Restored 1787 villa, opened 2022, awarded World's #1 Hotel by The World's 50 Best Hotels in 2023 and again in 2024. Twenty-four suites. The most successful new hotel opening in Europe of the decade.
"Restored 1787 villa, opened 2022. Awarded World's #1 Hotel in 2023 and 2024. The most successful new luxury hotel opening in Europe of the decade."
Passalacqua opened in May 2022 in Moltrasio on Lake Como's western shore, in a restored 1787 villa originally built for Count Andrea Lucini Passalacqua, after a six-year restoration by the De Santis family — the same family that owns Grand Hotel Tremezzo a few kilometres north on the same shore. The hotel was awarded The World's 50 Best Hotels' top ranking — World's #1 Hotel — in 2023 and again in 2024, the first time any hotel has won the inaugural ranking in consecutive years.
The 24 suites are distributed across the main villa Casa Madre, the lakeside Casa al Lago, and the smaller Palazz dating from 1641. Every suite is individually decorated; the property used the De Santis family's personal collection of 18th-century Italian furniture, frescoes, and textiles, supplemented by curated commissions from contemporary Italian artisans. The result is the most idiosyncratic and personally-shaped luxury hotel in Italy. The Casa al Lago suites are the most-requested for the lake views; the Casa Madre suites for the painted-ceiling drama; the Palazz for the privacy of the smaller building.
The grounds — seven acres terraced down to the lake — include a private 19th-century chapel, an Italian garden, a vegetable garden that supplies the restaurant, the pool deck overlooking the lake, and a private dock for boat excursions. The pool has been called one of the most beautiful in Europe; the chapel has hosted vow-renewal and small wedding ceremonies since the property's opening.
Service at Passalacqua is the De Santis family service philosophy at its most refined. The staff-to-guest ratio is among the highest in any luxury hotel anywhere — over four-to-one. The team includes a dedicated wine sommelier, two Italian-trained spa therapists, two private chefs, and a 'Mr. or Mrs. Friday' concierge for every suite. The dining is at the Villa restaurant — a single chef's-tasting-menu Italian restaurant with a daily-changing seasonal programme that draws on the property's own gardens. The wine programme, drawing on the De Santis family's two-property cellar, is among the strongest in northern Italy. Passalacqua is the most refined Italian hotel opened in the past twenty years and represents the De Santis family's argument for what a luxury hotel can be when ownership and operation are unified at the highest level.
The Lake Como honeymoon for couples who want the most refined and idiosyncratic version. Book a Casa al Lago suite. The De Santis family service team designs honeymoon stays as bespoke programmes — private dinners by the chapel, private boat tours of the lake, painted-ceiling-suite vow renewals. The honeymoon at Passalacqua is the most distinctive luxury honeymoon in Italy and books 12 months ahead.
For milestone anniversaries Passalacqua's small scale, the De Santis family service standards, and the painted-ceiling-suite drama work for couples who want the most personal version of an Italian heritage anniversary stay. The chapel works for vow renewals; the gardens for portraits; the wine cellar for tastings.
The chapel at sunset, the lake-side dock at sunset, or the painted-ceiling Casa Madre suite are the three settings Passalacqua orchestrates. The team has effectively built bespoke proposal arrangements as a category since opening, and at the property's scale (only 24 suites, often largely buyout-able for groups), the privacy and discretion are absolute.
Via Besana 59
22010 Moltrasio (Como), Lombardy
Western shore of Lake Como; 60 min from Milan Linate (LIN)
24 suites across Casa Madre, Casa al Lago, Palazz
Casa Madre Suite from €1,800/night
Casa al Lago Suite from €2,400
Casa al Lago Garden Suite from €3,500
Casa Madre Painted-Ceiling Suite from €5,500
Check-in: 3:00 PM
Check-out: 12:00 PM
Minimum stay: 2 nights (3 in peak)
World's #1 Hotel 2023 & 2024
De Santis family-owned (also Tremezzo)
1641 Palazz + 1787 villa restoration
Private 19th-century chapel
Single chef's-tasting restaurant
Open: April – early November
Peak: June–September (book 12 months ahead)
Best value: April, October
High-speed WiFi throughout
Reliable signal in all suites and gardens
The pace of the hotel rewards using it less
From €1,800/night. The most-requested luxury hotel opening in Europe — peak season books 12 months ahead.
Book This Hotel →Built 1568, hotel since 1873. The floating pool and 25-acre Renaissance gardens.
1910 Belle Époque on the western shore. Same De Santis family ownership.
Patricia Urquiola-designed contemporary hotel on the eastern shore. The modern Lake Como answer.