Hotel Villa Paradiso — Hotel in Meina

Beautiful location. We booked a room with a view of the stunning lake.|Room was comfortable and clean with an easy to access walk in shower which is now an essential for us.|Relaxing pool area where we could sit but we chose mainly to swim and then use the convenient changing hut before returning to our room. Towels are provided just collect from the changing cabin.|The outside bar seating area is very pleasant even when raining however the staff suffered a little needing umbrellas to bring drink orders out. there is an inside bar and separate restaurant with a covered terrace as well. We ate at the hotel in the evening once which was very pleasant but the menu is the same every day.|We also ate breakfast every day which was good and had a number of available options, particularly liked the natural honeycomb. |I am a tea drinker but the room tea bags were a strange fruit assortment and only the odd english breakfast tea, however english breakfast tea bags were available from the breakfast bar. No milk or milk sachets available in our room. There was a minibar fridge with sparkling and still water, along with beer and some other drinks. I was able to buy a large bottle of pelligrino from the bar to use in our room as I drink a lot of water.|Would recommend guests have their own car when staying here as it is a little out of Stresa where the public ferry to the various islands leaves from and the Stresa train station where you can get into Milan within an hour and 12 minutes. Meina is the nearest train station to the hotel, a little slope up to the station takes about 15 - 20 minutes to walk from the hotel however the trains from Meina are infrequent and/or not direct. Best morning train was 8:50am with 15 minutes to Stresa. If you don't have a car or want to use the train the hotel will book taxis. We had several taxis during our stay which made it a lot easier to come and go at times we wanted to. If you use the ferries in Stresa and need a taxi back, one option is to walk 15-20 minutes to Stresa train station where there is a busy taxi rank. You might be lucky and find a taxi near the ferry terminal but mostly the train station is your best bet.|We were able to arrange a late check out which turned out to be an even better idea when I developed a cold overnight on our last night and just wanted to stay in bed until our taxi to the airport in the late afternoon.|All staff were friendly, helpful...

Spent 3 nights here early May as part of Italian Lakes & Adriatic cruise package - originally scheduled for Baveno but rerouted here in Meina. Italian public holiday so very little open in Meina. Hotel has great view of Lake but on a hill on a very busy main road with uneven pavements & busy blind bend. 20 mins walk into Meina (small village).. Beach across busy road was uncared for. Good points: Staff very friendly & mostly helpful. View from terrace. Rooms ok (3.5 star). Deconstructed Tiramisu the star on the menu. Shortage of veg. Issues: No Aircon for most of stay, despite requests, in mid to late 20's hot spell. Due to location only hotel restaurant avail for evening meals, with limited non - changing menu.Breakfast ok, tour groups iset up in separate area with more limited choices. Other guests located with wider buffet choices. General feel that this hotel unsuitable for this kind of tour & definitely not for guests who didn't fancy a hike or were without access to transport. Probably not the best time to visit ( they suggested Aircon avail from mid May!?) with public festival closing things down locally for a few days. Didn't take advantage of their pool & gardens. Beach needed a clean up. If booking the Lakes / Adriatic Cruise package...

Pros|Genuinely charming hotel |Really fabulous staff - could not have been nicer or more helpful|Beach club by the lake is wonderful - very clean, quiet, safe & the water is divine on a hot day. You do have to cross a busy road so have your wits about you. Beach is a bit stoney - suggest sea shoes. |Rooms very clean & modern - they were refurbished during Covid so very nice |Very good restaurant called Bella Vista next to hotel with a lovely terrace overlooking the lake. ||Cons |The major downside not the fault of the lovely hotel but it’s the transport situation. There is not a lot to do in Meina & you will want to visit Stresa for dinner or sightseeing. But the train was not working. There is only one bus an hour. And the last bus leaves Stresa at 7pm. Which leaves taxis. But taxis are incredibly expensive. €50 ONE way for a 6 mile/20 minute journey. And they are really difficult to book as so few of them. We almost got stranded in Stresa one evening after dinner. It’s a real shame there aren’t more buses. They are also often late & can get very busy. All very stressful. Would advise hiring a car. |WiFi is very patchy. Cuts out all the time. ||Overall, a lovely quiet hotel worth a stay but beware the...