Fodor's Expert Review Villa d'Este

Europe's rich and famous have long favored this hotel, one of Italy's grandest, where rooms are done in Empire style; a broad veranda sweeps out to the lakefront; a swimming pool extends above the water; a restaurant offers top-notch views and cuisine; there are four private villas; and pavilions, miniature forts, and other follies ensure whimsical garden walks. Built on the site of a former nunnery as Cardinal Tolomeo Gallio's summer residence, this lakeside retreat has had a checkered history since its completion in 1568, swinging between extremes of grandeur and dereliction. Its life as a private summer residence ended in 1873, when it was turned into a fashionable luxury hotel.