote La Sonnambula during a stay in 1831; the MICHELIN Guide and the press say 1829 and add Norma. The De Santis family, who own Grand Hotel Tremezzo, bought it in 2018 and opened it as a hotel in June 2022, after a 3-year restoration.
There are 24 rooms in 3 buildings: 12 in the villa, 8 in the Palazz and 4 in the Casa al Lago, from 30 to 250 m², each for 2, with room for a child in the suites. The single Suite Bellini has the neoclassical music room, double height; the Casa al Lago, with its own kitchen and dining room, can be taken whole. The gardens step down 3 hectares of terraces to the jetty, where a Riva Aquariva and a 1968 Riva Olympic wait.
The cooking is Viviana Varese’s, “chef di casa” since March 2024, who revisits the recipes of grand families on their country holidays; since November 2024 the restaurant has taken bookings from non-residents too, while the bar, the pools and the gardens stay with hotel guests. The restaurant has no star, the hotel holds 3 MICHELIN Keys, and in 2026 The World’s 50 Best Hotels ranked it fifth in the world and best in Europe. The spa fills the Palazz’s vaulted hall and an 18th-century tunnel under the gardens, with a heated indoor pool.
On Google it scores 4.6 out of 5 from 469 reviews; the 104 of the past year average 4.75. On Booking.com it has 10 from 72 reviews. Guests praise the staff, the view and the gardens. There is no beach for a swim in the lake, and from outside the only way in is a table booked at the restaurant.
Two Lumi
Lumina Guide 2027
Exceptional: two of our three readings say so.
Passalacqua, at Moltrasio on Lake Como, is a late-18th-century villa of 24 rooms and suites, where Bellini wrote La Sonnambula.
How Lumi are awardedGuests (exceptional)
266 reviews read: the location pleases almost every guest who mentions it, breakfast more than 9 in 10.
Critics (exceptional)
Ours
In the hotel’s own pages we found the frescoes of the Sala Ovale, the double-height music room of the Suite Bellini, a heated indoor pool in an 18th-century tunnel under the gardens and 2 Rivas at the jetty.
Our reading, point by point
What we found reading the hotel’s own pages, one thing at a time.
Location
On the western shore at Moltrasio, 19 minutes by car from Como’s lakefront and 51 from Malpensa; no beach.
Character
An 18th-century villa with the Sala Ovale’s frescoes, terraced gardens and a grand piano in the Suite Bellini.
Rooms
From 30 to 250 m², no 2 alike; the village-facing villa rooms, the Suite Agnese and the Palazz have no lake view.
Food and social life
Viviana Varese’s kitchen, open at all hours for guests: the aristocratic recipes of the nineteenth century beside her own dishes, such as her mother’s pasta e patate.
Wellness
An indoor pool in the tunnel, a pool over the lake, the spa and a gym in the greenhouse.
The stay as a whole
From €1,128 a night in late November to €2,750 in summer, up to €9,900 in mid-June 2027, plus €5 a person in tax.
The 5 things that matter, as guests tell them
What do Passalacqua’s guests say? They write it in their reviews, even those who only came for a drink or dinner: we read every one and tell the 5 things that matter, from the location to the bill.
Location
Nearly every guest who mentions it is happy with it. The lake from the terraces and gardens kept down to the last flower bed are the first thing guests write about.
Room
9 in 10 guests who mention it are happy with it. Guests write about spacious rooms and suites, and beds and linen among the best they remember.
Staff and service
8 in 10 guests who mention it are happy with it. They describe a reception that greets them by name, a sommelier who remembers last night’s wine and a waiter who knows their favourite table.
Breakfast
9 in 10 guests who mention it are happy with it. Breakfast is served in the open kitchens or outdoors, until 11am: guests write about the jams from the orchard and the eggs cooked to order.
Price
The rate includes breakfast, served until 11am, and the daily programme of cooking, gelato and cocktail classes, with yoga and the open-air cinema.
Where Passalacqua leads
- Room
On the room it comes ahead of the 4 other hotels it is compared with on Lake Como.
- Breakfast
On breakfast it comes ahead of the 4 other hotels it is compared with on Lake Como.
The numbers, and how we count them
| What | Score out of 10 | Guests who mention it | Happy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Location | 9.3 | 108 | 97% |
| Room | 8.6 | 44 | 91% |
| Staff and service | 7.7 | 163 | 75% |
| Breakfast | 8.4 | 27 | 93% |
| Price | – | 17 | 24% |
The scores come from 266 Google reviews with text, left from 3 September 2016 to 2 October 2026. The other hotels are the ones weighed for a stay on Lake Como: for each we read its latest 500 Google reviews with text, or all of them where there are fewer, as of 5 October 2026. The score is the average of what they say, from 0 if they speak of it very badly to 10 if they speak of it very well. Where only a few mention something, the score stays close to the guide’s average: a handful of voices does not make a reputation.
