Il Giardino Botanico - Hotel Villa Cipressi, Varenna

Nothing but negative things to say about the treatment from all staff at this establishment. Nice facility but there are places just as nice, at a lower price, with much more pleasant treatment from the staff. Will never be back to this particular establishment. I felt the negative treatment was partially in regards to being Americano. Rude, rude, rude. Also, the gardens are a joke. The very nice gardens are the gardens you come to after passing this one on your right. Continue past this place.

SCAM SCAM SCAM. STAY AWAY! We never stayed at this property but were somehow charged $1000 for one nights stay. When contacting the property to dispute the charge, they said that we booked a room but never showed up. We have no confirmation from the hotel that a room was booked and there was no communication from their end regarding a booking or no-show or anything. We returned from our vacation on Lake como and received the charge without any additional information. They refused to acknowledge that no confirmation was sent or return our money for a stay that we never had. The worst holiday experience we’ve ever had.

Very cute little town. We took a quick boat from Bellaggio. If you want to see Villa Cipressi garden it's 8eur pp. Varenna also has Villa Monastero - admission to its garden for a fee. We choose Villa Cipressi because it was closer. It was very gorgeous, we took plenty of photos, enjoyed beautiful lake view seating in a nice shade. Walk from ferry its very simple but its uphill so bring water with you. We went in September and still it was very hot and sunny. There is not so much shade there either. Also you can hike to Castello di Vezio to get beautiful view of the village but be aware it's very steep. It takes around 40 minutes. Also while walking you will see beautiful narrow streets, water views , little church and small stores & restaurants. After that we hoped on other ferry to go to Menaggio. You can visit all of these places within a 1 day like we did.

This is an absolutely wonderful place to stay. We chose it as the Gardens are famous - one of the top Gardens to visit along Lake Como. However, the hotel turned out to be far more special that just the gardens. The Hotel is beautifully situated on the edge of the town of Varenna on a slope leading down to the waters edge. The gardens, flow gracefully around it. We had a room with a view over the lake, which was wonderful. Breakfast, which is extensive and well prepared, is available inside and on a small patio over looking the water - actually just below our room. The staff were all incredibly friendly and helpful. We would like to make a special note of the old gentleman that acted as the night porter on the front desk in the evenings. He was so kind a patient to explain to us the history of the hotel - going back to 11-12th century - There are frescos there from that date that he showed us. He also pointed out the window in the dining room to the left behind the check-in area which overlooks the gardens and the lake. it is the perfect spot for a photo. The hotel makes a lot of business hosting weddings. (The town church is a short walk up the street.), so is often bustling with activity for these, which made it an additionally romantic place to stay. Bottom-line, we cannot rate this hotel and its staff highly enough. hope to come again

We didn't stayed in the hotel, we just visited the Botanical garden in the hotel. Gardens are beautiful and if you visit Varenna make sure to visit Villa Cipressi. You have to pay ticket in order to access gardens, but it is worth it.