Relais Villa Porta — Hotel in Comunità Montana Valli del Verbano

We were extremely lucky: a whole week of sunshine, we found the last parking space on the property, and were given the nicest room in the house. The view of the lake and the large, venerable, palm-lined park along the shore is truly spectacular. The international staff is friendly and attentive, and the food is delicious.|But this "magnificent potential leaves us with mixed feelings," as other reviewers have noted. Being in the same industry, we perhaps pay more attention to the "moments of truth"; for almost half a thousand Euros a day, you have certain expectations. Of course, only the experts in service can master the art of arrival.|In fact, our arrival was rather sobering: no welcome drink, just a request for ID and Creditcard, our room wouldn't be ready until 3 p.m., we should simply spend the hour and a half in the park (in 38°C!), and then we would be called. When the call didn't come, we grabbed our luggage from the car. The parking lot was now a mess, with hotel and restaurant guests' vehicles parked crisscross all over the place, as apparently no one was responsible for parking and luggage.|Our double room was small but really nice: picturesque view of the lake, balcony with a parasol, comfortable mattresses, Nespresso machine, Geberit Aquaclean toilet (unfortunately, the bidet part didn't work, and the Krups needed descaling).|The breakfast buffet is exuberantly varied and promises eggs cooked to order. However, at 7 a.m., there's only one server, who's overworked with setting and clearing the table and serving coffee. Unfortunately, there are only baguettes and not the delicious paninis we so appreciate in Italy.|The "beach" is a leafy terrace overlooking the lake with loungers and permanently installed parasols, which unfortunately can't be bended off, so you're soon sizzling in the hot sun. The lake access is also poorly designed: a rusty staircase and a dangerous 5-meter-high, sun-baked ladder (see photos). The paths are only gravel and have numerous footholds. The canopies under palm trees along the shore are very pleasant and romantic.|In summer, Lake Maggiore is a beautiful place for swimming, despite the heavy boat traffic. But what do you do at other times of the year? Despite claiming to be a luxury resort, there's no pool! The only Jacuzzi is barely big enough for 6 people.|The beach bar "Brasserie" has good wines and delicious snacks, but is unfortunately understaffed, and an "aperitivo" with only stale olives and discount chips is no longer the Italian norm. Restaurant Tiffany caters to well-heeled guests who arrive at lunchtime in 30-foot yachts or Bentleys and embark on "VillaPorta's slow food journeys" with magnum bottles of Laurent-Perrier, or at least Ca dei Frati. In general, guests are constantly informed via WhatsApp about special, paid "experiences" such as yoga, Buddha dinners, aperitifs with a DJ, gentle stretches and so on. This reminded me of very early experiences at the Club Méditerranée, where you could never lie comfortably for long because animateurs would come and invite you to...

We, me and my girlfriend, spent some days in this place. it's beautiful. the meals are delishes, the rooms -more or less- clean, the view amazing and it seems like all is ok. with the sensation of going there what an ex-employee told, we checked really everything!!! So we went there, spending some nice days out of town, out of germany in an actually cool place. BUT behind all this mascerade, you can see the truth: total overworked waiter who still try do a great job, pissed receptionist who start afternoon and stay there till late morning hours, a night porter who seems to be more dead than alive because of all the work - did he ever get a free day??? my gf's sentence: omg! maybe i shuld start working here, look how much he losed - look his belt! in the morning a very nice young girl who still hasn't figured out how to use makeup... the cleaning-ladies are nice - to see when they are leaving. Not like the others you can see that they don't want to pretent being happy. Mr. Enzo, Silvano and the other giant (one of the almost all indians: india, sri lanka...) do a great job. The giant, maybe the director, always with a nice and cool statement. But, sincerly, we asked ourselves: how it's coming? We are going to italy and what we find? almost just indians (nothing bad or in contra), you would guess in an italian company you will find italian people. Now, here the first language is english, or some of their languages ;) what to say about the owner, miss lara? nice teeth! which she is showing all time, so you cannot even say how much truth is behind this smile and how much fake it is... All this is clouds the fact, that the hotel (the building) and his garden and parc... all this is ust unbelievable amazing. But with such an (totally) overworked staff... which is now just waiting for the end of season!

Just to talk abut the hotel itselfs: great! rooms - great; breakfast, lunch and dinner - great; trying to pretend - great; staff - tired and...

Dear Father,||Forgive me for my sins, it has been many years since my last confession, but I seek your forgiveness on my over indulgence this summer. What started as a business meeting on the shores of Lake Maggiore in early July opened my eyes to the Paradise lost; like the garden of Eden, a vivid and enchanting hotel, Villa Porta, wrapped around the lake, the lush beauty of the gardens, its abundant flowers, manicured lawns, and the waterfalls, became too enchanting and lured me to stay the whole summer. ||Lord Forgive me, I have sinned.||The daily gorging on the exquisite food and fine wine, with further over indulgence on the private terraces, lake side cabanas, wallowing in the crisp clean emerald waters, and further temptation with the grilled shrimps and Rosé at the Beach Club. I could not leave the garden of Eden. No, no I was weak.||Lord Forgive Me.|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|Every aspect of Villa Porta has been carefully thought out by Lara and her family; she floats around serenely between the clients ensuring their expectations are always exceeded. German efficiency has seamless fused with the character and charm of Italian life. The enchanted shores of Lake Maggiore caressing against Villa Porta, are complimented further by the 1st Class staff who deliver a tireless service, 7 days a week, from the kitchen staff, front of house, to Jamal who runs the Beach Club - well done to you all!||For those who carry the burdens of stress, take a moment to enjoy and cherish the now, the present moment in the blessed grounds of Villa Porta. I unreservedly recommend it, be it for a business lunch, romantic break, wedding, family holiday or a...