The hotels we weigh it against on Lake Como:
- Tremezzo
- Villa d'Este
- Mandarin Oriental, Lago di Como
- Il Sereno
- Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni
Price: for two on the night of 12 December 2026, from €1,121 (seen on Google Hotels on 13 October 2026).
What a night costs, season by season
From 25 October 2026 to 15 April 2027, priced nights run from €1,118 to €2,200, apart from the isolated higher nights listed below. I would look at December or March for the runs from €1,121, then check the whole stay before choosing dates.
| Period | Euros a night |
|---|---|
| 15 October to 24 October 2026 | 1,529–6,396 |
| 25 October 2026 to 15 April 2027 | 1,118–2,200 |
| 16 April to 20 May 2027 | 1,536–2,325 |
| 21 May to 8 September 2027 | 2,750–5,500 |
The lowest price any seller showed on Google Hotels for one night searched alone for 2 adults, read 13 October 2026; no room or meal plan is specified. The calendar stops on 8 September 2027. Isolated nights: 20 October 2026 at €6,038; 28 October, €6,587; 26 November, €2,985; 23 May 2027 at €6,050; 14 June, €9,900; 16 June, €2,970; 17 June, 28 June and 2 July, €5,500. For the night of 20 October 2026, a reading on 4 October 2026 found €1,650 on the hotel’s own site and €1,602 from the lowest seller. Booked as 7 nights from 16 November 2026, the lowest seller Google listed that day asked €1,236 a night; the hotel’s own listing, €1,430.
Passalacqua or Villa d’Este
Choose Passalacqua for a base in Moltrasio, with a chauffeur or boat arranged by the hotel. Villa d’Este puts you in a park at Cernobbio, with Cernobbio’s ferry pier 11 minutes away on foot.
| Hotel | A night, from |
|---|---|
| Passalacqua | €1,129 |
| Villa d’Este | €890 |
The lowest seller’s price for one night for 2 adults within 16–22 November 2026, with nights searched separately on Google Hotels on 13 October 2026.
What to expect
The restaurant terrace, 2 pools, the spa in a tunnel, vintage boats and the kitchen garden that feeds the cooks.
The pool over the lake
On a garden terrace below the villa, among climbing roses; beside it, the Winter Garden serves as a bar with wood-fired pizza.
The spa in the tunnel
Sauna, steam bath and a heated indoor pool in an 18th-century tunnel under the gardens; the pool can be booked privately before or after hours.
The boats
From the private jetty go the Riva Aquariva, the 1968 Riva Olympic and the wooden launch Giumello II, with a skipper.
The kitchen garden and the hens
The vegetable garden by the bocce court, the pergola of table grapes and the hens: breakfast eggs come from here.
Good to know before you book
The hotel closes in winter: in 2026 it reopened on 1 April, and Google Hotels has no prices from 3 January to 11 March 2027. The site still says it reopens “in early March”.
The hotel and gardens are for those staying. From outside you can book only the restaurant, at restaurant@passalacqua.it or on +39 031 44311; when the hotel is full or booked for an event, nobody gets in.
Moltrasio’s tourist tax for a 5-star hotel is €5 a person a night, and from 2026 it applies all year, no longer only from April to October.
There is no beach and no platform for swimming in the lake: there are the private jetty, where the hotel’s boats leave from, and 2 pools: the outdoor one, on a garden terrace with a lake view, and the heated indoor one in the spa tunnel.
There is no dress code for dinner, the hotel says; sites asking for smart dress or a jacket repeat advice the hotel does not give.
24 rooms and suites in 12 categories
Getting there
Malpensa is 51 minutes away by car without traffic, Como San Giovanni station 16; the hotel arranges a chauffeur or a boat.
| Address | Via Besana 59, 22010 Moltrasio (Como), on the lake’s western shore. |
|---|---|
| From the airport | Milan Malpensa: 58.4 km, 51 minutes by car. Linate: 66.8 km, 67 minutes. Bergamo Orio al Serio: 104.6 km, 83 minutes. Times without traffic: in summer the lakeside road is slower. |
| By train | Como San Giovanni is 9.9 km away, 16 minutes by car; Milano Centrale 60 km, 55 minutes. From Como, take a taxi, the hotel’s chauffeur or the public ferry to Moltrasio. |
| Parking | Free, with valet parking, according to Expedia, Booking.com and Google. |
| Check-in and check-out | Check-in from 3pm; check-out is 11am according to Booking.com and noon according to Expedia. |
Journeys computed on OpenStreetMap’s streets on 4 and 5 October 2026, without traffic; prices and rules from the official pages and booking sites read the same days.
