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12 incredible waterside hotels around the world - stay by lakes, lagoons and fjords
- Lucy Roxburgh
Published: July 28, 2026 at 4:28 PM
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From the glittering mansions of Lake Como to remote Scottish lochs, discover the best waterside stays
An incredible hotel by the water doesn't have to mean it's beachside. We've rounded up 12 incredible hotels around the world that make the most of unique waterside locations ranging from expansive lakes to clear blue rivers. Stay at a grand villa on the edge of famous Lake Como, embrace Scottish traditions at a lochside castle, or retreat back to a spa after a day marvelling at Alpine rivers.
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For more hotel inspiration, check out our guide to the 10 best hotels for a Mediterranean sun-soaked getaway, or head north with our picks of the best Scandinavian hotels.
Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni, Lake Como, Italy
- Doubles start from €850, breakfast included, check availability at villaserbelloni.com
Standing proud on the headland of the iconic Lake Como, this grande dame has hosted statesmen and Hollywood celebs for over 150 years. It retains its lustre with chandeliers, marble, gilded columns and stunning frescos across high, vaulted ceilings, all lovingly maintained by generations of the Bucher family who remain in residence.
Direct access to the water sets this hotel apart and the more recent addition of the Bacci da Bellagio beach club (complete with imported sand) takes full advantage. It’s an idyllic spot to soak up the sun, just a stone’s throw – yet a world apart – from the hubbub on the cobbled streets of Bellagio. The outdoor pool is flanked by palm trees, leading to lush botanical gardens, and a small indoor pool forms part of a bijou spa.
Inside, rooms speak of old school glamour, extending to linen sheets and plush silk bedspreads. Tall Italianate windows beautifully frame panoramic views over the lake. The Suite Arte leans towards a quirkier sensibility with an Andy Warhol print above the bed and a Prada pooch stood sentry by the bathroom.
Watch the sun set on the hotel terrace with a smoky, citrussy Serbelloni spritz. For dinner, chef Ettore Bocchia delivers molecular gastronomy at Mistral using ingredients from around the world, including “ethical” foie gras courtesy of free-range Spanish geese. Nonetheless, it’s simple spaghetti with pomodorino that shines, finished tableside with theatrical flourish. The veal chop is standout at La Goletta (the more informal of two restaurants) and it also serves lake perch with risotto if you hanker for a taste of humbler traditions.
Doubles start from €850, breakfast included, check availability at villaserbelloni.com
Cameron House Resort, Loch Lomond
- Rooms from £350 in the hotel, from £229 per night at Cameron Lodges. Check rates and availability at cameronhouse.co.uk, booking.com or expedia.co.uk
This couldn’t-be-more-Scottish resort on a prized spot on the banks of Loch Lomond is a wild, romantic tangle of towers and turrets. Guests have included Winston Churchill and Barack Obama, but Cameron House is delightfully unpretentious, built for comfort and relaxation. Rooms feature high beds, velvet headboards, plump pillows embroidered with thistle motifs and tartan blankets.
There are plenty of pursuits to enjoy, many making the most of the loch itself, such as champagne cruises or fishing. Other activities on offer include falconry, golf, country walks or the relaxing allure of the spa, complete with rooftop infinity pool. Take afternoon tea in the gloriously golden lobby bar, or head to the Cameron Grill for locally sourced Scottish produce – West Coast lobster and Orkney scallops – with stunning views over the Loch. One to four-bed self-catering lodges accommodate celebrations big and small.
Rooms from £350 in the hotel, from £229 per night at Cameron Lodges. Check rates and availability at cameronhouse.co.uk, booking.com or expedia.co.uk
Boutique Hotel Milka, Slovenia
- Doubles from £481, check rates and availability at booking.com and expedia.co.uk
Perched on the edge of the pretty Lake Jasna in the heart of the Julian Alps, this elegantly restored restaurant with rooms was built in the 1960s as a trattoria for passersby. The dramatic landscape is reflected in the building’s Slovene limestone, burnt larch wood façade and even plates made from the lake’s stone.
Spacious rooms offer minimalist alpine furnishings, baths with views of the forest and clever window contraptions that turn into sun-filled balconies. Small details make your stay extra special – eco Kaaita slippers to take home, Julian Alps herbal tea to sip in specially designed cups, and toiletries made by Slovenian sisters from mint, tea tree and lemon balm.
Slovenian chef David Žefran is at the helm of the two-Michelin-starred restaurant, foraging forest ingredients to create a tasting menu featuring the likes of fermented potato dumplings filled with deer heart ragu and creamy spelt, Tolminc mountain cheese and unctuous snails glazed in fermented ramson gremolata. Nightcaps on the lakeside terrace are crafted from homemade liqueurs – blackberry, quince, spruce and even chanterelle – and local spirits including Karakter gin distilled with handpicked mountain botanicals.
