Vista d'Oro Ulivo Apt. 7

The space wasn’t very clean, so many bugs everywhere, cobwebs in the corner and stained sofa/seat. The view was nice but not worth the hike all the way up and down each day. There was no bus and it was very hard to get a taxi. I would recommend staying closer to the town if you’re taking the ferries.

The view was unbeatable and the communication was thorough. The property itself though left much to be desired - tiles coming up on the floor, hot water turned off (with no forewarning of this from owners), unclean floors and dishes, no dishwashing liquid (and only two dishwasher tablets for three days), heating not working properly, and a damaged frypan.

Overall, the apartment was clean and spacious. The panoramic view of Lake Como from the balcony was amazing. However, I unfortunately experienced some issues. 1. On Monday evening when I arrived, I had a cold shower because there was no hot water. Tuesday morning I messaged the property asking for the water to be sorted. They responded saying they’d check it out. On Tuesday & Wednesday I still had no hot water. On Thursday morning I messaged again and they responded saying they’d check it out. On Friday morning, a lady came in and said she couldn’t fix the water so a technician was coming on the Saturday, the day I was leaving. So despite contacting them twice, I had cold showers for the entirety of my stay. I contacted Expedia requesting a small partial refund since hot water is a necessity, however the owners at the apartment declined the request. 2. The apartment is located very high up. I was okay walking down but I struggled walking back up each evening. It was very steep and you have to walk up multiple uneven stairs. I called a taxi one evening and they said it was impossible for them to make the trip, which it definitely isn’t because multiple cars go up there easily. I messaged another taxi service and they ignored me. I called a 3rd taxi service and they hung up. So in the end, I walked back up each evening. If you don’t mind a steep uphill walk, then it may not bother you.

Beautiful spot, but difficult to access without a rental car. We were travelling on foot/train/bus and we had to rely solely on the 2 or 3 taxis in the township. The walk was ok downhill, but very arduous going back (We're in our 70's). We chose Varenna as it much more affordable than Ballagio, and the views are simply breathtaking. With a car, this would have been perfect, but we also found that the locals were very accommodating and actually took us home in their own vehicles a few times...that's why we love Italy! The room itself was adequate, but the hosts were very skimpy with allocating one dishwasher pellet, one washing machine tablet and 2 small rolls of toilet paper for a couple staying 4 nights. When we requested more, they begrudgingly dropped off one more of each at the door. The instructions to the apartment were clear up to the point of reaching the carpark, but then even with a local resident's help it took us 30 minutes to locate the key box. All-in-all, a nice stay but the view and clean night air, and the lovely locals in Perledo made it memorable.