Relais Villa Porta

First of all many thanks to the kind and caring staff of Villa Relais Porta. They made our stay very pleasant. We felt welcome and at home. The interns who come from different hospitality Schools in Europe were attentive and motivated to provide a good Service. And a Special thank you to the Hotel Manager for her professional and Personal touch. |The Villa parc stretching along the shore line is spectacular with Many places to sit, lie and enjoy the views of the Lake and the botanical garden . |The Buffet breakfast is the Best I have ever experienced. The variety of local products offered is impressive. The Dinner Menu is quite pricey yet all the dishes are tasty and plentiful. |The only negative is the noisy road at times. |Otherwise a perfect stay .

We were extremely lucky: a whole week of sunshine, we found the last parking space on the property, and were given the nicest room in the house. The view of the lake and the large, venerable, palm-lined park along the shore is truly spectacular. The international staff is friendly and attentive, and the food is delicious.|But this "magnificent potential leaves us with mixed feelings," as other reviewers have noted. Being in the same industry, we perhaps pay more attention to the "moments of truth"; for almost half a thousand Euros a day, you have certain expectations. Of course, only the experts in service can master the art of arrival.|In fact, our arrival was rather sobering: no welcome drink, just a request for ID and Creditcard, our room wouldn't be ready until 3 p.m., we should simply spend the hour and a half in the park (in 38°C!), and then we would be called. When the call didn't come, we grabbed our luggage from the car. The parking lot was now a mess, with hotel and restaurant guests' vehicles parked crisscross all over the place, as apparently no one was responsible for parking and luggage.|Our double room was small but really nice: picturesque view of the lake, balcony with a parasol, comfortable mattresses, Nespresso machine, Geberit Aquaclean toilet (unfortunately, the bidet part didn't work, and the Krups needed descaling).|The breakfast buffet is exuberantly varied and promises eggs cooked to order. However, at 7 a.m., there's only one server, who's overworked with setting and clearing the table and serving coffee. Unfortunately, there are only baguettes and not the delicious paninis we so appreciate in Italy.|The "beach" is a leafy terrace overlooking the lake with loungers and permanently installed parasols, which unfortunately can't be bended off, so you're soon sizzling in the hot sun. The lake access is also poorly designed: a rusty staircase and a dangerous 5-meter-high, sun-baked ladder (see photos). The paths are only gravel and have numerous footholds. The canopies under palm trees along the shore are very pleasant and romantic.|In summer, Lake Maggiore is a beautiful place for swimming, despite the heavy boat traffic. But what do you do at other times of the year? Despite claiming to be a luxury resort, there's no pool! The only Jacuzzi is barely big enough for 6 people.|The beach bar "Brasserie" has good wines and delicious snacks, but is unfortunately understaffed, and an "aperitivo" with only stale olives and discount chips is no longer the Italian norm. Restaurant Tiffany caters to well-heeled guests who arrive at lunchtime in 30-foot yachts or Bentleys and embark on "VillaPorta's slow food journeys" with magnum bottles of Laurent-Perrier, or at least Ca dei Frati. In general, guests are constantly informed via WhatsApp about special, paid "experiences" such as yoga, Buddha dinners, aperitifs with a DJ, gentle stretches and so on. This reminded me of very early experiences at the Club Méditerranée, where you could never lie comfortably for long because animateurs would come and invite you to join them ...

We had a wonderful stay as a group of a dozen persons, eating twice deliciously in the restaurant and enjoying the very nice service and most of all the beauty of the whole area, which really reminds you being in a park. In this case, the word "Ressort" really is not exaggerated. I am already looking forward to come back and spend even more time there.

I didn’t propose here. I didn’t get married here, or spend a honeymoon, or celebrate an anniversary. But i could have. I fell in love with the hotel as someone ever possibly could. From the moment I arrived, it just had the feeling that if you were with the right person, everything would fall into place. The vibe is calm, beautiful, and intimate in a way that makes you slow down and pay attention. The view, the light, the water, The way you look across the dinner table to the rest of your life. You could propose here and it would feel effortless. It's the kind of place you could come back to every year for the rest of your life and it would be a life lived with no regret. my idea of a perfect day would be to have a slow morning breakfast somewhere in the morning fog hidden among the Italian cliff side. Spend all day together on the boat exploring the Italian treasures of Lago Maggiore. Park the boat at the private dock at relais. Have dinner under the setting fire blazed sky and linger underneath the stars and candles until we need sweaters and each other.

Great stopover point on our journey from Zurich to Liguria. Beautiful hotel, family friendly, good food, great lake access. Rooms can be a little small, so ask ahead if you are with lots of luggage.

Amazing place. We have celebrated our wedding at Villa Porta and it was a fairytale, from location to food. The service is impeccable, very attentive and flexible. The location and view are breathtaking. Will definitely return to Villa Porta.

Villa Porta hosted our daughter’s wedding in late May. The site is stunningly beautiful being right beside Lake Maggiore. The service provided by the events team was flawless- ably backed up by the hotel team. As we were arranging this wedding from the uk, Villa Porta staff assisted with organisation, recommendations and advice. They are experts in weddings!

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"!!!