We spent three night here in the middle of August. The staff were very helpful and friendly, the room lovely and spacious (beautiful four-poster bed, pretty tiled bathroom), and the breakfast very good. Would recommend this hotel to anyone looking to stay in Cannobio.

A really great 3 star hotel right in the centre of the old medieval town of Cannobio [in the main a pedestrianised town where real people live and work etc..] close to the Swiss border.

We stayed 3 nights in mid September - and found the resort quiet and peaceful but with a good choice of bars and restaurants. A really relaxing place even on market day where the whole waterfront area is temporarily transformed by a huge market , busy with tourists and locals alike.

The hotel is easy to find -approach from the northern end of the resort , drive along the lake front road and then turn right at the signpost for the hotel. You can't miss it unless you're captivated by the scenery as we were one evening !. It's up a steep narrow road but you can park outside just to load and unload. We pre booked a secure underground parking space @ 10EUROS per night a 2 minute walk from the hotel and a receptionist escorted us to and from the car park and showed how to operate the doors and gates. Easy and convenient access 24/7.

The hotel is an odd wedge shape and very quaint really unusual and extraordinarily designed and decorated which means that every room in the hotel is a different shape size and design. Hats off to the architect and interior design team- it’s quite special.

Although it has a lift the elderly and infirm may well have difficulty not only with the hotel itself [which is all on different levels (not all served by the lift) ] but with the surrounding cobbled streets.

Our room was on the top floor facing south with a small balcony and a view over the lake. Its not lakefront - the view although quite elevated is initially over rooftops but its really charming as its a medieval village . The balcony had a table 2 chairs and a folding canopy - great for sipping that bottle of Gavi from the minibar.

The bedroom was very comfortable internally the sleeping area was down a steep flight of stairs with bathroom above. The ceiling as a result was tall with a large picture window and glass door leading to the balcony. The room was well appointed , bed comfortable and very clean - not large and the bathroom was newly renovated – but again not suitable in our opinion for elderly or infirm guests. Chatting with the receptionist we were told that not all the rooms have new bathrooms – they renovate a few each year.

The hotel is not airconditioned but on one hot sultry night they provided [without our asking] an electric fan although we chose instead to sleep with the window open and slept really well.

The breakfast room is amazing and breakfast very good - big choice ,excellent service unhurried , eggs cooked to order and great coffee.

There is a comfortable lounge with TV and internet access which we didn't use it.

The hotel doesn't have a bar as such although there is a wine bar open to the public [we think in the same ownership as the hotel or maybe licensed out] in the basement which we tried to use just once just for a pre dinner aperitif but found them very unfriendly so we simply walked out. Really the only negative experience we had in Cannobio – but there loads of other friendly good bars very close by.

We found the hotel staff friendly and extremely efficient and highly recommend it

Pro's:
1. the hotel is indeed beautiful, rooms are memorable. we saw about 4 different rooms and chose the one we liked the most. it's interesting that each one of the rooms is different from the others.
2. the building is old styled, yet, renovated and feels like a luxury hotel.
3. breakfast is very good and includes high standard products and personal service (in addition to the buffet). you can get your fresh omelet and good fresh coffee. besides, breakfast is served in an amazing dinning room.
4. bicycles can be taken for free from the hotel- very nice.
5. service was good- we got good recommendations regarding what to see, where to eat, and where to go in addition to good advises regarding driving routes.
6. location- very good- exactly in the center of the charming alleys.

Cons:
1. we called the day before in order to make the reservation and were offered room for 150 Euros per night. I would have expect the hotel to run some "last minute" offers, especially when the hotel isn't fully booked. (this was the case here)
2. the parking lot is located about 5-10 minutes walking from the hotel, and includes a path that which isn't so convenient to pass through with a trolly (a flagging with small boulders). I would have expect the hotel to offer some assistance, or alternately have some concierge service. especially when rate for BB is 150 Euros for a couple.
3. in order to use the internet one have to be in the lounge. no signal in the room. in addition the password is half an hour based, i.e. one has to renew it every half an hour. very inconvenient!
4. Due to the high price we paid, we were quite disappointing that there was no bath, only shower.

overall it's a very nice hotel, good location, feels like a luxury hotel, yet, based on our experience, a bit overpriced.

if some of the disadvantages aforementioned would have been fixed, we would have rate this hotel as excellent.

The hotel is situated just off the front; it can initially be quite difficult to find being up a small side street that has a steep climb. Quite imposing if you are driving a car. The hotel car park is situated about a quarter of a mile away and is only accessed by obtaining an electronic key from the hotel. It is left to you to carry your bags up to your room using the single lift.. We were made to feel very welcome on arrival and given a choice of rooms to choose from; the rooms are characterful, clean and spacious; however the one downside is that they lack air conditioning which can make them quite stifling at night. The hotel staff are very friendly and helpful, and gave excellent advice on where to go (restaurants and exploring the town). Cannobio has a delightful lakeside vista. A very nice breakfast is provided which compared well with the more pricey hotels that we stayed at. All in all, the hotel represents good value for money and we have no hesitation in recommending it to others .