Villa Principe Leopoldo — Hotel in Circolo di Lugano ovest

I really wanted to give this place 5 stars. I am a self-admitted hotel snob, and I try to find the finest and most upscale properties. This could have been it. It is arguably the best looking property in all of Lugano. The building and grounds are gorgeous. Even the hallways were gorgeous. The property looked like a 5-star hotel. The staff had 5-star hotel hospitality. And the room was well appointed and nicely decorated (teal/gray). The furniture looked pleasing to sit on (when I typically avoid sitting on hotel furniture). The views from the room and balcony were spectacular.||So why did I only give it 3 stars? My first issue with the hotel was that the room had a make-shift king-sized bed that was not a king-size mattress, but instead, two twin mattresses pushed together. This was horrible!! When hotels do this, you should have a converter strip, which is simple enough to order and softly seals the crack between the two beds, so that you are not falling deep into a hole! I was there on a romantic getaway, which was very much needed, and we could not even sleep closely together. It was horrible! The pillows were also very uncomfortable. ||My second issue was that the room was cold, and there was no way to adjust the heat from the room. This was obviously being controlled by the hotel/staff (and, usually, only hotels that are penny pinching tend to do this!). When I questioned this, they brought a space/electric heater to our room (as if they were prepared for these types of complaints). This is a problem, and winter is coming!! Not only did the space heater NOT help, but space heaters are dangerous and can cause fires. I was very uncomfortable with the thought of guests having these heaters in their rooms and leaving out for the day with the thing still plugged in and turned on! A very close friend of mine lost his father in a hotel fire, which made the news, and this is probably how that fire started!||Lastly, the rooms are on the lower level, and our room was by the dining area where breakfast was held. We were awakened at 6AM every morning (weekend) where staff starting setting up and clinging and clanging dishes, and then guests gathered and ate very loudly seemingly right outside of our room (Room A). This is a BEAUTIFUL room w/ a stunning view, but a HORRIBLE room location! [*The breakfast buffet, where you can also order a hot omelette, is very nice by the way.]||In short, I would recommend this hotel and certainly revisit the hotel because of its 5-star beauty and 5-star staff, BUT I would only recommend visiting in spring and summer where the cold is less of an issue. I would also recommend a different room location away from the dining area now that I...

We traveled to the Lugano area with my wife and an 8month old son. I found this hotel on trip advisor and based on reviewed, pictures, location thought it would be perfect for our 4 day trip. The check in process was great. We got the signature lake view suite. The view was amazing, right on to the lake, beautiful, amazing balcony on which to enjoy it. This is where all the positives ended. The room smelled like dog urine. When we asked them to address it, they cleaned our room, did basic room service that wasn’t even that thorough, left garbage on the night stand. Room continued to smell like dog urine. When we checked in I asked for a highchair for my son. The chair was in the room when we got there, but it was broken, the table piece was completely missing. They did set up the crib with clean linens. Now the service… where do I start?!?! Bar/restaurant service, we waited for over an hour first day to get a menu, but food was delicious. The hotel restaurant is amazing, delicious food, good service. Room service on the other hand is definitely lacking. Firstly, impossible to reach them. Several times it took us over 30 minutes of calling for someone to pick up the phone. Secondly, my wife has a dietary restriction, no dairy products due to allergy. When I tried to ask/request anything dairy free, it was almost impossible. One day I ate bland grilled veal and steamed veggies, I know there are other ways to make the food taste good without butter or cream. Another day l wanted wanted piece of their cake of the day, when I asked about what cake is it, they told me they don’t know I need to look on the menu (menu said “cake of the day”). When they finally brought our order, they forgot the toast for tartare and honey for the tea. Breakfast wasn’t much better, no dairy free options, but that’s ok I get it it’s very limited. They were very accommodating in making dairy free omelette and porrage. Except one morning it took them 20 plus minutes to even ask for our coffee/tea order, and over an hour to make porridge, when we reminded then waiter, it arrived in 10 minutes, by the sound of it he forgot to put the whole order in. Now concierge service, one would expect a tourist destination, locals working at the hotel, they can make reservation and recommendation for good local restaurant spots. Not so much. I was given a name of a very touristy spot, and told to call there myself. Again, very disappointed for the price and...

This review is exclusively for the restaurant not the hotel. The hotel review is under Villa Principe Leopoldo. The restaurant has an incredible view on the lake of Lugano, the scenery is therefore magnificent and also romantic. The restaurant is an installed external pavilion (warmed of course). Greetings from the maitre de salle were unfortunately pretty rude. But let’s assume it was due to the stress and amount of seating and double service necessary during these corona times. We were seated in the middle of the room. We decided to go with the menu as usual; as they don’t offer the wine pairing, I selected a 2015 Dame de Montrose. The wine menu is extensive, comprehensive of all the greatest world’s vineyards and most known fine wine. Prices at the highest end. We started with an amuse-bouche, a cute Bloody Mary with a marshmallow & shrimp (I forgot to take a picture) which we both appreciated. Followed by a salmon tartare coated in a asparagus, avocado mousse, topped with an excellent salted pane carasau and accompanied by a season salad. Next was my favorite course of the evening, cavatelli all’astice (lobster pasta), which was perfect in terms of flavors and prime ingredients. Followed by the main course: an angus beef bone-in ribeye, with his roasted potatoes and artichokes and a homemade delicious sauce bearnaise. Next for my fiancé a selection of cheeses and for me a refreshing pineapple & sage sorbet. We closed with a pear & chocolate variation dessert, which I also enjoyed very much as it matches some of my favorites flavors. Just the tartelette bottom was a bit hard. To accompany the coffee, some sweet miniardises. The waiters were courteous and welcoming during the whole dinner. All in all a good evening with a bumpy start. The quality of the food was excellent, the vine selection up to expectations, the location marvelous, the menu perhaps a bit traditional for a Michelin...