Villa Bianca - Grande, Menaggio, Italy

Thank you for allowing us to stay in your home during our stay in beautiful Lake Como. Unfortunately, while the view was amazing, the experience with the rental left much to be desired. When we arrived, we had difficulty accessing the home via the garage as directed due to the instructions being out of date; the remote controls for the gate and garage is NOT black, but is green and grey. Once we finally entered the home, there was no power. Secondly, there were no instructions left in the home with instructions regarding how to work the window blinds, the lights, the ac, WiFi etc; this would have been helpful as it took us the first hour to figure out how to work the window blinds, the lights etc. The AC was not in working order in all rooms but one, which was extremely disappointing as Europe was going through a heat wave as we were visiting and it made our stay much less comfortable than we would have hoped. We contacted the property management company as well as the owner, George to explain our troubles, no one came to fix. No water pressure, dryer did not work, pool deck dangerous and falling apart, no lighter or matches in home for gas stove and no amenities for families staying such as salt, pepper, or other basics. The cost advertised was lower than what was actually charged by management company. View was the only positive.

I read all of the reviews before booking this property and reached out to the host, letting them know that I was going to give them a chance and that I truly hope that they had addressed all the issues so that I can give them a better rating. They basically ignored me.It is really unfortunate because the house and location is actually quite lovely. But it was still dirty upon arrival, stains all over the couch and mattresses, broken lawn furniture, barely enough towels for our family of nine and using any kind of appliance was either broken or poorly functioned. They give you zero supplies like toilet paper or paper towels or any cleaning supplies so we had to go out and buy our own and clean the house ourselves. The showers either didn’t work at all or when they did, it would only be cold water. Power went out several times which disrupted sleep when it was so hot while we were there definitely needed the fans to sleep and the AC unit didn’t work in one of the rooms. Bathroom fixtures, shelves, shower doors, sinks were either poorly installed, broken or not there. It needs to be said that you absolutely have to have a car to get around at this property because there’s no way you can walk the narrow winding road down. We had to take several taxis (expensive). I think the only positive is the view and the pool. Although there was a creepy guy living upstairs, that would watch us. This will be their first and last time I ever give a property the benefit of the doubt.

The property is very very tired, we had lots of problems including a smashed glass door, broken blinds preventing the use of the balcony, broken pool lights, all very dangerous for children. A chair was broken but left round the table so when i sat on it, i fell through and cut my leg. It is seriously lacking outdoor furniture which is nothing like the photos. It was very dirty with the previous guest drinks glasses and cigarette stubs and vapes left by the pool. The hob won't light so we couldn't use this. The shower is filthy and the bedroom furniture is so old and cracking that they had to drape a sheet to stop the bits all falling into the bed. We contacted the agents who said they would come and fix things then didn't turn up, despite us contacting again. You are not able to walk into the town as there is no path and the roads are very dangerous. It is a very very overpriced villa in bed of serious need of update. We will be applying for some money back from this awful stay.

I was pretty worried about staying here after reading reviews on here and elsewhere. If you want a villa with a lovely pool and an amazing view, then you’ve got one. There is quite a bit wrong with it though: wifi was dodgy, aircon didn’t work in several rooms, doors are hard to open and glass door was smashed, pool lights didn’t work, one shower drain was blocked, another shower didn’t work properly. We had a post cut but the company that owns it were really helpful. It’s far from perfect but we still had a great stay.

The house was very dirty, spider webs everywhere. The furniture was dirty, outdated and cracked. Nothing looked like the pictures. The power went off a couple of times. Hosts were hard to get ahold of and didnt help with transportation. The wifi was not working at first. None of the A/Cs were working. Dirty sheets, claimed house was close to the port but it is not walkable, specially with bags. Overall bad experience. Do not recommend.

The view was amazing. We enjoyed our stay a lot. The only issue was ants in the kitchen, but we enjoyed the view and pool so much it didn't deter us from having a good time.

The neighbourhood and surrounding area is amazing. The communication with the agency was first class. The communal areas, kitchen, lounge and garden and terrace is lovely but unfortunately some bedrooms need upgrading. One of the bedrooms has no door also in another bedroom the leather headboard is flaking, and a leak from the air conditioning unit. The swimming pool is freezing and could do with being heated. There is a lovely fireplace in the lounge but we couldn't figure out how to switch it on! Still we had a great holiday, this is our second time returning to Lake Como!

August 2016 Villa very big and pleasant with superb view on the lake. Service and impeccable advice during our stay. Lotta, France

This was a clean, spacious and comfortable rental. The view from the balcony was amazing. The flat (apartment) was in great shape, with a welcome package when we arrived. Overall, a really great rental. We would definitely go back.

Firstly the most important thing to say is we had a great holiday. The starter pack was much appreciated but the info left in the villa was misleading; it would have been helpful to know we could have done a full supermarket shop down the road toward Porlezza on Sunday rather than just saying that shops were shut on Sundays. Best Wishes,