Breakfast is an intricately presented selection of cold cuts (deer and bear salami, pork bresaola), seasonal fruit in Batak pepper and cherry blossom dressing, kohlrabi salad dressed with jalapeño, and ricotta cake with PX raisin compote. Slices of walnut-studded buckwheat bread are coated in mountain honey, apricot jam or zaseka pork spread to set you up for a day exploring the mountains.
Doubles from £481, check rates and availability at booking.com and expedia.co.uk
Credit: Claudio Parada Nunez
The Leela Palace Udaipur, India
- From £2,000. Check rates and availability at theleela.com, booking.com or expedia.co.uk
A ‘palace within a palace’, Arq at Pichola comprises three ultra-private, luxury villas in the gardens of The Leela Palace Udaipur on Lake Pichola. Arrive on a private electric boat with a detailed tour of the lake’s breathtaking surroundings courtesy of your own personal butler. After a soothing foot ritual, choose your activities, including floating breakfasts in your villa’s pool, high tea and yoga.
Each Arq villa has a dedicated chef to tailor menus to your exact liking and skilled mixologists are on hand to craft your favourite cocktails. The villas are lavishly decorated with brass inlaid wooden floors, traditional Thikri artwork and rare lapis stones, with private plunge pools offering lake views.
From £2,000. Check rates and availability at theleela.com, booking.com or expedia.co.uk
The Samling, Windermere
- Doubles from £290 per night, check availability at booking.com
The Samling is a luxurious country house hotel (think al fresco hot tubs, fine-dining and ornamental water gardens) set in nearly 70 acres of woodland, gardens and fields. It sits right on the banks of Lake Windermere for a perfect UK waterside escape.
Most of the rooms overlook a tree-lined Lake Windermere (only two have woodland and garden views instead), and all are decorated in plush neutrals, with sash windows, marble bathrooms and goose down pillows and duvets. For an extravagant stay, pick the Windermere Suite: it’s at the very top of the estate and benefits from its own private patio (with astonishing views) and a copper-clad freestanding bath.
The kitchen garden, surrounded by apple and nut orchards, is well worth exploring. Cucamelons and microgreens grow in the central greenhouse, and wildflower meadows buzz with bees (their honey is used to sweeten desserts and cocktails). At the restaurant, which is made entirely of glass to make the most of those unbeatable lake views, executive head chef Robby Jenks is in charge of a modern menu that includes the likes of shellfish raviolo with citrus bisque, turbot with mussels and samphire, and rhubarb with vanilla, ginger and lemon.
Breakfast has a short menu, but one which includes kedgeree, homemade granola with yogurt, and fresh fruit.
Doubles from £290 per night, check availability at booking.com
Le Barn, Bonnelles, France
- Doubles from £200 per night, check availability at lebarnhotel.com or booking.com
If you’re looking for a taste of waterside serenity without the burden of long travel, Le Barn, set in France’s Bonnelles countryside, should be high on your wishlist. Just 40 minutes from Paris Orly airport, the 500-acre estate offers an outdoors experience with comfort and luxury.
This hotel is all about switching off and enjoying nature, so you don't just have to admire the lake views from afar: leave your phone behind and head for a swim. Digital detoxing is easy when there are warm Nordic baths, a steam room, sauna, electric bikes, forest walks and weekly activities all included in the price. Wind down for the evening with a drink by the fire in the colder months, or under a canopy of wisteria in the garden in summer. The grounds are shared with Haras de la Cense, a prestigious horse riding training centre, and there are horses dotted around the vast space, as well as the option to go riding or try the Whisperer’s Experience.
Food is seasonally led, using as much as possible from the kitchen garden and locally sourced produce. The menu changes daily, according to what’s available, but dishes can include stuffed rotisserie chicken or roasted leg of lamb, with sides of roasted carrots, leeks and potatoes. Desserts are a treat not to be missed, including the likes of tarte aux figues and iles flottantes. Breakfast is a satisfyingly French affair: crusty bread, salty butter and homemade jams alongside eggs, bacon and pancakes. Fruit from the grounds is piled high in bowls, including huge grapes and Mirabelle plums on our visit.
The 73 rooms are separate from the main farmhouse building, mostly spread across two converted barns, and provide a cosy home for your stay, with balconies that look over the horses grazing in the fields or the lake.
Doubles from £200 per night, check availability at lebarnhotel.com or booking.com
San Luis, Avelengo, Italy
- Check rates and availability at sanluis-hotel.com
San Luis is where to go to get away from it all, breathe deeply and just immerse yourself in the tranquility, interrupted only by birdsong and cow bells chiming out through the surrounding valleys.
