Hotel Ceresio

I have mixed feelings about this hotel. The room was good, the air conditioning worked well, and the location was convenient. Breakfast, though, was very poor, so I’d eat elsewhere. I also had a bad experience over the tourist tax. I booked a room for myself, but because it was a two-person room with a large bed, they tried to charge tax for two people based on the room size rather than the number of guests. That meant a single guest would pay double the tax. The receptionist was very rude when I tried to explain the issue. She insisted she made the rules, didn’t care that I thought she was wrong, and shouted at me.

We stayed over Easter and they even treated us to a complimentary Easter Cake. The staff were friendly, and breakfast was wonderful for an affordable price. It’s a great place for couples, very close to the shore of lake Lugano. The only thing that frustrated me was trying to open the door with its fancy lock system 😇.

We usually don’t leave negative reviews, but this time we feel we have to. We work in hotels and gastronomy, and although this is listed as a 3-star hotel, in our opinion it should be 2 stars. The room was small but would have been fine for a quick stopover. It wasn’t properly clean, though: there was lots of dust on the duvets and on the very visible toilet radiator, hair on the sheet, and the bathroom was dirty too. We also saw handprints on the lift doors, which felt even more concerning with Covid around. The corridor, with rooms all along one side, reminded us of a military facility and was one reason we felt the rating should be lower. Google says parking is free, but we paid 10chf for the single night we stayed. Reception was a little unfriendly, though we tried to be friendly ourselves. The restaurant was closed, and breakfast was very basic, served in a place with an extremely small cereal area. We can’t recommend it.

Please check the reception hours carefully. It’s only open from 8 am to 2pm, and after that there’s no reception or anyone at the hotel. They didn’t answer the phone either. I arrived at 15 o’clock without knowing this and ended up in a lot of trouble. I find it unacceptable for a hotel to have no reception all day. You also have to ask for the ticino ticket; they don’t offer it when you arrive, which I think is REALLY bad. Breakfast costs CHF 12 per person and isn’t included. The rooms are small, and the single lift only works until 9pm. It’s an ENORMOUS prize for what feels like a 2star hotel. I know Switzerland is expensive, but this was still A LOT.