eddings are memories we’ll live with forever, and when it comes to choosing where to get married, there are only a handful of places so beautiful you need to experience for yourself and lake Como is one of those special places.
Having already visited Santorini, Amalfi coast, and our own wedding in Anguilla we had high expectations, but we were still floored by the beauty of Lago di Como and the mandarin oriental. We’ve got an amazing Lake Como Travel Guide on our Youtube channel I can’t wait for you to check out. If you haven’t yet, popover to our Barcelona Travel Guide, it’s a great way to start or end any visit to Como.
Lake Como is one of those bucket list destinations you truly need to witness for yourself.
Mandarin Oriental Lago Di Como Review
Getting to paradise is easier said than done. We flew in from Barcelona, after spending a magical 36 hours there. View our Barcelona travel guide. But to get to lake Como, you want to fly into MXP and take a 1 hour car ride. We booked our airport transfer using Blacklane, and it couldn’t have been more convenient.
The app is just like Uber but you can book in advance and they have destinations all over the world. We used them after an 18 hour flight to Tokyo and it was a lifesaver. If you gave a trip coming up, use our linke for a 20% off Blacklane promo code.
Mandarin Oriental Barcelona #ImAFan
The entrance to the Mandarin Oriental, Lago di Como is the same as it was during its years as the resort known as CastaDiva.
You enter at the gate house on the main road and then wind your way all the way down the hill, passing cottages and villas until you reach Villa Roccabruna, the 19th-century villa that was formerly the home of opera singer Giudetta Pasta.
The view from the property is stunning. It’s an unobstructed view from the east side of the lake and we spent every night watching the sun go down over the mountains.
For those of us not lucky enough to celebrate our wedding here, it’s at least within reach of honeymooners and we spotted a number of couples celebrating their anniversaries on the property as well.
What to Do in Lake Como
The lake is best experienced on the water. Our first full day we took a romantic private boat ride up to Bellagio. Bellagio is situated on the apex of where Lake Como splits providing amazing sunsets.
No visit to any Mandarin Oriental property is complete without a visit to the spa. We had an amazing Digital Detox at the Mandarin Oriental Barcelona, and with an entire floor dedicated to the spa in Como, it’s the ultimate relaxation. Plan to spend near half a day soaking in the relaxation.
The town itself has local craft stores, hotels and a number of lakeside restaurants. We grabbed a negroni and aperol spritz by the water and took in the beauty.For the rest of our stay our days consisted of lounging by the pool, and trying out each of the restaurants.
We’ve never experienced a floating pool before and I’ll tell you, it takes a bit of getting used to. The idea is quaint and romantic, but in practice, it’s a bit rocky. Once we got our sea legs, it was marvelous, but for the first couple of minutes, I thought either I had one too many drinks or literally the ground below us was moving.
The lake pool gave us the feeling of being on the water, without having to step foot on a boat and now I’m always going to be looking forward to any sort of suspended pool. I remember someone floated the idea of having a similar pool in the East River and I hope that comes to fruition at some point in the future.
We got to experience the gastronomic L’Aria, the more casual CO.MO Bar & Bistro and got to sample (almost) all of the local Amaros and Vermouths.
When dining at L’Aria, you must do the tasting menu along with the wine pairing. We normally are too full from tasting menus, but thankfully the dishes were delicious and dainty in size so we didn’t leave overwhelmed.
You must try the house made spaghetti and local clams and, for an Italian restaurant, the burger really hit the spot after a break from pasta.
How to Fly to Lake Como With Points
To fly home from Lake Como we again tapped into our chase ultimate rewards points. We flew business class on United for just 155k miles. With flights clocking in near $6k each, we got $.04 point per mile. If you want to take your Dream Trip with Points, fill out our free consultation.
We’ve traveled to more than 39 destinations for nearly free using points and miles and it’s become a bit of an obsession for me. Lucky for you, I’m distilling all of the essential tips into the videos we produce on Youtube, so if you want to learn more about flight hacking, subscribe to our channel.
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If you enjoyed this travel guide, make sure you watch our Youtube Lake Como Travel Guide. It’s almost like being there for yourself.
Mandarin Oriental x Orlebar Brown
What do you wear to one of the most beautiful places on Earth? Of course I pack my Orlebar Brown swim trunks, which were custom-made for the MO Lago di Como.
I paired the trunks with one of my custom made Proper Cloth shirts. Once I’ve entered in my sizing, it’s so easy to build shirts just for specific destinations like Lake Como.
Swim Shorts, $355
