Appartamenti della Ruga

The apartment was fully furnished and soundproof, and everything was clean. There's a bedroom with a double bed, plus a comfortable double bed in the living room that pulls out from the closet. She came to take payment on the last day. Since the streets are all one-way, there's a parking garage next to a Coop supermarket about six minutes away. You can walk straight to the promenade in ten seconds and enjoy a wonderful lake view.

For a longer self-catering stay, one of the building's larger apartments with a bigger kitchen and balcony would be best. We found this apartment hotel affordable and centrally located in Ascona's old town, near the promenade, and recommend it, especially for anyone traveling without a car. The apartment is functionally furnished, and a standing fan is provided for hot days. It reached 38 degrees Celsius during our June visit. There are a few drawbacks. The building has no elevator, so you have to carry luggage up and down the stairs. There's no parking at the property either. You can briefly drive one way into the pedestrian zone just before the building to load or unload, though bollards sometimes block it. After that, the public underground garage at the tourist information office is the option we used. It's a ten-minute walk away and costs €24 per 24 hours. We spent about €150-180 over ten days, since we often took day trips by car. There aren't cheaper legal parking options in Ascona, which has narrow old-town streets and limited space, so you have to accept that if you drive there. The owner doesn't live in the village but is almost always reachable by phone and very helpful. On site, the kind and helpful Mrs. Brütsch is truly the gem of the place. Without her, we would have deducted even more stars. We also encountered the known minor issue of ants in the bathroom. It didn't bother us too much, but this isn't the cleaning staff's fault. The ants are due to careless, sloppy bathroom grouting that the owner urgently needs to redo.

The lake is just 50 metres away, which makes the location really nice. Wi-Fi on the second floor was usually unavailable, though.

Everything is close from this apartment in the middle of the old town. It was spotless, and we got a very friendly welcome. Fantastic place, highly recommended.