In June, I spent a week in a luxury villa in Lake Maggiore, Northern Italy, with my family in a Bookings For You villa. We had an amazing time exploring the region and spending time together, and Villa Sereni was a fantastic place to stay.
| AD – press trip |
Accommodation at Villa Sereni
Villa Sereni sleeps up to six people in three bedrooms. There are two double bedrooms, a twin bedroom, and two bathrooms.
If you have a larger family or are travelling as more than one family together, you can also rent Villa Caruso, which is right next door.
Villa Sereni is spacious with an open plan living, dining area, and kitchen. This is the perfect hub for the family where you can spend time relaxing after a busy day of adventures and cooking together.
The decor is modern and neutral with a stylish finish.
There is a stunning master suite on the top floor which I quickly claimed as my bedroom for the week! It’s a massive room with a large en-suite bedroom with his and hers sinks, a bath and a shower.
My favourite part of the villa was the amazing view over Lake Maggiore. You can enjoy this from the main terrace, which the open-plan living space opens onto.
There is also a balcony from each of the double bedrooms, which face the same way but have a slightly different view due to their height. Waking up to that view is incredible.
The main terrace has a table and chairs and a couple of sun beds. We loved eating out here as a family at breakfast time and in the evenings, and we had the daily family playing card tournament here too.
I enjoyed my morning coffee on the balcony of the master suite and watching the sunset from here in the evenings. As well as this balcony, there are two Juliet balconies in the master suite, each with different views over the surrounding mountains.
Kitchen facilities
One of my favourite things about staying in a self-catering villa is that you can make your own meals. This means you don’t have to find somewhere for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
It can save you some pennies too.
Also, when you’ve been out exploring all day, you sometimes can’t be bothered to go out in the evening, so it’s easier to rustle something up in your kitchen.
The kitchen at Villa Sereni was well-equipped with everything we needed for cooking. We ended up eating in quite a bit, making breakfast here every day, and cooking pasta in the evenings.
There’s also a BBQ outside on the main terrace, which we made good use of. There is a Lidl in the nearby town of Luino, around a 10-minute drive away.
The supermarket has everything you need and is very reasonably priced. There are also other supermarkets and local shops.
The kitchen has a dishwasher, fridge, freezer, washing machine, and coffee machine.
Entertainment
There was plenty to do in the villa. It has a Smart TV in the living room with English TV and Netflix, and a DVD player and a selection of DVDs too.
There are also board games, books, and even an Xbox provided, which is an excellent idea in case you get a rainy day during your holiday.
The location
Villa Sereni is a fantastic villa in Lake Maggiore. It is located just outside the village of Dumenza on the eastern side of the lake.
The nearest large town to the villa is Luino, where you’ll find a train station and passenger boats to the other side of the lake. Luino is also a pretty town to walk around with cobbled streets and plenty of cafes and restaurants to try.
The villa is a fantastic base for exploring everything that Lake Maggiore has to offer, and we did so much during our stay including visiting the nearby beaches and taking boat trips.
The location is tranquil, and feels like you are surrounded by nature. Lizards and beautiful butterflies often joined us while we were relaxing on the terrace, and the neighbours included wild boars, a horse, a couple of donkeys, and a stunning peacock.
There is a babbling stream next to the villa, which you can hear too.
You need a car if you stay here as it is pretty isolated. It’s located up a very steep hill with a narrow road and lots of hairpin bends, and the driveway down to the villa is very steep, so if you’re not confident about driving in Italy, this probably isn’t the villa for you.
However, if you want those beautiful views, you have to head up high. The view of Lake Maggiore from the villa makes up for the drive.
We had a fantastic week in this Lake Maggiore villa, and I can highly recommend a stay here. I can’t wait to go back!
Find out more about Villa Sereni here.
