"This glam Art Nouveau retreat on Lake Como epitomizes Italian excess in all the right ways: exquisite parquet floors in the breezy open foyer, oil paintings of Botticelli-esque beauties in the intimate T Bar, and tufted, gem-colored sofas in the sitting room. The rooms are no less ornate—baroque buffs will appreciate the gilded bed frames and mirrors, along with the high ceilings, floor-sweeping curtains, and wall sconces. There’s a pool plunked directly in the lake, embedded neatly like a sapphire, that’s worth dipping into once you’ve had a treatment at the T Spa. At the main restaurant, La Terrazza Gualtiero Marchesi, the view is the biggest draw. The on-site trattoria, L’Escale, is another fine choice for dinner. During the day, take Ruy or Batt, the hotel’s slender mahogany water limousines, for a spin around Lake Como, or a jaunt up the coast to the historic, azalea-shrouded Villa Carlotta for a day of exploring. —Todd Plummer"
