Grand Hotel Des Iles Borromee

The Hotel is a typical Grand Hotel in the 1890’s style in front of the Lago Maggiore. Some might find the decor a bit overloaded, but in harmony with the overall, luxurous style of the hotel. We had the smallest categorie of rooms, but it was still spacious and well eqipped, with two nice windows with view on the lake. The bed was very comfortable.|Staff was welcoming and helpful. Quite a big parking and a nice park being part of the hotel.|The bar was comfy and the staff nice and professional.|The breakfast had a variety of good food to offer. And if the weather is good you can eat on the terrasse with - again - a great lake-view.

So this hotel looks like a luxurious, palace. And most of the lobby, public spaces are. They really do pour on the old European elegance but it came across to my wife and I as stuffy, not very friendly and uncomfortably. We are 70 years old and felt like our parents made us stay here. The staff was just way too formal. Example; dinner the first night in the dinning room. I was really thirsty and ordered a bottle of water. The server opened it, poured me a glass and placed it on a small table near us but out of reach. She then proceeded to come back over and refill my glass at least 8 or 9 times. I asked her to leave the bottle. She asked the maitre de if it was ok and my request was reluctantly approved. Also, the Hemingway bar was just a little 4 stool bar in the corner of the lobby with a picture of Hemingway. The bartender may as well have been in a coma. I tried to engage him on two occasions but he was like talking to the wall. The pool bar was nice in the afternoon. Nice kids working there very comfortable and friendly. Finally the room was really tired. Great view but old and cramped and the worst bathroom of our 5 hotels on this trip. The shower was tiny and the water was either 50 or 200 degrees. |I think the place is just old and tired. They should sell some art and fix the plumbing.

The Grand Hotel is truly a beautiful experience. Though our room was on the small size, the view of the lake was spectacular. Yes, it's "fancy" as our friends staying elsewhere called it, but it's a wonderful "fancy". Too many modern hotels have turned to making "minimalist" try to appear as "luxury". Not fooling me. The Grand transports you to a more civil and glamorous time. The spa is incredible as is the breakfast (do sit on the terrace for the Grace Kelly feel),and be sure to explore the lovely grounds. All young people should stay here at least once to know what a grand hotel should be.

The hotel was very fancy and high-end. It did seem to be over the top. There was not enough desk space to set the suitcases, so they weren't in the way. Mounting the TV on the wall would help. The breakfast was top-notch. We were put in the farthest room from the elevator. We're older and didn't need that. We had a window that opened to the pool roof not the lake. We as Americans like our ice. Going to the bar each time I wanted ice was a pain. Put an ice machine on a floor and put us all on it. Give us ice buckets so the ice doesn't melt in 30 minutes. Put a soda machine on the same floor. The hotel was located a LONG way from downtown. Our feet were sore after the walk.

Stresa is a very nice spot on the Lago Maggiore and it has a few very nice hotels facing the lake. Last year we stayed at the Regina Place Hotel, which we liked a lot, and this year we decided to try the Grand Hotel des Iles Borromées. We liked very much its classical style and decor. The rooms are comfortable (not too spacious though). The Spa and swimming pools are enjoyable and very well kept. What we found very disappointing was that the cleaning may be a bit superficial (the bath tub in one of our rooms was clogged with hair), the WiFi didn't work for two days (which made Netflix unavailable in the rooms' tv sets), the breakfast experience was way below expectations (food quality and variety barely acceptable, unless you are intolerant to gluten as is the case with my wife and one of our daughters: they had to wait for half an hour to get two slices of gluten-free hard bread, and 10 more minutes to get a gluten-free piece of cake). The staff and attention was subpar. No doubt, the Regina Palace Hotel is a better choice.

This hotel is in an excellent location and the lake views from the room and terrace are excellent. It is decorated in multiple largely belle epoch style which is a bit over the top. |Room was a reasonable size with a comfortable large bed. The bathroom was a bit tired and in need of an update. The biggest problem is the lack of soundproofing as others have said. You can hear conversations on the next room as well as the use of showers toilets etc. |the pool area is very good and the pool bar has excellent food and drink.|Breakfast was ok but not 5 star.|Overall the hotel needs the bathrooms renovating, soundproofing of the rooms and some may find the decor over the top. Definitely at the low end of 5 star overall.

The property is undoubtedly beautiful—historic charm, elegant grounds, and a premium location. We truly enjoyed the atmosphere and amenities during our stay. Unfortunately, our experience was impacted by the non-functioning air conditioning in our room. Despite calling the reception multiple times and receiving repeated promises that someone would come to fix it, no one showed up and the issue was never resolved. For a hotel of this caliber, we expected much better responsiveness to guest concerns. We hope management addresses this, as everything else about the stay was memorable.

I loved the hotel and would definitely stay there again. The hotel was spotless. It is absolutely gorgeous. The food in the bistro and at dinner in the hotel was excellent. The servers was very good, and the concierge was very helpful and friendly. I couldn't change the battery in my air tag and I think it was Felice that helped me with that. The setting is one of the most beautiful in all my travels right across from the lake with the most awesome entrance and the grounds are exquisite with the foliage. Loved the indoor/outdoor pool. Swam every day in it. Ate lunch at bistro everyday. Had breakfast outside on the terrace of the restaurant daily. The hotel is about 2 blocks from the town and also the dock to get the boat to the islands. Just sitting and looking out at the Lake is an experience in itself. When (not if) I come to Stresa again, I will definitely be staying here.

This is a beautiful property with lots of amenities. Very good co-Ed spa, our room had a spectacular view of Lake Maggiorie. It has a restaurant on property and lobby bar close to the center of town, breakfast included but very limited choices on the buffet. If you want cooked eggs it's $10 extra. For lunch and dinner we found the restaurant t to be pricey and not very good. Good gym, lots of windows and natural light, clean. I would say the big reason our review is getting a three is because almost every employee we encountered could use some training in customer service. They have a certain way of doing things at this hotel which is fine, but much better received when said with a smile, especially when the answer to your question is no. Usually in a four or five star property the staff try to accommodate guests. We didn't find that to be the case during our stay and would have enjoyed the no's and our stay there more had there been more yes's and the no's at least presented with a smile. Also the massage from the spa was not good, I paid extra for a deep tissue massage, it was like a pressure point massage not enjoyable. And the sheets and towels on property are hard and scratchy not soft as you would expect at a nice hotel such as this one. It's also strange that you cannot get two keys for your room, another no.

This is a beautiful baroque hotel - if you like that sort of thing. Everything is gilded in gold and covered in mosaics. They are celebrating their 150th year this year. While I didn't stay there, I did visit for drinks in the lounge. They have a nice full bar and all the drinks were made well. As per the usual in Italy, ordering drinks comes with complimentary snacks - little bowls of pistachios, chips, etc. Looked over the pricing for the rooms and I'd say it's reasonable for the area and level of the hotel.

The Grand Hotel Des Ils Borromees was all ours on the off-season (late October); my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed our stay for the historic atmosphere, lake-front property, and the quiet lull the hotel succumbed to when winter was on its way. Dining food mediocre (could have used more bio products), but the overall atmosphere, lovely. We found it equally compelling this was the hotel Ernest Hemingway stayed to write Farewell to Arms. Emily Rose Reeder

Ok, let me start off with saying, the price of this hotel is not worth it. Sure, the inside looks nice, but don't buy into it. The concierge was not helpful at all. The cleaning ladies were destructive to our property in the room. The beds weren't that comfy. The only thing that I have to say was good was the morning buffet. But for the price of this hotel, definatily not worth it!