Castello del Sole Beach Resort&Spa

We dined at the hotel’s Locanda Barbarossa restaurant whilst staying in Ascona. The restaurant is truly worthy of its Michelin star. We had the tasting menu which was excellent - lots of local flavours including produce grown in the hotel’s gardens- and wine from their own vineyard. The cuisine is classical ( as you might expect given that the chef trained with Gordon Ramsey) and the service is highly professional but very friendly.

The luxury hotel "Castello del Sole" in Ascona fully deserves the "Resort" label attached to its name. The hotel's property area is indeed vast, including a private beach, tennis courts and a wide grass and garden area around the hotel buildings. We only enjoyed a short stay, including a stroll to the Hotel’s own beach bar "La Spiaggia”. This beach bar with lake view (see attached picture) proposed and served us excellent beverages (including a few light/summer signature cocktails). Very friendly and attentive barkeeper service. Worth returning one day for a longer stay. A well-known Swiss hotel rating guide (Mr. Karl Wild’s Hotel Guide, published annually) listed and still lists *Castello del Sole* at the top spot (or among the top three) regularly in both the holiday/leisure and overall category year after year - deservedly so in our opinion.

As much as I would like to rate this hotel with a 5 there are some important factors that don’t make this hotel a luxury one. First, the good stuff: - Food is OUTSTANDING. Literally every dish we had was fabulous with consistency through out all our stay. Room service was impeccable, always on time and professional. - It is a kids paradise and since we have one, it was the right choice for us. The Kids club and the workers there are great, as well as all the food choices and activities. - Service in general was fantastic. -The spa professionals were great, and both treatments we had were wonderful. The bad: - The hotel is a mix of real old buildings (the original castello), not so old and ugly attached buildings (probably built in the 70’s or 80’s) and some newer buildings with updated rooms. We had a room at the not so old but ugly attached building and as much as the furniture is fairly new and they have done some updates, the bathroom and bathtub are tiny and is definitely not luxurious. That being said, it is O.K, but just O.K - The so called 'beach’ is in fact a not very nice way to enter the lake, full of ducks, sea**** and nature, so for us it was just not usable. If you are very into nature I guess you could manage. But you can definitely not call this a beach resort. - The shuttle that takes you back and to Ascona is never on time. And with never on time I mean never. We took it 3 times and we always had to call asking if someone was going to come to pick us up or not. -If you are not a family but a young/middle age couple, this place is not for you. A part from the families with children you will only find senior couples that seem to be loyal returning guests. -Once again the spa facilities didn’t feel like if you were in a luxury hotel. They were just O.K You might think there were more bads than goods, but for us, service and food are always the most important when booking a good hotel, and for that, I need to rate them with a 4.

We stayed for 3 nights, which was a few days too short ! We took the 1/2 Board package with one dinner at the Michelin starred restaurant and would do that package again since all five different dining options are outstanding. Really Excellent. The breakfast and all the options and fare is probably the finest one in our 4 weeks of 5 star hotels in the region (Italy/France). Our jr. suite was beautifully decorated (#230), on the 2nd floor at the North end of the hotel with separate bedroom, absolute privacy and views from our terrace onto the 240 acres of beautiful grounds bordering the lake Maggiore. Very peaceful, and also close to charming Ascona (possible to walk there, but we didn't) for a little extra activity and restaurants when desired. Staff very friendly and helpful. Shaded & safe parking adjacent to the hotel . Upon leaving they even clean your cars windshield! Nice touch!

We had an amazing stay in Castello del Sole. The garden is amazing. There is a peaceful atmosphere everywhere you go. The beach is perfectly arranged to have a quiet moment with your loved one. The team members will do everything in their power to make you enjoy the moment and be comfortable. The SPA facilities look new. Everything is perfectly decorated. The garden is perfectly arranged. The colors, the trees, the beach... just a perfect romantic getaway ✨️

Make sure you use ALL that this Resort has to offer since it is such a wonderful and diverse property with many unique things to offer. From the beach front seats on the lake to indoor tennis courts to bikes to ride around the countryside etc.

no friendly welcome - same in the Spa - young girl bad english saw never a smile at the reception room so far nice but thin walls - you hear right and left what's going on... Food no matter where - Locanda - Tre Stagioni or Breakfast - not 5 star like really average and was misleaded by good reviews stayed in Giardino no comparison - sorry but except the location which is really amazing they have to improve a lot