Beyond the hotel
Villa d’Este 7 minutes away by car, Como 19, the Balbianello 33: the lake is better seen by boat than by car.
Cernobbio
The lakefront and the ferry pier on Piazza Risorgimento: 3.5 km, 8 minutes by car.
Villa Olmo
The neoclassical villa on the water at the edge of Como: 8.2 km, 13 minutes by car.
Como cathedral
11.9 km, 19 minutes by car; the funicular to Brunate leaves 20 minutes away.
The Brunate funicular
It climbs from Como to the Brunate balcony: 12.4 km, 20 minutes by car from the hotel.
Villa del Balbianello
At Lenno, on the same shore: 19.1 km, 33 minutes by car, or by boat from the jetty.
Bellagio
42.1 km and 54 minutes by road; it is usually reached by boat.
From Passalacqua to Cernobbio, Como and the middle of the lake
The hotel, the villages and villas of the western shore, Como, the station and the airport.
Loading map…
Recommended for you
A day at Passalacqua
The morning
Breakfast in the kitchens
Order coffee at the table, then choose eggs cooked to order and tarts made with orchard jam before breakfast ends at 11am.
Late morning
Take out a Riva
Leave the private jetty with a skipper, heading towards Bellagio or the Balbianello.
Lunchtime
Pizza at Winter Garden
Come back for a wood-fired pizza at Winter Garden, the bar in the old greenhouse.
The afternoon
Go beneath the gardens
Take the afternoon into the spa tunnel, between the sauna, steam bath and heated indoor pool.
The evening
Dinner by candlelight
Start with an aperitivo, then dine on the terrace or in the frescoed Sala Ovale.
Passalacqua reviews
The platforms’ scores and what guests write, from the gardens to the dinners.
Scores read on 4 October 2026
Guest voices
From the hotel’s Google listing: the staff, breakfast, the restaurant seen from outside, dinner, the gym and the pool.
GoogleThe details
A guest lists the tableware with little birds, the music that follows you from room to salon, the afternoon cake in the library and the rose at arrival.
Google · August 2026Read the review
Google3 hours at breakfast
Rooms, service and grounds were exceptional for an April couple, who could have spent 3 hours at breakfast.
Google · April 2026Read the review
GoogleLunch from outside
Without staying, a couple booked lunch with an email to reception and count it among the finest meals on the lake.
Google · August 2026Read the review
GoogleThe staff
For a September guest the staff were warm, kind, attentive and helpful from start to finish.
Google · September 2026Read the review
GoogleDinner
The spa and breakfast were excellent for a July couple; dinner was the weak spot, clunky and with a few clear misses.
Google · July 2026Read the review
GoogleGym and pool
In May a guest found the gym crowded with 2 couples, the pool small and a service that did not match the price.
Google · May 2026Read the review
Questions before you go
Sources read on 4 and 5 October 2026: official pages, Google Hotels, the MICHELIN Guide and booking sites.
How much is a night at Passalacqua?
On Google Hotels, read on 4 October 2026 for 2 adults, the cheapest night cost €1,128 on 30 November and 16 December 2026, €1,163 on 16 March and €1,175 on 1 April 2027; summer started at €2,750 on 1 June and 1 July. The dearest night on the calendar was 14 June 2027, at €9,900; Thanksgiving, 26 November 2026, was €2,990. For the night of 20 October the official site asked €1,650, the cheapest seller €1,602. Breakfast is included; the €5 tourist tax is not.
When is Passalacqua open?
From early spring to early January. In 2026 it reopened on 1 April; on Google Hotels the last priced night is 2 January 2027 and the first of the new season 12 March. The site says it closes from early January to early March.
Can you eat at Passalacqua without staying?
Yes, at the restaurant only and by reservation: breakfast, lunch or dinner on the terrace, booked at restaurant@passalacqua.it or on +39 031 44311. The bar, pools and gardens are for hotel guests, and when the hotel is full or booked for an event, nobody gets in. The restaurant, prices and how to book.
Who is the chef at Passalacqua?
Viviana Varese, the “chef di casa”, born in Maiori in 1974 and already starred in Milan with Alice and VIVA; at Passalacqua since March 2024. Hers is “grand villa cuisine”, revisiting 19th-century aristocratic recipes alongside her own dishes, such as her mother’s pasta e patate.
Does the restaurant have a MICHELIN star?
