Hotel Walser

This is a review of the restaurant, not the hotel. We also ate in the restaurant in April this year and then we were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food and the courses offered. |This time, however, we were less pleased. Not sure, but I think the cook must have changed in the meantime. My carpaccio had pretty thick and tough meat. Also, the temperature of the piece of carpaccio varied a lot, from cold (like coming from the fridge) to room temperature. |The fried vegetable main course was new, but was quite small and not really a main dish, certainly knowing the price. Hope they manage to go back the quality of April again. |There were a few new wines on the menu and one of these we took. This was quite a nice wine, made by the sommelier of the year of the world 2013, Paolo Basso: Bouquet di Chiara (named after his daughter).

Great spot for hikes straight from the hotel. If you are planning to make challenging, scenic 5/6hr walks in beautiful surroundings this would be a good hotel to stay 2/3 nights. But also hikes along the river with great sunbathing& swimming spots. Make sure you bring a good walking map (Kompass valle Maggia for instance). The village is very pitureque with authetic houses. There is a small supermarket and a bakery (to buy picnic lunch), but not much else. Terrace and restaurant next door to the hotel are more atmospheric, but food in the hotel might be better (we tried both). Our rating of the hotel is average as our experience was 'okay'. Reception staff was not really attentive, you are not made to feel welcome, which is a shame for a small hotel like this! Breakfast buffet is not replenished. We asked for bread, juice and cheese as everything was finished by guests having breakfast before us and kindly received refills though. The decor in the rooms is rather dull and lacks charm and warmth. Our room was spacious, but with Ikea bed side lights, no hair dryer and no wall art a bit underwhelming.

We had dinner with 5 people here. The staff was super friendly and forthcoming, although there seemed to be some animosity among themselves. The food was good enough, but could certainly use some improvement. ||The appetizer with meat and cheese had two small pieces of cheese and the rest was (good) meat slices. Our main courses were pretty greasy, for both the pizza and the few vegetables that we had. I had asked for a steak "al sangue", but got one that was pretty close to rose.

This is a review of the restaurant, not the hotel. Trip Advisor doesn't have a separate listing for just the restaurant. We had lunch here. We weren't clear and the waitress misunderstood (it really was our fault) and though we were ordering the special of the day which was penne pomodoro and Milanese with frites. The penne was very good. I am a vegetarian, so couldn't eat the Milanese, but my husband said it was very good as well!

We spent one night with my husband at the Hotel Walser. It was very clean, and quiet also, they were about to close for a month before the winter season starts. The staff was kind, we had a dinner, it was good, especially the cake "Frutti di Bosco", it was delicious. They have an italian chef, who we heared is very good also in making desserts.||The village is also very nice, we did not go hiking, maybe an other time.

We stayed in the Hotel Walser for three nights. I try to report out as objective as possible. ||What we liked:||- Rooms are spacy and clean||- Staff is very friendly and working hard (last to leave in the night and first to be back in the morning). Big thanks to the two gentlemen||- Cosy ambiente and Decoration of the Restaurant||- Food was OK. Nothing to complain but also nothing to highlight||||What we did not like:||- Room temperature. It was too hot in the room and no way to regulate room temperature. We had about 26 degree during the night. Impossible to sleep||- Wine selection in the Restaurant. For example they offer Ticino wines from Matasci und Delea only. The region has much better wines to offer than from those two large producers. Also the selection of the Italian wines are poor.||- COVID-19 measurements are not taken seriously. The distance between the eating tables are tight and like COVID-19 is not existing. Also breakfast is buffet and not served at the table. They had also a entertainment band who was playing and singing. I like it too but this is not COVID-19 friendly. I also say many non-Hotel guests eating dinner in the Hotel ||||What you need to know:||- Hotel rooms are facing the street and large parking. It can get easily very noisy from the street but also you hear the neightbours very well.||- Price/Value: the Hotel is not cheap and rather at the upper end of a three star Hotel||||Last but not least: the Hotel owner ate dinner during all three evenings. This is all good and his good right but why did he not present himself as the host, introducing himself and asking if everything is well? Details which will make a difference if you go back to a Hotel/Restaurant or not. Missed opportunity Mr. Frapolli!

The hotel may be a good place to stay, but we were so disappointed in the restaurant's expensive, but badly prepared food. My salmon was burnt, the Fondue bread was old and hard, none of it was very tasty. Even the vanilla ice cream tested bad. One of the waiters did not speak at all, although the other was kind. I rarely have given such a bad rating to a restaurant.

Nice hotel and easy to find.||||Ideally located if you are touring the area, as on the road leading up to the Neufenen Pass.||||Host is very sociable and eager to please. He has just installed a Scottish Whisky bar, so keen to try this out on guests.||||Very motorbike friendly - we were one of 20-odd on the night we stayed.||||Reasonable menu and wine, although you are a captive audience as I didn't see any other restaurants close by.||||Worth a visit if you are touring the area.