COMO VA?

Life is good in Lake Como, especially when you’re staying at the Grand Hotel Tremezzo

There’s nothing original about believing that Lake Como is the most beautiful place in the world. This region has been attracting visitors since Roman times and remains a celebrity magnet; George Clooney, Madonna, Richard Branson and Sylvester Stalone are just some of the international crowd known to have villas here (as any local taxi driver will tell you). It’s easy to see why: the lake is breathtakingly beautiful, its clear waters surrounded by strikingly lush flora, with mountains in the distance and grand Italian villas and dreamy villages sprinkled around the coast. Our destination is Tremezzina, 90 minutes’ drive from Milan and we’re feeling the part in our rented Fiat Cincquecento. There’s one road that runs around the lake and it’s a narrow and windy one, best suited to a small and nimble car. It’s only April and the tra c is already hotting up – because the only problem with Lake

Como is that its beauty attracts a lot of visitors. So we’re at a definite advantage, season-wise, though it’s also not quite warm enough to swim in the lake. We pass through pretty villages with impressive churches and dreamy lake views, struck by the intriguing combination of palm trees and mountains that characterises the area.

The Grand Hotel Tremezzo transports you straight into the Belle Epoque glamour, its vast presence looming majestically from an elevated position overlooking the lake. It’s cinematic in scale and strikingly beautiful.

Built in 1910, the hotel has always been family-owned and dedicated to elegance and luxury, and routinely features high up on lists of Europe’s top hotels. Open from March to November only, it avoids ever feeling dated by tweaking its interiors during the rest period – so the feeling is contemporary luxury in a traditional setting, and it’s brilliantly done. Every detail is considered, from the genius use of orange (awnings, sun umbrellas, stripes on crockery, leather accessories, even the ribbon on the doorman’s Panama hat – but think sunshine, not easyjet) to the hotel’s own scent that wafts from vast di users throughout the building. Imagine yourself in the golden age of travel, staying here before continuing onto the Venice Lido, or to a sanatorium in Switzerland, or alternatively, imagine yourself as an extra in a Wes Anderson film.

Our rooftop suite is magnificent, with a large terrace o ering views of the lake as well as the hotel’s beautiful gardens and pool, all of it spectacular. Loungers on the terrace are well-positioned, as is the sunken hot tub. Our suite is stylishly decorated in a grandeur befitting the architecture, but with a contemporary feel. There are green walls and antique cabinets, a comfortable modern sofa and a large gilt-framed mirror on the wall that, we discover to our enormous surprise – and only when coming across an unidentified remote control – is in fact a TV. Bathroom products are all unique to the hotel, with its signature scent, and there’s even a bottle of perfume for you to use during your stay. We smell fantastic all weekend.

2023 is the Year of the Coast, and, with 26 miles of spectacular coastline found here in the North York Moors National Park – sandwiched between beautiful countryside and the North Sea – what better time to come and celebrate our surroundings? We also have plenty of space for a stay in 2024, for those who are looking to plan ahead.

Thirley Cotes Farm showcases a selection of Grade II self-catering holiday homes set between the seaside towns of Scarborough and Whitby and sleeping 2 - 42 across 8 traditional yet contemporary pet-friendly cottages, each with a private hot tub and bordered by 21 acres of wildlife and woodland.

Our country-coastal hideaways are available for parties large and small and we are proud to say that the Thirley Cotes Farm collection is not only owned by us, but also highly rated 4 or 5 stars.

If visiting to experience the natural wonder of the Yorkshire coast or seasonal splendour of the North York Moors, you will feel instantly away from the day to day. All you have to do, is decide where to discover first.

Set between Broxa and Harwood Dale Forest, there are plenty of tracks and trails to explore from the doorstep and we are just a short drive from Scarborough South Bay, Robin Hood’s Bay and Grosmont. York is also an hour away.

North Yorkshire lays claim to one of the most beautiful coastlines the country has to offer and is home to charming villages clinging to the cliffs, such as Staithes, Filey and Ravenscar. So it goes without saying that the surrounding scenery is a nature lovers paradise, including our secluded rural estate (listen out for our resident barn owls).

Whether searching for 2 or as part of a bigger group, Thirley Cotes Farm provides a chance to truly switch off in style, complete with romantic retreats, hikers havens and family boltholes.