La Cascina In Arona

04/09/2024: Good aperitif with a panoramic view of Lake Orta

01/09/2024: A nice hotel with a very good location by the lake. Breakfast and restaurant right on the water. The pool is not huge, but was clean and at a pleasant temperature. The pool staff were friendly and engaging. You can order drinks and small snacks (didn't try the latter). Direct location and also access to the lake (small stairs into the water at the jetty). Next to the hotel there is a pier for sea shipping. However, this is not used very often. We drove to Orta san Giulio, from where you have more options. Be sure to visit the small Isola San Giulio! As is often the case in Italy, there is public sea shipping and there are a few captains at the front who guide tourists to more expensive private boats. Like in Venice etc. - if you know the trick, just walk past the people and drive across the lake cheaper (but not as regularly). The breakfast is good, but as is usual in hotels, there is a lack of variety - but that is also the case in other hotels. If it's very high quality, then you just have a chef etc. who offers egg dishes - but that also costs significantly more. You actually get everything you want. Also Italian salami, ham, etc. - but you'll definitely be well supplied here for a few days. The topic of bread/rolls is different in Italy than in Germany. But everything was okay the way it was. We had booked half board - we wouldn't do that again. Because dinner was delicious. But it was already very well calculated - so little. We beat hunger with our bread basket and olive oil at the table. But even my wife, who doesn't eat much, was a little disappointed with the portions. It's better to eat à la carte here from time to time (the menu looks good. There were also menus that would have cost a little more than our half board, but sounded much more interesting. Also with a suitable (and of course paid for) wine accompaniment). The normal menu in general had some interesting dishes that I would have liked to try. I only had wine by the glass and sometimes pouring it was very economical. The prices could have been a little more generous. But all the wines were good. The service was very nice (like all the employees) - you could perhaps train a little in a few areas and then one or two things would be better quickly and with little effort. But it wasn't something you could really criticize. The friendliness and attention was very good and we felt very comfortable! Not the hotel's fault, but we got a room facing the street through a tour operator. Please inquire directly with the hotel and book Lakeview. The road is there, but not so annoying. But for the price we paid, it wasn't actually okay. But as I said, this is a problem with the tour operator (DERTOUR) which we will certainly no longer use. Here zero stars for the description of the service, the price and what is offered! The room wasn't great either, but okay. The fridge was very useful with a small child and was also whisper quiet. All in all, we will definitely come back for two or three days when traveling to Italy. With breakfast and Lakeview room.