Bedrooms are spread across a scattering of chalets and treehouses around a small, glacier mint-clear lake. Many of the rooms have their own hot tubs and saunas and all of them have small kitchens and dining areas. The showstopper is the double-height spa area in the main clubhouse with its blazing fires, black linen loungers to sink into, huge windows gazing out over the treetops and an inside/outside swimming pool – swim out, race down the pontoon and jump into the hot tub (or, in summer, plunge into the chilly waters of the lake).
For foodies, the buzzy, ground floor dining room looks out over the lake and purrs with efficiency. The menu comes in two guises; a traditional one, which draws on the region’s Austro/Italian gastro-heritage, and a more modern, Mediterranean-inspired alternative dreamt up by executive chef, Arturo Spicocchi (five courses, but you can pick and choose how much you want to eat and half portions are available). Lunchtime means soup, salad and cheese, and teatime heralds cakes as well as home-made ice cream.
Check rates and availability at sanluis-hotel.com
Schloss Elmau, Bavarian Alps, Germany
- Rooms from £580 per night based on two people sharing; check availability at booking.com or Schloss Elmau
Set against the backdrop of the Wetterstein mountains and framed by an abundant pine forest and the icy blue Ferchenbach river, it’s hard not to lose yourself in the scenery and facilities at Schloss Elmau. While staying here, guests can enjoy access to six spas, eight restaurants, a concert hall and two hotels (The Retreat and The Hideaway).
The lofty presidential suites at The Retreat are softened with plush furnishings, with an Indian elephant motif woven into the textiles, and are designed to show off panoramic mountain views – take your pick between a luxurious free-standing bath or regal chaise longue to soak up the snowscapes. Restaurant Tutto Mondo offers twists on comforting Alpine cuisine, including homemade tagliolini blanketed in Piedmont truffles. At the neighbouring pan-Asian restaurant Fidelio, expect succulent meats grilled over binchōtan charcoal and paired with foamed nori butter. For those wanting a touch more luxury, opt for the two Michelin starred Ikigai.
Breakfast is equally bountiful, with a selection of smoothies and health shots, creamy bircher muesli and homemade breads – including the well-loved German pumpernickel that’s ready to be topped with honey from Schloss Elmau’s bees. Start the day with a soothing golden milk – a silky, fragrant hot drink infused with turmeric, cinnamon and maple syrup. As well as its next-level food and drink options, Schloss Elmau boasts a programme of activities for guests, including yoga, qigong, curling, concerts and cross-country skiing. Ideal for switching off and hunkering down.
Rooms from £580 per night based on two people sharing; check availability at booking.com or Schloss Elmau
Valsana Hotel, Grisons, Switzerland
- Doubles from £369, check availability at booking.com or mrandmrssmith.com
With a favourable altitude of 1,800m, there’s no shortage of crisp, refreshing Alpine air in Switzerland’s resort of Arosa. The picturesque destination, centred around a lake and surrounded by snow-capped woodland, offers the classics of skiing and snowboarding in winter, but goes beyond these with an impressive network of panoramic hiking trails for all abilities, soundtracked by charming horse-drawn sleighs.
A short stroll from Arosa train station, four-star Valsana Hotel was rebuilt in 2016 to incorporate a state-of-the-art ‘ice battery’ to recycle energy back into the hotel and make it entirely carbon neutral. Sustainability is at the core of Valsana’s Moving Mountains philosophy, inviting guests to reconnect with nature through curated adventures, including snowshoeing through the mountains as well as a daily schedule of yoga and meditation to help guests truly switch off from the stresses of daily life.
In the restaurant, thoughtfully selected dishes celebrate local Swiss ingredients with a twist. Plant-based, whole food is standard, including beetroot carpaccio and a caramelised pumpkin salad bowl. However, guests have the option to incorporate meat, fish and cheese as they wish. After a busy day of rejuvenating activities (the hotel conveniently houses its own ski rental shop), guests can kick back in one of the three saunas, spa and swimming pool or get cosy by the roaring log fire. tschuggencollection.ch
Doubles from £369, check availability at booking.com or mrandmrssmith.com
De Durgerdam, Netherlands
- Doubles from £312, check availability at booking.com or mrandmrssmith.com
A 15-minute drive or boat ride from Amsterdam city centre, De Durgerdam is a collection of colourful clapboard houses strung along a dike in the rural wildlife-rich wetlands. At its centre a 17th-century inn has been meticulously restored into a stylish restaurant with rooms. Perch on a parasol-shaded bench out front for coffee and madeleines, while folk cycle past on a country escape, before sauntering down the jetty to swim off the pontoon.
