Cobbled lanes tumbling towards the lake, Bellagio is an iconic instagramable luxury shopping hub that you must visit on Lake Como. And as the only five star hotel in the town, the Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni is the place for tranquillity. Past the murmurs of guests at lunch at La Goletta, behind the sun-drenched terraces, the lake-overlooking open-air pool and tennis courts, Spa Luce del Lago is the height of luxurious wellness.
There are no crowds here, no splash of families diving into the lake – Spa Luce del Lago is a sanctuary of quiet corners and fluid design. The warmth isn’t just in the water or the air, but in the thoughtful hush that cushions every corridor. The quiet rumble from the hydro pool’s water jets. Steam drifting gently from Finnish saunas and steam rooms. Everything feels measured, deliberate – designed to slow you down before you even realise you’ve stopped rushing. Along with a private massage suite, and a relaxation room, the wellness facility’s newest addition is a complete Hammam, unlike anything else on Lake Como.
Whilst maintaining all elements of a traditional Roman steam room, tiled in cool mosaic blues that mirror the lake outside. The benches are heated. The air is warm, still expectant. And the rituals are delivered with such professionalism and skill – that this treatment feels essential.
A therapist applies the gommage in the central Tepidarium – grainy, aromatic, and warm to the touch. The room is dim, the tiles cool underfoot, and the only sound is water running nearby. The scrub clings for a moment before being washed away in long, steady pours. You’re guided to the Caldarium next. Steam thickens the air, clinging to your skin and softening every breath. The heat presses in close, settles on your skin, and fills the space between each breath.
The savonage room comes next. You recline on a warmed chaise, face to the ceiling, while skilled hands wash and scrub, not with haste but intention. Every movement deliberate. By the time you are led to the central plinth – broad, low, and slightly surreal with its sculptural presence – you’ve abandoned all sense of time. Soap foam arrives in clouds, forced through cloth bags with a wave in the air, delicately balanced on your skin, and the slow burst of bubbles creates a light tickle. From a tradition that once flowed through Roman thermae and Ottoman bathhouses, now distilled into movement, steam, and silence.
This Hammam suite, part of the largest wellness centre on Lake Como, isn’t the only thing on offer. Outside, you’ll find temperature-controlled pools (one for adults, one for children, one just to float and forget), underwater jets, submerged jacuzzis, and a Finnish sauna for those who like their silence hot.
There’s a meditation tub, a state-of-the-art gym for the penitent, and quartz-sand beds in the private suite that hums quietly as you lie on it, half-aware. The hair and nail parlour is discreet but meticulous. The Relaxation Room is the sort of plush that invites naps between treatments. And the Hammam’s three signature journeys – “Morning Mists”, “Silk of the Lake”, “Night on the Lake” – are poetic not just in name, but in how they move through you.
By the time you leave, it’s hard to say what changed – only that something did. The steam lingers, the silence follows, and your pace, for once, doesn’t rush to fill the space. Paired with a stay upstairs, where antique-filled rooms overlook the lake and the quiet formality of Mistral dinner service waits at dusk, the wellness treatments are the ultimate upgrade to your stay. Part of your trip that stays with you, long after the lake slips from view.
