STEP INSIDE LAKE COMO’S MOST EXCLUSIVE NEW RESORT

Why Go: You can usually spot a Patricia Urquiola–designed room by its chairs. They come in all shapes and sizes with signature rounded lines, appearing soft and sculptural all at once. Find the Milan-based designer’s touch throughout the 30-suite Il Sereno, which opened in August. The owners of Le Sereno, the stylish modern beach hotel in St. Barts, gave Studio Urquiola the reigns of their second project—from the architecture of its new construction to its interior design to the materials in one of its three custom boats commissioned from the great Cantiere Ernesto Riva.

What to Expect: Lake Como grande dames will always hold a special seat at the lake, but the addition of Il Sereno brings a welcome update to the gilded headboards and heavy drapes of the other luxury hotels. Urquiola’s vision sits on 450 feet of eastern lakefront swathed in vertical gardens and contemporary landscaping. Wood, copper, and stone ground the design, which incorporates fabrics in the colors of the lake. A 60-foot, infinity-edge pool sits lakefront in the central garden, and spa treatments can be organized in-room. Ristorante Berton Al Lago is helmed by a Milanese chef who’s earned four Michelin stars among three restaurants.

Large parties can book Sereno Hotels’ neighboring Villa Pliniana for up to 39 people. The 16th-century residence opened to guests earlier this summer.

How to Get There: The drive from Milan’s Malpensa International Airport is about an hour. Rooms start at about $850. (ilsereno.com)