We stayed at Casa Alla Piana for one week in mid March 2014, and were delighted with our choice. The house is located on a small hill above Bellagio, with absolutely spectacular views across Lake Como to Menagio and Tremezzo on the other side. At night with the twinkling lights, snow-capped mountains and watching the ferrys go back and forth it was is out-of-this-world. Stunning! The area where the house is (Suira) is nice and quiet so great for families and we enjoyed being able to leave Bellagio at the end of the day and retreat to somewhere secluded and quiet. it also has a small garden and great, secure parking facilities in a nearby underground, private garage.

The house is great - we had a lovely welcome from Mauri and Antonella, who met us in the square in Bellagio and took us in convoy to the house. There was a fruit bowl waiting for us which was a nice touch. The house is spotlessly clean, well equipped and they had fitted stair gates for our two kids (3 and 1). Comfy beds, and a nice shower too. I couldn't really think of anything that was lacking - it might have been nice to have had a few more provisions in the house - soap, more toilet roll, olive oil, more washing liquid, etc but then this is the kind of stuff that is normally left by previous guests and we were the first of the season. Overall it was a great stay and we're already looking to re-book for my parents.

Good bits: The house, the amazing views, the parking arrangements, the warm welcome from Antonella and Mauri, and being able to visit a truly incredible part of Italy and the world before the tourist season kicked-in, so Bellagio, it's restaurants and roads were quiet and restful.

Things to note: I would recommend having a car to go into Bellagio. While the location was great for quietness and views, it is a struggle to commute into town with a push chair and little kids who won't walk far. There is a small cobbled track (Trunica) at the back of the house which spirals down to the town. It's a bumpy ride with a pushchair but manageable. On the way back up it's a real challenge, especially if you've bought shopping. I ended up carrying my son (1) in the pushchair, with the shopping on my back and it was like climbing Everest, and I'm pretty strong. The only other option is to push the kids down a very busy hair-pinned main road which as you can imagine was not ideal. So, after the first adventure we ended up driving into town, parking and then driving back. Other things to note - on Wednesday's there were no ferry's until 6pm (and no prior notification of this at the port!), and the supermarkets were shut all day. It took 1.5 hours to get to the house from Malpensa airport, via Como and Lezzano.

My wife and I stayed here late Sept., '13 for 5 nights and couldn't have been happier with our selection. The house looked recently renovated with all new interior on two levels with everything you need in two bedrooms. View out of the bedrooms and bathroom was really incredible, with view of the lake, mountains, and part of Bellagio, with a pretty garden/farmette in the foreground! The pictures here don't begin to do the view justice. Walk to downtown was a beautiful, healthy 25 minute walk that we really enjoyed every day thru fields and pretty neighborhoods. 5 minute drive if you must, from a secured garage. Much better than staying right in town IMHO. The owners were extremely friendly and helpful. I can't think of any negatives. Seems like a dream world. If we go back to Bellagio we'll stay here again.