Il Sereno, an award-winning modernist retreat on Lake Como, has just announced a groundbreaking experience for music lovers. The new experience, The Darsena Listening Suite, features a one-of-a-kind lakefront suite that is redefining luxury with sound. Inspired by Japanese jazz-kissa culture and the quiet-listening culture resonating globally, this innovative suite features state-of-the-art analog equipment designed to offer a singular sensory journey where music isn’t the background—it’s the main event. The concept for the Darsena Listening Suite was conceived by hotel owner and audiophile Luis Contreras in collaboration with famed designer Patricia Urquiola.
Guests staying in this lakefront sanctuary will have a redefined travel experience, enjoying a personal yet immersive offering. Inside the suite are Klipsch La Scala loudspeakers, a McIntosh tube pre-amp and amplifier, a Thorens turntable, and a meticulously rebuilt Revox reel-to-reel deck. Of course, the musical experience would not be complete without over 500 vinyl records to choose from. The Darsena Listening Suite draws upon the concept of Tokyo’s jazz-kissa listening cafés, offering the first hotel guestroom anywhere that is entirely designed upon the act of “listening”. To personalize the experience, guests can request favorite albums in advance of their stay, as records join the library for future stays.
Alongside the music concept of this unique Listening Suite, Luis Contreras also wanted dining to play a central role in the experience. At his request, Studio Urquiola conceived a sculptural round stone table seating up to ten guests, set atop a richly coloured custom rug and positioned directly before the audio system, with Lake Como unfolding beyond. This experience brings together the “soundtrack to dinner” theme, where each course is experienced as a movement in a larger composition. Once dinner is over, a final song transforms the suite into a lounge for lingering conversation and reflection.
