I took this trip in May 2023 and added a separate trip to Castle Combe, England on the back of it so I could see my brother Sebastiane and his partner,Julia. More about that in a subsequent post.
The trip was put together by Ultimate Drives of Zurich, Switzerland. They offer numerous self-driven tours and guided tours for small groups. The big differentiator from other tours is the car you rent which are all late model exotics; my choice was a new Porsche 911 Turbo S Convertible, black on black – spectacular. The tour lasted 5 days and was top notch with 5+star hotels, private limos to and from the destination airport and a detailed travel plan loaded into the car’s GPS with stops for coffee, lunch, notable viewing places, etc.
Airfare is not included in the tour, and I booked through United and got a great price for 1st class Polaris tickets from Chicago to Zurich, then to London and returning to Chicago ORD 10-days later.
Ultimate Drives really cater to the finer details of travel, I had a Mercedes Electric Limo with the driver meeting me in the arrival lobby of Zurich Airport and take me to my hotel, which was the Hotel B2 & Spa. A beautiful, modern hotel that was converted brewery with a 33,000-book library added. And yes, they were kind enough to add G’s Book to their collection, so I guess 33,001 books.
The next morning the car was delivered (from now on referred to as “The Beast.”) After car and trip orientation with Mark Heather from Ultimate Drives (UD), I was off on my drive. The plan was to drive out of Zurich, stopping in notable places for coffee, lunch and then cross the Alps to Italy and drive down to Lake Como where I would be staying at the Grand Hotel Tremezzo which sits about 100 yards from the shores of Lake Como in the center of Tremezzina. It is amazing going over the Alps, particularly in a car built for agile, high-speed driving. The roads snake up and over the Alps at mind-boggling heights with sheer drops seemingly inches away from your car’s wheels. It is also noticeable that the temperature goes up and down by more than 10 degrees Celsius as you climb/descend. A funny start to my trip, after I said goodbye to Mark, I loaded up the car and activated the GPS system to get my route, I quickly noticed that it was set to German and for the life of me I could not figure out how to change it. I was “Nicht vom Fleck kommen.” A quick call to Mark and one of his team got me on a Google Meets and solved the issue.
On the trip the views are just amazing, on each turn going over the Alps you see the most beautiful scenery, only to find the next turn to be even better. Truly amazing!
Once over the Alps I drove into Tremezzina with Lake Como on your right. You can see amazing homes on the far shore of the lake, likely Goerge Clooney and Amal’s place or maybe even Madonna’s!
The hotel is amazing, truly amazing. I valet park “the Beast” and the porter loads up the cart, and I go and check in. The room is exquisite and more ornate than the B2. I have a great view of the courtyard and decide to go for dinner on the patio balcony restaurant overlooking the lake. Quite the lap of luxury, I must say. The food and wine were up to the same standards. UD really does it First Class and then some.
Next day was spent touring and shopping in Tremezzina – it was truly fantastic, just look at the photos. The following day was the drive back to Zurich, I took the more expeditious route, which was said to be not as beautiful, but I didn’t notice, I must say. Once at my hotel, after gassing up “the Beast”, a gentleman came to pick up the car and noted no damage, kudos to me on that.
About the car, I must say, I have owned a 1980 911 Turbo, but that was a completely different drive – very raw compared to this model. I energetically drove for 9-hours over the Alps and I was still fresh after it. I could not imagine doing that in the 1980 model, I would have been in traction. So impressed was I with this car that I have added it to my bucket list. In November 2027 I will have been in the USA for 50 years – that might be just the anniversary that could tempt me to splurge!!
