We enjoyed our first trip to Lake Como, and the reasonable pricing of Hotel Centrale was welcome among the fairly high prices of everything else. We booked in advance via e-mail and got a double room for 110E per night. The hotel was not very hard to find from the ferry dock, but it is up a flight of steps, so if you are travelling with a lot of luggage, beware. My husband and I each had one carry-on rollerboard bag, and I huffed and puffed all the way up the steps.

The hotel has a very charming courtyard area, and is comfortable. Staff is very welcoming and helpful. The bedroom was quite spacious, as was the bathroom. The walls, however, were very thin so you can hear voices of other guests in the hallway or in adjacent rooms. Breakfast was adequate, with option of coffee, tea or cappuccino, juice, ham, cheese and rolls. There was also milk and cereal.

Overall, we found this to be a good place to stay. it was wonderful to stay in Bellagio!

We stayed for two nights in the Hotel Centrale which is just 60 steps up from the ferry's landing. It is a lovely boutique hotel, family owned and operated, complete with grape arbor and outdoor garden. Our room had a small balcony.

It is a perfect location, situated in the midst of shopping areas and nice restaurants (try Fontana Restaurant for pasta specials just a few steps away or Giacomo's for excellent fish). Easy to take the ferry to Varenna for a few hours.

Hotel had an adequate breakfast with fairly standard fare. My only concern with the hotel was that the vacationers left their room keys on top of the front desk as came and went. Security seemed fairly lax. There were some times that there was no one at the desk, though he/she could have been nearby.

Bellagio was the first stop for us on a self guided tour of Italy. We booked all our hotel stays in Italy with the help of TripAdvisor ratings and with only one exception, they were spot on. We went through the booking craziness that is the voucher system, this isn't the hotel's fault, just very common in Europe. Once I received my voucher confirmation, I printed it and added it to my travel docs. About 1 week before my arrival, I called the hotel to confirm the booking. I did this for all my hotels in Italy as it gives you peace of mind (specially during the busy summer/vacation month). Now to the hotel:

Hotel Centrale is exactly that, it is centrally located in the town of Bellagio. We were within walking distance to everything. Within the first 2 hours we knew the town like the back of our hand. The hotel is a family run affair. Most of the staff speaks moderate English, a plus if your Italian is as bad as mine. Our room was on the 3rd floor, overlooking the entrance to the hotel courtyard. The room was a good size, the air conditioning worked well and it was clean throughout. The bed was a touch hard, but it was comfortable; they even had extra pillows and blankets in the wardrobe, nice! The bathroom was decent size too, again, by European standards with a large sink, toilette, bidet and a small shower. Forget bathtubs in Italy unless you are staying at a 4 or 5 star resort, even then it's hit or miss. The maid service was flexible to our sleep schedule, jut put the sign on the door and they come back after you leave your room. Also, the hotel does provide free internet, but our room was at the edge of their router's range so i would go to the balcony on the second floor with my laptop (the router is behind the plant on the second floor hallway, by the stairs).

I can see why this was voted traveler's choice for a "budget" hotel in Bellagio. We were there to explore Bellagio and the towns across the lake, swimming in Lake Como and enjoying good wine and food at night. This hotel is perfect for that, it gave us a comfortable, inviting place to crash for an afternoon nap and to recharge for the next day. Could you get resort accomodations in Bellagio? Sure, at a significant cost premium and maybe only worth it if you are going to lounge in your room most of the day. I recommend Hotel Centrale without hesitation.

Having stayed in the Centrale in June, my first reaction was that I was not all misguided by the various people who awarded it the highest accolades. I have recommended it to many people where they will sample the wonderful personal service provided by Giacomo and his family. It was so nice to have someone run the hotel who had a long family connection with both the hotel and the town. His stories of the places and people around the area were both interesting and amusing.

I read 'Warsaw's' comments and it is sad that he didn't see the experience quite as we, and the vast majority of other travellers to the hotel, did. It is odd for him to recommend other hotels when he hasn't stayed there, or complain about not being registered, even when the hotel did apparently find him a room. I guess the real test of a hotel is how they deal with a situation, when something doesn't exactly work out. It was a bit rude, however, to suggest that they needed to be taken over by a bigger hotel group. For me this misses the whole point about the Centrale - its personal touch!

I guess the World is a big place and everyone can never be pleased, but we had a wonderful time and will return again sometime.

I would have no hesitation in recommending the hotel. It is a true personal, family experience on Lake Como.