14/08/2025: First of all: the town and hotel are highly recommended! Also worth a visit is the church on the island and a morning stroll to the St. Francis Sanctuary above the town to escape the heat! The hotel rooms are centrally located in an ancient building, stylishly and pleasantly simply restored, so that the town's character is perfectly reflected. Our bedroom, room 102, was small due to the historic building, but perfectly adequate for sleeping. The view overlooked the nearby neighboring wall of the narrow alleyways. This, as well as the irregular, narrow staircase, reveals the disadvantages of a historic building. There is an elevator, which also serves as the night entrance and, with a key, leads outside to the alley behind the building and vice versa. However, the entire town is difficult for people with disabilities, and in particular, the nice little hotel is unfortunately not an option in my opinion. The hotel is located in a pedestrian zone. There are yellow-marked parking spaces above in a square that can be used for 30 minutes to unload. In this case, it's better to use the nearby parking garage (€15/day). Nevertheless, it's advisable to walk lightly up the irregular stairs and cobblestones to the hotel (cabin trolley or similar) or take a taxi boat from one of the other locations.
The bathroom, in comparison, was a normal size, modern, high-quality, with a bidet and functionally luxurious shower fittings. The bed was also good.
Water and a kettle are provided, although there's no instant coffee. Instead, there's Christmas tea (in August!), Moroccan teas, and the like, which are obviously a bit older. In my opinion, something like this is better off being given as a gift, and it doesn't fit the high-quality ambience.
However, one would wish the operator and the architect had spent a night in the room themselves. This isn't ideal for people sensitive to light when it comes to sleep! The air conditioning system illuminates the bed intensely green downwards, the smoke detector (?) on the wall opposite glows intensely green, and the TV in Rotenburg glows at the foot of the bed. Turning it off didn't help. Perhaps an eye mask would be a timely solution? In addition, when the air conditioning is on, a blast of ice-cold air falls unpleasantly directly onto the bed. However, the rooms are difficult, and anyone who enjoys the ambiance will have to accept compromises.
Breakfast is served from 8:30 a.m. on the roof terrace with a view of the lake and Isola. I personally didn't like the cookies, dry little rolls, and sweetened (!) croissants. The yogurt and fruit were kept fresh with lids; they were my favorite, and the jams were delicious. The ham attracted a fair amount of wasps in August. A lid would have been welcome here, too. The service was good.
In summary, an atmospheric, recommendable gem with certain reservations.
A word about the restaurants. Unfortunately, there was no room in the Michelin-starred restaurant, even with an overnight stay. On the other hand, I like the casual atmosphere of a bistro anyway. Up here on the roof terrace, we chose the tasting menu with the paired wines.
At first, the atmosphere here was unpleasant. We were given a table near the kitchen. It was very hot, so the chef had to open the doors as well. (As a result?) The exhaust air noise was unpleasantly loud, a youth group at the next table was talking loudly on their cell phone speaker, and the cold work light from the reception and kitchen obscured the warm ambient light of the table. Furthermore, we had a direct view of the kitchen's garbage, which was collected there in bags and a trolley. There were plenty of other seats available. After the second course, we asked to be moved, which was easily accommodated. As we all know, taste can differ, even in food. I particularly enjoyed the first course with the Gavi, the third course with the recommended wine, and also the dessert.
Conclusion: Worth it, I would come back!
10/08/2025: We chose this inn for a short stay. The welcome was excellent, the room and bathroom were renovated, clean, the breakfast was excellent, the service excellent, and the view from the terrace was breathtaking. It's in a prime location in the center of Orta. You'll need to leave your car in the Diania paid parking lot on Via Panoramica. Hoteliers should make a special agreement with the company that manages the parking for guests staying in Orta to get a discount.
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