The royal treatment

By Mary Gostelow

THIS MONTH: Lake Como, Italy

WHERE? Room 232 at the Villa d'Este, Cernobbio. (Plan now, it reopens for the season March 1.)

WHAT? The three-metre-wide bed has the finest real linen sheets and a wooden Empire headboard. Above, half-tester drapes topped by a crest of the Prince of Wales hang from a fluted curtain rod.

WHY? Look directly across Lake Como to the village of Blevio, with the tree-covered Monte Boletto – 1,236 metres above sea level – rising steeply behind.

The WOWfactor: Take a pre-breakfast hike up the hotel's steep grass pathway to a grotto with a larger-than-life statue of Hercules and Lichas. Or, gently walk straight to breakfast on the lakeside terrace, with the freshest juices, fruits, homemade ricotta, and eggs cooked to order.

(Hot Bed is a monthly spotlight on the world's most stunning accommodations. Mary Gostelow is president and editor-in-chief of the online magazine Kiwi Collection.)

Getting There

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