The destination restaurant, De Mark, is a collaboration between some of Amsterdam’s most applauded chefs. Dine waterside among the reeds or head inside for cosy, candlelit dinners with nods to the sea at every turn. The cocktail list twists classics with the likes of spiced honey sours while the nautical take on a caesar salad tosses North Sea crab with sea herbs and shavings of Dutch parmesan. A hot skillet of grilled tarragonbrined chicken is best paired with skin-on crispy chips to mop up the salted lemon jus, before a coupe of strawberries macerated in Dutch herbal liquor.
Post-meal, retire to the reading room – a terracotta cocoon complete with antique honesty bar, alluring window seat and wood stove to keep things cosy in the colder months. The 14 rooms are sumptuously decorated in warm, earthy tones with velvet throws, frilly wall lamps and armchairs. There’s a commitment to sourcing everything from the Netherlands, from Zenology products to use in the walk-in showers to Dutch herbal teas, stroopwafels and fisherman’s jenever for sipping in the garden while watching the sun set over the wetlands. The three suites, built into the main building’s characterful eaves, even come with blue Kassl raincoats for walks to the neighbouring farm’s milk tap.
Doubles from £312, check availability at booking.com or mrandmrssmith.com
Elmley Nature Reserve, Isle of Sheppey
- Check rates and availability at mrandmrssmith.com or elmleynaturereserve.co.uk
Waking up in a hut in Elmley Nature Reserve on the remote Isle of Sheppey is magical. Without getting out of bed you can watch magnificent birds glide past the window and hares hop around the fields, all while sipping your coffee. It's a sprawling, unspoilt patchwork of meadows and waterways. As such, it’s abundant with wildlife – spot birds of prey, hares, butterflies and dragonflies. You might even catch sight of water voles hiding out near the ponds. Preserving nature is at the heart of Elmley, while catering to little luxuries.
Accommodation ranges from plushly furnished rooms in the 17th-century farmhouse (available for private hire) to remote vintage-styled huts with wood burners and custom built cabins with fully glazed front walls so you can drool over sunsets while snuggled under Romney Marsh wool throws. Some have separate kitchenettes and lounge areas, and boast outdoor tubs for soaking in while listening to the wildlife. Come evening, toast complimentary marshmallows over your own firepit.
Breakfast and dinner, both delivered to your room in a hamper, are hearty and filling – think chicken curry with baked potatoes created with Wasted Kitchen using surplus ingredients, and thick-cut bacon sarnies – perfect fuel for long walks to spot owls. Pass the time with books and board games, or pop to the honesty bar for a quick tipple by the fire. In the summer, pizzas and picnics are available to enjoy around the reserve.
Check rates and availability at mrandmrssmith.com or elmleynaturereserve.co.uk
Boca de Agua, Mexico
- Suites from £281, check rates and availability at mrandmrssmith.com and booking.com
Boca de Agua is a luxury jungle retreat set back from the Yucatán Peninsula’s Lagoon of Seven Colours, close to Mexico’s Belize border. Pad down the walkway through the mangroves to the uniquely turquoise waters of Bacalar Lagoon. Take a dip, hop on a kayak to spot the stromatolite fossils and relax on the deck with a mezcal margarita, guacamole and toasted tortilla chips.
Twenty-two treehouse suites, each with private plunge pools and hammocks strung across shaded decks, are nestled within the forest of mango, banana and kapok trees (believed to be sacred in Mayan culture), from which toucans, woodpeckers and spider monkeys provide a tropical soundtrack. Five-star luxuries are catered to – natural Laguna Cyprien toiletries to use in turquoise tiled outdoor rain showers, king-size beds and dark tropical wood cabinets made from recycled materials.
Chef Sergio cooks local specialities over fire in the open kitchen. Lunch options include flame-grilled steak tacos, plump prawn aguachile and black fish, mango and achiote ceviche – best paired with refreshing Mexican lagers, Cayaco, Victoria and Modelo. Come evening try charcoaled empanadas with chimichurri, a selection of steak cuts with tomato and fresh berry salad, and crisp seabass on a bed of sautéed Yucatan squash, garden herbs and red salsa. Mexican wines include floral orange from Valle de Parras, or drinks specialist Leandro can guide you through a mezcal tasting.
The breakfast menu is split into Mexican and Yucatán specialities. In the latter, you can find huevos rancheros alongside cochinita pibil and lechón tacos, both made with smoky suckling pig cooked underground for 24 hours.
Suites from £281, check rates and availability at mrandmrssmith.com and booking.com
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Authors
Lucy RoxburghContent Editor
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