Hotel Ascona

This was a superb and very comfortable hotel. We were upgraded to a family room with balcony and lake views although the extra space included a room with bunk beds which we did not need. The hotel has had a total refurbishment in the past few years and is contemporary but not too modern. Service was top notch. Although there was a wedding on the night we arrived our small group ate in the restaurant and had outstanding food. Superb breakfast.

We booked 3 nights at this hotel and I was a bit apprehensive having read previous reviews but what a wonderful, positive surprise. We were picked up at the train station by the hotel courtesy service. Greeted by the reception staff and offered a welcome Prosecco or soft drink and snack. The room with large balcony overlooking the spectacular scenery was very nice indeed, including outdoor futniture. The room was spacious, extremely clean, modern, very comfortable bed, little bouquet of fresh flowers, selection of fresh fruits and sweets. A kettle was provided on request. Bathroom was large with all amenities. Breakfast was super with selection of fresh fruits, yoghurts, muesli, cereals, cold meats and cheeses, salmon, eggs, pastries and more. We had dinner in the hotel two nights (because the first night was so good) and the choice as well as the food was excellent. Compliments to the chef and his team. The gardens are beautifully maintained with sun loungers dotted around as well as around the pool area also with magnificent view. There is a very pretty pergola with outdoor seating where you can enjoy food or drinks overlooking the pool and wonderful scenery beyond. I paid particular attention to the staff due to previous reviews and found them somewhat surly although helpful and professional. However, we did get a bright smiley good morning from a guy who hoovering the corrider which compensated nicely. Also the lady who greeted us at breakfast and dinner was very friendly and chatty (I think she is a member of the family who owns the hotel) which I think is a nice touch. The hotel is located about 10 minutes walk down to Ascona centre and lake, probably a 15 minutes steep walk back up which we enjoyed as a form of exercise. The hotel provides a courtesy shuttle service on request also to and from Locarno train station We have visited this hotel a few times over the years and it just gets better and better. Well done team Ascona! We are already looking forward to the next visit and highly recommend it. A few more smiles from the staff, a show of friendliness and it would be perfect.

We recently stayed at Hotel Ascona for 3 nights, in the midst of a 16 day trip through Switzerland and Italy. Our stay in Ascona and at this hotel was one of the standout memories for my wife and I. The hotel is very nice, super clean and the staff there goes out of their way to be helpful. To give you an idea of what we mean... Early in our stay, we met the man that owns the hotel. He is on-site each day and clearly is passionate about hospitality. My wife has severe food allergies, including gluten, dairy, soy and corn. Typically when we alert a restaurant about this, they suggest she stick to salads or maybe a protein and a vegetable, inevitably prepared with little to no flavor. This man, instead, invited us to dinner and had his chef prepare a 4 course meal, with our own personal menus and at least 2 things to chose from in each course. What makes this even more amazing is that dinner was included in our hotel package. He easily could have suggested fish and asparagus and considered it done. The food at this hotel was as good as anywhere we ate in our stay in Europe. I know I am spending more time addressing the restaurant than the hotel but it gives you an idea of the hospitality of everybody at the hotel. The next day the front desk helped us arrange a boat ride to an island in Lake Maggiore and contacted the restaurant on the island to prepare them for my wife's allergies. This was not an excursion they made money on, it was simply a ferry to a nearby island. We will go back to Ascona and we will certainly only stay at this hotel.

We returned back to Geneva today from this hotel, but the check-in experience 2 days ago was an eye-opener. Check-in receptionist was very aggressive - i) She didn't know if we booked 1 or 2 rooms for our 4 family member party even though we were in their reservation system. ii) She proceeded to explain they might have to call the police depending on how we explained who would be sleeping overnight, with 2 parents and 2 teenage kids in tow, in the 2 rooms booked (yes she finally figured it out and seriously ??!! ) iii) She insisted on correcting our car registration being from "Genève" not Geneva. Probably more suited for Swiss German or Dutch guests. We scouted out Hotel Tobler next door, for next year, another 4 star establishment and they were way more friendly. We drove in from Parco San Marco Resort, Porlezza (40kms away in IT), and they REALLY know how to do 4+star hospitaliy !

We spent three nights at the Hotel Ascona. Upon our late arrival, we were “greeted” by what appeared to be a night porter. He did an extremely poor job of checking us in. We had to pay for the stay upon arrival which is okay, but when my partners card didn’t work the first and second time he made us feel like he didn’t believe we had any money in the account! It was quite uncomfortable. My partner tried to tell him that tapping the card wouldn’t work because it was way above the limit to tap, but the young man wouldn’t listen. In the end, he rang his supervisor who advised him to input the card details manually. Of course this worked. It wasn’t exactly the warm welcome we were hoping for. The room was nice and we can’t complain about the facilities at all. The pool is beautiful and the view is spectacular. Again, breakfast was lovely. Lots of choice. But the staff there were quite unfriendly again. No one greeting you or showing you to your seat. Which I think would be expected in a hotel of this standard. On our last night, we asked reception the book us a taxi for 8am the next morning to take us to Locarno train station. The same man who checked us in was behind the desk and he confirmed that it would be there for us. At 10 past 8 the next morning the taxi was still not there. My partner went back into reception to ask could they ring the taxi company to make sure someone was on the way. The woman at reception said she didn’t know what company the night porter had rung the night before. My partner replied that neither did he. She very sarcastically replied ‘Super!’ and proceeded to storm off with the phone. Eventually a taxi came but to say she was no help was an understatement. This hotel is lovely but the staff were a big let down. It left a bad taste in our mouth and I wouldn’t recommend Hotel Ascona to anyone because of our experience.