"Well... let's start off with the good. The staff was kind. They did help with luggage and answer our questions. The breakfast was better than most hotels, and the terrace was quite a lovely environment for having our morning coffee. Additionally, there is a parking garage directly across the street which while difficult to navigate is very close and convenient.
Regrettably, that is about the most I can say for this property. I have no idea how this could ever be rated a 5 star property. First, the villa is open to the public with ticket purchase and is absolutely overrun with people who are not staying there. And I mean hundreds of people standing in line to see the building and instagram the gate. Upon entry you are immediately fighting to get past the dozens of people blocking the entrance to get into the villa. Upon getting our room we immediately noticed a strong and unpleasant odor in both the building and the room, it smelled like it had been cleaned with rancid bleach water. The smell did not dissipate during our stay. The part of the building we were in was very run down, poorly maintained and was akin to a roadside traveler motel in the US. Our room was very small (which we do expect in Europe), but at over 600 Euros per night we were extremely disappointed. We were in Como for wedding planning and came to Villa Cipressi for a possible venue... but regrettably there is no chance we would ever choose this hotel."