Review: Grand Hotel Victoria Concept and Spa, Italy

The Grand Hotel Victoria Concept and Spa (Small Luxury Hotel) is in Menaggio, Italy with breathtaking views of Lake Como. The hotel is less than a 2-hour drive from Milan International Airport (MXP), which makes it easy to fly Emirate’s fifth freedom flight from JFK to Milan. I visited in the last week of March 2022 and booked the entire trip (flights and hotels) with points. The weather in late March was perfect with clear views of Lake Como (after a brief morning fog) and the mountains were still snowcapped.

How I Booked the Flight to Milan

I was lucky to find 2 return trip Emirates first-class flights from JFK to Milan and I booked them in the middle of 2021 when international travel was down. First-class flights on Emirates can be very overpriced and I posted a booking example for next March. Saver-level first-class seats at Emirates can be booked with 85K points each way and I used 340K total points for a 2-passenger return trip. Emirates was charging fewer taxes during that period as well between the US and Europe.

Some pictures of the first-class Emirates Cabin

I won’t post too many pictures of the A 380 Emirates first-class cabin since this post is more about the hotel. We flew Emirates first class from Athens to New Jersey, but the larger bathroom with showers and the circular open bar experience on the A380 is more memorable.

How I Booked the Hotel Room

I used Hyatt points to book a deluxe courtyard room (~25K points per night) for a 3-night stay. The typical cost of the hotel room fluctuates between $450-1000 USD based on the tourism season.

https://www.hyatt.com/en-US/hotel/italy/slh-grand-hotel-victoria-concept-and-spa/mxpyh

Grand Hotel Victoria Location

The main hotel is separated from the lake by a small street, which is not very busy and it is a great location to walk around and rent boats and other water activities. There are several restaurants and boutiques within a walkable distance from the hotel.

Grand Hotel Victoria Check-in

This hotel has world-class customer service which you will notice soon after you drive your rental car into the hotel. You will be greeted by at least 3 people and they will take your luggage, valet park for free, and get you a welcome drink while you are checking in. The front desk agents are extremely friendly, and they upgraded us to a Prestige Park View Balcony room. The hotel has a large outdoor swimming pool (not heated) along with a 2nd large heated indoor swimming pool (with swim jet systems in a few places) in the basement spa area.

Prestige Park View Balcony Room

The room is slightly smaller than we expected without any seating area. The temperature controls are ultra-modern with easy remote operation for window curtains. The bathroom is very well decorated with all the expected amenities. The room cleaning service was very good but they never refilled any water as part of the daily service. There were plenty of small water bottles in the gym and spa areas. Internet speeds were inadequate for a 5-star hotel.

Grand Hotel Victoria Spa & Gym

The spa area (designed by Starpools, Italy) has a heated, 30-feet long swimming pool with sections for power jets, 3-saunas (one with Himalayan salt) with different temperature settings, a whirlpool, ice body wash, alternating hot/cold showers and pool side cabanas which are all free to use for the hotel guests. See the pictures below but they do not do justice to this spa, which you must experience in person. The hotel also has a large gym section next to an outdoor pool fully equipped with Technogym and Life Fitness equipment. We had a lot of fun coming back to the spa section after our long hikes to enjoy the sauna and the heated swimming pool.

Breakfast

The included breakfast is simply wonderful with every possible option you can imagine. Once you are seated you will be presented with a choice of eggs and there is also a large buffet area with other items like bread, cookies, cakes, oatmeal, etc., On our day of departure, the car valet service surprised us by leaving a small thank-you bag of snacks/water bottles in the back seat, which was very thoughtful.

Nearby Hikes

We drove on the winding uphill roads of lake Como and parked the car to do some spectacular hikes. I highly recommend getting a car with an automatic transmission if you want to do the same. Some of the hikes we picked from alltrails.com include Ravenna – Santee di Sort, Sasso San Martino from Croce, and Monte Grona.

Summary

Late March and April are the best months to visit Lake Como, and you can easily find return trip business class flights for 90K Emirates points during the same period. The Grand Hotel Victoria Concept and Spa is an expensive hotel (easy to book with Hyatt points) but offers every possible luxury for guests starting with free valet parking, free breakfast, a 24-hour gym, an outdoor swimming pool, heated indoor swimming pool, and one of the biggest spas in Europe. I have never experienced such customer service anywhere else in the last 30 years of my travels around the world. I have not been paid or compensated by the hotel in any way and am simply posting my honest opinion.