Relais Villa Porta

This year for Easter, my friends and I decided to stop at Relais Villa Porta in Luino. We were amazed to find a unique gem on the eastern side of Lago Maggiore. We arrived at around 3 pm and although the place was buzzing with guests, the Villa had many private areas (it spans 200 metres directly on the shore) from the bar, to the beach area, to the main restaurant, and other terraces, where one could enjoy a festive meal. The staff were super helpful with advice related to local produce and preparations on the menu and our host even suggested that we hire one of their boats for a short cruise of the lake! Unfortunately our stay would not allow us to indulge in many of the resort's delights, but we did enjoy each other's company in front of a jaw-dropping view, facing the sunset! In the words of the great General "we shall return"!!!

We are happy to mention the few but noteworthy good points first: A big thank you to Nadika from the breakfast service! So much warmth and sincerity put a smile on our faces! A big thank you to the wonderful owner for her helpfulness and to the shift leader K.-M. for her commitment. The view of the lake and the garden are also positive! A beautiful complex with great attention to detail! But: What we experienced with the hotel from the time of booking - unfortunately it is also the employees who can ruin the reputation of a hotel - is something we have never experienced anywhere else. Different information at the time of booking/reservation (despite telephone contact) and different results on arrival. We paid €150 more for a room that we didn't get and the same person gave us three different explanations/excuses as to why within the first 30 minutes. I'll be as brief as possible... We insisted on speaking to the manager and were told that neither the manager nor the owner were on site. However, she said that they would both be there in the morning and she would send them information about the incident so that we could get a refund. She sent us a Prosecco to calm us down, which actually did not work. It just showed us that she knew, she messed up. (There is nothing wrong with making mistakes and admitting them. However, it is even worse to make a pro forma gesture and then carry on straight away. Guests are not stupid, you can tell what is genuine and what is not). The next morning, both were actually there (owner and manager) and I raised our case. It seemed that neither of them knew anything and so the picture emerges that the same person who messed up our important stay from the beginning did not inform either of them about her own mistake. Both listened carefully and understood. They offered a refund of €100, which we accepted. We thought that was the end of the story. But as it turned out, it took over a month for the hotel's finance department to successfully transfer the €100. This meant many phone calls and emails from us, to the point that I had to mention our legal protection, as the measure was simply full for us. There were various explanations as to why the transfer had always not worked and of all the explanations, only one was recognised and confirmed by our bank - the wrong name, even though we had already handed over all the bank details including the full name on the day of departure. Long story short. Conclusion: Never again Villa Porta! Unprofessional and insecure booking system. Prices change at any time, without ifs and buts - according to the person we unfortunately had to deal with. Unprofessional staff at the reception (referring of course to the same person who caused us all these problems) except the shift leader K. -M. and simply not recommendable after these experiences. This is the first time in our lives that we have had to say that we regret having chosen this hotel. And it's a shame, because it would be nice

We chose Hotel Villa Porta as our wedding location and could not have made a better decision! The location speaks for itself and the newly opened Limonaia ballroom with a private terrace offers absolutely stunning views of the Lago Maggiore. Just as important as the location was the highly professional organization by Ms Lara, Betta, Sumith and the entire Villa Porta staff. It was a pleasure working together leading up to our wedding day, and everything went according to plan on the day itself - even the smallest details were taken care of. Our guests were very impressed with how attentive the staff were, the quality of the food, and the location itself. We could not recommend Villa Porta more for anyone looking to get married along the Lago Maggiore! Photos Silvia Coluccelli

End of Season I was one of few guests, but enjoyed this great place very much again. They do have excellent breakfast and outstanding service. Thank you! Also I had dinner in the restaurant with some friends. Really fine cooking. A Tale at the window with view on the lake made it all perfect.

Booked a romantic stay at this hotel from 30/8/22 for 4 nights. We were very much looking forward to a quiet stay as advertised by the hotel but were extremely disappointed due to several very noisy parties and weddings in the hotel during our stay. This was exacerbated by the fact the parties were held in the restaurant that was directly below our room, on one night we were actually kept awake until 4am! In addition the jacuzzi was not working for the duration of our stay and we actually felt that guests attending the various functions were given priority over guests staying at the hotel. This was also similar to guests attending their restaurant which was available to the public and was further emphasised on our last morning at breakfast where the majority of prime lake view seating was reserved for the wedding party. We did raise this with the management but were disappointed with the outcome as offered to move our room on the day we were leaving and no financial compensation offered with reason given by reception staff that it was because we had booked with secret escapes. I will add that the hotel did however provide a gift bag as a gesture but it hardly covered the fact that we experienced disturbances on 3 of the 4 nights that should have been a memorable stay. Very disappointed and won’t be returning.

This really is an hotel that has it all. Superb location, magnificent staff, wonderful food all wrapped up in such a friendly atmosphere. Swimming off the lawn in the lake, lying in the sun in the superb gardens with a bar and food at hand - what is not to love about this place. We had a junior suite that was so comfortable with views of the lake and every amenity one could think of. Just amazingly good at all levels..