Il Sereno: Modern luxury on the shores of Lake Como

In a nutshell: A modern hideaway with a prime patch of Como real estate.

Price point: £££

The neighbourhood

A short drive from Como’s main station, Como San Giovanni, Il Sereno sits at the end of a winding road in the quaint commune of Torno. When you can peel yourself away from the sunbeds, or your room’s private balcony, the surrounding village is well worth a wander, and you’ll soon discover it makes a case for being one of the prettiest settlements on Lake Como. The town square offers spoils like the Saint Thecla church (go inside for a mix of marble, dusty rose-hued walls and painted ceilings), lively restaurants and Instagrammable alleyways leading to the star of the show: the lake.

The look

Designed by Milan-based architect Patricia Urquiola (who also designed Mandarin Oriental Barcelona and the Missoni boutique in New York City), Il Sereno is the antithesis of what you would expect a Lake Como hideaway to look like. Gone is the neoclassical mansion; in its place, a striking building of walnut wood and vertical gardens. Here you can certainly judge a book by its facade, as Urquiola’s sleek designs extend to the interiors, where a floating staircase leads to the lake-level restaurant and neutral-toned common areas. Everything feels new, shiny and expensive, without ever tipping into pretentious.

The vibe

Any visit to Lake Como can leave you feeling like an A-lister, but Il Sereno is one of the few hotels in the area to have received the celebrity stamp of approval. Miley Cyrus spent some time here in 2019 (scroll back through her Instagram and you’ll spot her perched next to the hotel’s infinity pool). The clientele is an eclectic mix of well-to-do young Europeans and older Americans, but everyone is after one thing: a break from reality. Luckily, it’s easy to find, whether by taking out the hotel’s custom-built Riva boat, booking into the lakeside jacuzzi, or lazing on the room’s private balcony and watching the activities on the lake.

Bed and bath

You can’t go wrong with an all-suite hotel. Each of the 40 rooms offers private balconies and views across the lake – best taken in from the plush King-size bed by way of the floor-to-ceiling windows. Urquiola’s soft furnishings and warming tones continue here, and murals of soft greys and blues sit above the beds to reflect the lake. Bathrooms are bigger than most London flats, with deep-soak tubs and rainfall showers. The balcony, again, is the star, and it wasn’t easy…