Hotel la Palma — Hotel in Stresa

We stayed 3 nights at La Palma in March and enjoyed it very much.||We checked in at 11:15 and the room was already ready. The lady at the reception was very friendly.||The room has a good size with a good size table, 1 chair and 1 "stool." There was no kettle. We asked for it and it arrived after 15 minutes. Wooden / laminate floor. 2 bedside tables. Mini fridge with things in it. The price list for the items was in the fridge. The hotel information was behind a QR code, not good for old people. On the first day 2 500 ml cartons of bottled water. A good amount of storage space. Loose cloth hangers in the closet. A big mirror.||The room had a big balcony with 2 chairs and a table. The view was partly to the lake and partly to the derelict building opposite where some building works were being carried out. However, as the sound proofing of the room and the windows was good that never disturbed us.||Key card was needed to make the lights work. They provided a laundry service with a laundry bag and a price list.||They provided 2 standards of wi-fi: a free one and a VIP version for 7 euros / day. ||Bathroom: toilet, bidet, sink, shower, heated towel rack, a chair in the shower. 2 mini body creams, a vanity pack with cotton buds and make-up removal pads. A big bottle of Tranquillity Comfort Zone hand soap next to the sink, same brand big bottles of shampoo and shower gel in the shower. No feminine hygiene bags were provided.||The breakfast was excellent. They had cheeses (edam, Emmental, an oregano / basil cheese, various soft cheeses, bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, different kinds of bread, croissants, pistachio croissants, chocolate cake, nut cake, German style salami, Parma ham, smoked salmon, Nutella in nice little glass jars, jams, cereals, yoghurts etc. They brought the coffee to the table and we saw the waiters took them from a coffee machine similar to the one at work.||They were very keen to take the plates and cutlery away, also when we were in the middle of eating and just having a break. We did not let that disturb us, we just got back to the buffet, took fresh plates and asked them to bring us some cutlery.||There were 2 large groups of German tourists in the main section every morning. That was the same also in the evening, maybe they had a half board arrangement.||We had one dinner at the restaurant. That was good with good service, but nothing special.||Sky Bar on the 7th floor was closed until Easter but the jacuzzi next to it was open and functional.||Spa: We booked the spa for 5pm on our first day. There were other people there but as it was shoulder season the spa never got crowded. The space consisted of a Turkish sauna, a Finnish sauna and a relaxation area. The Turkish sauna was as expected but the Finnish sauna was nowhere as hot as a proper Finnish sauna should be. There was no shower gel or shampoo provided in the 2 showers. However, the views from the spa were great.||The relaxation area was nice. They provided some cereal style dried fruit snacks and flavoured waters. I booked one massage there which was fine.||The bar: It was nice, the service was friendly and professional and they always brought some snacks (crisps, olives or pop corn) with the drinks.||Overall the staff at the hotel was superb. Everybody at the reception was really nice and friendly, starting with the possibility of an early check in and finishing with them booking us a taxi to take us to the Milano Malpensa airport. ||One generally unsung hero of the workplace deserves also a special mention: The cleaner lady on our floor was super nice and friendly. She always smiled and said "Buon giorno" to us.||If we come back to Stresa Hotel La Palma will be our...

Do not stay here. We have been advised that the pool will not be available during our stay even though it will be summer in June. This is not Ok as we both needed a rest without having to think about anything. The Hotel are not offering any monies back even though they are not providing what they state in all their information. This is disgusting and means as we have paid up front we are now forced to start our holiday bitterly disappointed. This was supposed to be a treat but has been ruined by a terrible hotel awful If you value your relaxation time do not stay here!!!!!

Following the management reply:

Thank you for replying:

1. There was nothing on the website when i booked nor on the holiday operators website so I definitely booked without knowing

2. I didn't worry about the holiday after I booked as I trusted all would be good. The first i knew of any problems was as I left my uncle's funeral this Tuesday when i received an email.

3. I spoke to the tour operator and they were insistent that no monies back or anything else was on offer from yourselves in compensation. I had been really looking forward to using the pool looking over the view of the lake and mountains which is very pretty. This is what i paid for in addition to the rest of the hotel. Instead I have been offered use of a pool at a hotel a hotel which is much cheaper to stay in so is not of the same standard and the pool is within the hotel so no great view and it will be crowded as 2 hotels will be using it.

4. you said in your reply I could use the sky pool. Well yes but it is a lot smaller and will be crowded also with no other pool in the hotel.

5. We have had a lot going on at home so really wanted a lovely peaceful holiday. Two hotels crunching in to one does not provide this

6. disappointingly your reply doesnt really acknowledge the above or the inconvenience at all. I repeat we are not getting what we paid for

7. However, you are correct i did not come to the hotel directly, if you are prepared to do anything to help, I am mire than willing to listen and confirm if it turns out you are prepared to take action needed, I am also more than willing to remove my review. At present i was informed that the tour operator had spoken with you and this was your stance no compensation or anything else as it didn't matter. I am happy to be...

Excellent Value for Money

While the building itself might not reflect the Belle Epoque feel on the architecture front , like the neighboring hotels, the property comes loaded with Stunning views of the lake as well as the Hills and the villages around. For the price you pay it is very hard to find a property like this (with the quality and creature comforts) in this region. Also it is more modern in terms of facilities and options than so many other rivals in the neighborhood. And in my opinion, the unique highlight of this hotel is the SHOWER system in the Bathroom, one of the best I have seen in the world in terms of the number of pampering options

LOCATION: Fantastica location , right next the lake and walkable from all key points of interest, old town and the train station

DINE + DRINK: Old world Restaurant at the lobby level and an ok bar that looks like any other random hotel lobby bar

ROOM: I stayed in 411, so this review is based on that; VIEW:Spectacular View of the Lake as well as the Lovely little island of Isola Bella ; SIZE: Very spacious room; AIR-CON: Perfectly functioning cooler that helped in setting the perfect room temperature; BED: Comfortable bed that played the expected part to put me to sleep; BATHROOM: Very chick and stylishly modern bathroom with a Stand in shower. And in my opinion the SHOWER system in the Bathroom is a Wicked one! one of the best I have seen in the world in terms of the number of pampering options ; TOILETRIES: very good spa quality cosmetics

FACILITIES: They do have a rooftop fitness center that is nothing more than a bigger room converted into a gym and all it has are a couple of treadmills and machines. Good for cardio, especially since it has magical views of the waterfront , hills and heritage buildings as you sweat it out!

SERVICE: Friendly staff that took care of all my needs .,Though the lady who helped with the check in could have smiled a bit as she was quite ‘transactional’ and didnt seem to welcome us too much :-)

HOW WIRED YOU WILL BE: Very Modern and wired room with enough plug points and connectivity options that is rarely found in hotels in this region. Free Wi-Fi that works well all over the property. Big Plasma TV screen dishing out dozens of channels spanning sports, news, music, movies and a wide variety of entertainment in...