Sheraton Lake Como

We spent last night at the Sheraton lake Como. We were booked into the Deluxe guest room with pool view. I had read a couple of reviews that said the rooms were very dated. Not the case with our two rooms 402, 406. Both had lovely marble bathrooms with walk in showers and very nicely decorated. Large comfortable bed and very good air conditioning! As an Ambassador Elite we received a bottle of Ferrari sparking wine in our room. No upgrade as the room category above (suite) was already fully booked. The hotel only has four suites, so if you want a suite, book it as likely won’t get upgraded. I was given the option of breakfast or extra points, I took the points as my room rate already included breakfast. The negatives for me was that the hotel had two receptions directly in front of the hotel, and absolutely nightmare trying to get in and out of the hotel entrance. It just doesn’t make sense to host a function there when you have regular guests trying to enter and exit the hotel. I also didn’t like the location of the hotel, it wasn’t a quaint lakeside setting like I was expecting.

This was our first time to Lake Como and I've been a Bonvoy loyalist so we booked this hotel as it's the only option in the area. Let's start with the pros: The grounds are great with pool access, a new spa and within walking distance of Cernobbio. Breakfast had a great variety of items to try. We had rooms with a terrace so it was lovely to enjoy the peace and quiet. The cons: The value of the hotel is terrible. You are paying a premium for location and not for accommodation or service. They don't have transportation services so what is offered is very expensive even more so than booking a private transfer yourself. It's already been said but this is a dated hotel. If you are a Bonvoy member set your expectations low. You will get breakfast or points, but you will not get other benefits including late check out, access to a lounge. As a Titanium member it was a bit disappointing to see that they weren't even flexible for a late check out to 2 pm. I'm glad we had a chance to stay here and appreciated the pros, but I will be looking for another place to stay on a future visit to Lake Como.

We stayed here in July as a family of 5, two adults & 3 teens. At check in, we were unable to get connecting rooms or rooms side by side despite this being assured in our booking in advance. We had to return back down to reception to try & get rooms closer together as having 3 young teens down the other end of the corridor was never going to work. We did get two rooms a bit nearer, not ideal but we had no choice but to go with it. We stayed for 10 nights which is a long stay for this hotel we found out. We enjoyed our stay but 5 nights would have been plenty to see & do everything in Como. The hotel itself is lovely, the rooms are a little dated & tight for space but here's the big let down.. no balconies to sit out on to enjoy the views or relax with a drink etc. All you have are double doors that open to a steel barrier, such a missed opportunity with this hotel as the views are so nice. Our room overlooked the pool which is located across a small road at the front of the hotel, this sounds odd but it works here as the road feels private & quiet. The pool itself was lovely, smallish but never got too busy. There was also a smaller whirlpool which felt like getting into a warm jacuzzi outside. Sun loungers are located on the grass beside the pool, most of the time it was fine getting enough for our family. We only ate in one of their restaurants twice 'Kincho', once for pizza at the pool on arrival & then once for a very disappointing evening meal, the portions were non existent & the prices exorbitant. We left still hungry & disappointed. I would say skip eating at the hotel & head to nearby Cernobbio about a 10 minute walk away on the water. There's a nice selection of restaurants there & the lakeside views are just so pretty. Getting into Como itself from the hotel is no problem at all, the ferry is just 5 minutes walk away & takes about 9 minutes to reach Como, really pleasant to do. You can also walk into Como, its a busy road & takes about 30 mins walking briskly, myself & my husband did this walk for exercise a few days & enjoyed the views along the way. The ferries from Como back to the hotel don't run late, last ferry is around 7.45pm in the evening so if you want to stay out late in Como you will need to grab a taxi, bus or face the long walk. Also, we never risked taking the last ferry as the queues could be quite long so we always went with the second last ferry just in case we didn't fit on. There is a great supermarket beside the hotel, handy for anything you could need, there is nothing really directly around the hotel itself so best options are Cernobbio very nearby or heading into Como. The hotel seems to host a lot of corporate events & weddings etc, there were about 5 in the duration of our 10 day stay there. We're Marriott Bonvoy members so we are really familiar with this brand, you don't get any of the usual perks of membership with this hotel so that's worth noting if that matters to Marriott members. Overall The Sheraton Lake Como is a decent base to get a taste of Como, we would return but for a much shorter stay & mainly to explore more of the surrounding towns in Como.