Parco San Marco Hotels & Beach Resort

On the shore of Lake Lugano, 12 km from Lake Como, Parco San Marco holds a private beach measuring 3,000 square metres and backs onto a forest of 200,000 square metres. The grounds run almost a kilometre along the water. Rooms are arranged for comfort rather than spectacle, with lake views from the terraces of several suites. Dining spreads across six restaurants and three bars, from the seafood menu at La Joie de Vivre, plated tableside for whole fish of the day, to the rooftop terrace at La Musa and the all-day pours of the Dolce Vita Lounge. The wine cellar holds more than 3,000 bottles, drawn from Franciacorta's sparkling houses and the reds of Valtellina. Wellness runs on two tracks: SPA CEò, adults-only, built around a round pool roughly 10 m across, a Finnish sauna near 85°C, and a Brine Light room with a cascading saltwater wall; and the Family SPA San Marco, with its own children's pool. You can hear the terrace crowd at Dolce Vita long past dinner, since it stays open late. A fitness room with a wide window over the grounds runs daily. Just off the water, Lugano's LAC art museum and the town's shopping streets sit within reach, alongside Lake Como's villages of Menaggio, Varenna and Bellagio.