Mandarin Oriental announced yesterday the opening of its first resort in Western Europe on the shores of Lake Como – click here to read the press release on www.mandarinoriental.com
This further reinforces Lake Como’s appeal and reputation as a prime luxury destination.
Mandarin Oriental has taken over the management of Casta Diva Resort, a collection of historic villas within beautiful grounds on the eastern shore just a few kilometres north of Como. An interesting location as this sits directly opposite its arch-rival, the world-renowned Villa d’Este in Cernobbio on the western shore! Mandarin Oriental will have the resort fully branded and operational in their distinctive format from Spring 2019.
Lake Como has been a location of choice for the famous, the wealthy and the discerning for centuries. The significant investment by top hotel groups into new or upgraded hotels on the lake confirms that Como remains on the front foot in attracting wealthy international clientele.
Five years ago we had the trio of top international hotels: Villa d’Este in Cernobbio, Grand Hotel Tremezzo in the town of the same name and Villa Serbelloni in Bellagio. Casta Diva Resort was also up there, with changes of ownership and management as it tried to position its brand. Over the past 12 months a newly constructed Hilton Hotel has arrived on the edge of the city of Como and Il Sereno, a top-end boutique hotel with interiors by Patricia Urquiola, opened to considerable acclaim.
This significant investment into premium hotels (and there will surely be more to come – we have hotel groups looking at high end opportunities) reinforces the status of Lake Como as a top international destination.
The property market is stronger than at any time in the past decade with buyers from around the world seeking a primary home or another villa to add to their international collection. This feeds down through the price bands, all the way to 2-bedroom apartments where a mix of own use and rentals into a buoyant market stimulate further new global investment into Lake Como. Clients ask us constantly about the outlook for property prices on Lake Como; the enthusiasm of the top international hotel groups for investment into Lake Como supports our view that property prices are set to rise.