No: it is not in the 2026 restaurant selection. The 3 MICHELIN Keys belong to the hotel, the guide’s award for hotels.
What is the dress code at Passalacqua?
There is none, the hotel says. Some sites and Google’s overview write “smart and elegant”, and a 2026 blog recommends a jacket, but that is not Passalacqua’s word.
Is breakfast included?
Yes, in the rate: it is served in the open kitchens or outdoors until 11am, with eggs cooked to order, charcuterie and tarts made with jam from the orchard. Non-residents can book it on the terrace.
How many pools are there, and are they heated?
2: the outdoor pool, on a garden terrace below the villa with a lake view, which Expedia calls seasonal, and the heated indoor pool in the spa tunnel, which can be booked privately before or after hours. The outdoor pool’s size and temperature are not published.
What is the spa like, and who can use it?
It fills the Palazz’s vaulted hall and the 18th-century tunnel under the gardens: sauna, steam bath, a rock-hewn relaxation area and the indoor pool; treatments use Seed to Skin products, and there is an outdoor area in the orchard. It is for hotel guests: the hotel publishes no hours, prices or day pass.
Is there a beach, or can you swim in the lake?
There is no beach and no swimming platform. There is the private jetty, where the hotel’s boats leave from.
Can you take out the hotel’s boats?
Yes, with a skipper: from the jetty go a Riva Aquariva named “Passalacqua”, a wooden 1968 Riva Olympic, the launch Giumello II and 2 water limousines, shared with Grand Hotel Tremezzo. Prices are not published.
Is Passalacqua good for children?
Children of any age are accepted, and the suites take one more; from 13 Booking.com counts them as adults. There are no extra beds or kids’ club, and the hotel’s site, read on 15 October 2026, does not say whether cots are available. The Room al Lago and the Grand Room al Lago join into a 2-bedroom family suite.
Are dogs allowed?
Yes, free, according to Booking.com and Expedia; Google’s card lists a charge, and the official site publishes no rule.
Is there parking?
Yes, free with valet parking, according to Expedia, Booking.com and Google.
How do I get there from Milan?
By car, Malpensa is 58.4 km and 51 minutes away, Linate 66.8 km and 67 minutes, without traffic. By train, go to Como, then take a taxi, the hotel’s chauffeur or the public ferry to Moltrasio.
What time is check-in?
From 3pm. Check-out is 11am according to Booking.com and noon according to Expedia; Expedia asks guests to be 18 to check in, Booking.com sets no minimum.
How much is the tourist tax in Moltrasio?
For a 5-star hotel, €5 a person a night, in force since 1 April 2025; from 2026 it applies all year, no longer only from April to October.
What awards has Passalacqua won?
3 MICHELIN Keys. In The World’s 50 Best Hotels it was first in 2023, second in 2024, fourth in 2025 and fifth in 2026, when it was also named the best hotel in Europe.
Did Bellini really compose here?
By the hotel’s account Vincenzo Bellini wrote La Sonnambula during a stay in 1831. The MICHELIN Guide and some of the press say 1829 and add Norma: the hotel claims only La Sonnambula.
Can you hold a wedding or a private event at Passalacqua?
Yes, but the hotel publishes no events page, capacities or prices. It offers the private “Dimmidisì” dinners in the stuccoed dining room or the Italian garden, exclusive use of the Casa al Lago and, for an event, of the whole hotel: in August 2025 it closed to outside visitors for exactly that.
What does Passalacqua do for New Year’s Eve?
The festive programme, last written for New Year 2025, included a gala dinner with entertainment and cotechino with lentils at midnight, with Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas Day lunch to add. On 4 October 2026 no 2026-27 programme had been published, and Google Hotels showed no price for 31 December on its own, which points to a minimum stay.
Can you book the whole Casa al Lago?
Yes: its 4 rooms, with their own kitchen and dining room, can be taken for exclusive use. The price is not published.
More hotels in the guide
Villa d’Este
The 1568 villa in its park: a pool that floats on the lake, Bar Canova since 1873 and dinner in a jacket at the Veranda.
Grand Hotel Tremezzo
A pool floats on the lake; the 1910 palace and its park give you reasons to linger.
Aman Venice
24 rooms and suites in a 16th-century palazzo on the Grand Canal, with a garden on the water and Tiepolo frescoes, 5 minutes’ walk from the Rialto
Le Sirenuse
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Castiglion del Bosco
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Splendido, A Belmond Hotel, Portofino
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Il San Pietro di Positano
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Caruso, A Belmond Hotel, Amalfi Coast
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Hotel Cipriani
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Forestis Dolomites
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The Gritti Palace
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Hotel Excelsior Venice Lido Resort
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