Hotel Splendide Royal

Review Mixed feelings I stayed on a weekend solo trip whilst working elsewhere in Switzerland, and have mixed feelings about this hotel. I booked this on the basis of the rave reviews on here, which I don’t really now understand - it’s fine but not great in my view. What’s good: - Beautiful public areas in the main building - Spa, pool & sun terrace have great furnishings, very comfortable and a stunning view of the lake - Breakfast buffet is excellent quality & included in room rate. Probably the nicest croissant ever. The staff kindly opened the terrace for me (it was 18 degrees & very sunny) - Some of the staff were kind and helpful, particularly at the reception & the spa desk - Very comfortable beds, lovely linen & towels - good night’s sleep! - Nice location, a little out of the main town (15 mins walk around the lake) so peaceful & quiet - Free shuttle to Lugano train station is a nice extra, although the public bus is very convenient Less good - My room was in an ugly 1970s building with a view of the carpark. I didn’t expect a lake view (it was an additional 200 CHF per night) but this was not exactly a “garden view” as described - The room & bathroom was cluttered with random stuff- promotional booklets, mini bar snacks, bottles of toiletries - there was no space to stand even a wash bag in the bathroom. There were 4 bottles of products balanced on the edge of the bath. Please wall mount the bottles & tidy up! - I asked to borrow an iron - the one they bought had a European plug & all the in-room plugs are Swiss, so it was unusable. I don’t expect everyone to speak perfect English but even google translate could not get me a working iron! I fail to understand why you’d not have the right iron plug for the hotel sockets… - At breakfast I was asked 3 times if they should open a parasol, I politely said “no” so the staff waited for me to go to the buffet & opened it anyway! I was cold in the shade so I just left my food, which was a disappointment - I had to ask for my free tourist card for transport & museum discounts. This should be provided to all guests, had I not been aware of it then I’d have missed out On balance, for me it was overpriced, for 450 CHF per night I will likely try somewhere else next time I come to town. Not a disaster but I feel there’s likely better choices. The Best Western next door is 1/3 of the cost…

The reception not pick up phones There was no coffee machine in the rooms We asked multiple times to bring only in one room and they ask us to share it between rooms

One of our best experiences. The service at the hotel is beyond the 5 stars