Castello del Sole Beach Resort&Spa

This hotel, with its expansive grounds, is truly unique. It is well-run, boasting an excellent kitchen, including a delicious Friday night seafood buffet offering a wide variety of fish. The well-furnished bar, deck chairs, and friendly, creative service on the lake shore enhance the charm of this fairy-tale setting.

As much as I would like to rate this hotel with a 5 there are some important factors that don’t make this hotel a luxury one. First, the good stuff: - Food is OUTSTANDING. Literally every dish we had was fabulous with consistency through out all our stay. Room service was impeccable, always on time and professional. - It is a kids paradise and since we have one, it was the right choice for us. The Kids club and the workers there are great, as well as all the food choices and activities. - Service in general was fantastic. -The spa professionals were great, and both treatments we had were wonderful. The bad: - The hotel is a mix of real old buildings (the original castello), not so old and ugly attached buildings (probably built in the 70’s or 80’s) and some newer buildings with updated rooms. We had a room at the not so old but ugly attached building and as much as the furniture is fairly new and they have done some updates, the bathroom and bathtub are tiny and is definitely not luxurious. That being said, it is O.K, but just O.K - The so called 'beach’ is in fact a not very nice way to enter the lake, full of ducks, seaweed and nature, so for us it was just not usable. If you are very into nature I guess you could manage. But you can definitely not call this a beach resort. - The shuttle that takes you back and to Ascona is never on time. And with never on time I mean never. We took it 3 times and we always had to call asking if someone was going to come to pick us up or not. -If you are not a family but a young/middle age couple, this place is not for you. A part from the families with children you will only find senior couples that seem to be loyal returning guests. -Once again the spa facilities didn’t feel like if you were in a luxury hotel. They were just O.K You might think there were more bads than goods, but for us, service and food are always the most important when booking a good hotel, and for that, I need to rate them with a 4.

We stayed for 3 nights, which was a few days too short ! We took the 1/2 Board package with one dinner at the Michelin starred restaurant and would do that package again since all five different dining options are outstanding. Really Excellent. The breakfast and all the options and fare is probably the finest one in our 4 weeks of 5 star hotels in the region (Italy/France). Our jr. suite was beautifully decorated (#230), on the 2nd floor at the North end of the hotel with separate bedroom, absolute privacy and views from our terrace onto the 240 acres of beautiful grounds bordering the lake Maggiore. Very peaceful, and also close to charming Ascona (possible to walk there, but we didn't) for a little extra activity and restaurants when desired. Staff very friendly and helpful. Shaded & safe parking adjacent to the hotel . Upon leaving they even clean your cars windshield! Nice touch!