Hotel Leon D'oro

The hotel feels old and outdated, and there's a horrible smell. They mainly seem to sell discounted rooms with check-in at 8:00 pm. If you don't arrive then, they make you pay anyway, with no excuses.

That spot by the water is hard to beat, with great restaurants just fifty yards away, and the history gives the hotel a lot of character. It's celebrating its 201st year, and the portraits of the first owner from 1814 look a lot like the elderly woman who owns it now. Our bed was excellent, the massage shower was remarkable, and the comfort and quality were among the best I've experienced. The young receptionists were upbeat and welcoming, a lovely start to vacation. Breakfast was a real letdown: almost no choice, nothing warm, and it cost far too much. The cheese was the worst I've had in my 50 years in Europe, inedible, and the one thing left on the buffet. Our air conditioning failed, so we were moved to a smaller room without a balcony at the back of the hotel. Its window faced a wall about six feet away. I asked for a better room or compensation, and was told none were available. The hotel wasn't full, though, and Booking.com showed a lake-view room. I called reception to ask about it. While I waited for them to check, the listing changed from available to no rooms available about 30 seconds later. The receptionist had marked it taken while I was on the phone. The nerve. The head waiter and owner seemed dour and unsmiling. Asking for something like ice felt as though they were doing me a favor. I'd stay again, but wouldn't expect much conversation with senior staff who seem grateful to have guests.

The view was the one bright spot. Hotel Leon D’Oro in Lake Orta was a major disappointment for the price, and the experience felt unprofessional. The hotel calls itself a spa hotel, but the spa is only open three days a week. It was closed throughout our stay. They were meant to email us about this and didn't; when I called, all they said was “sorry,” with no offer to make it right. Parking was far away, a long walk with luggage. The person who showed us our room left us to carry the bags up three flights of stairs. We couldn't eat at the hotel restaurant because they couldn't accommodate us, so we went next door. Staff also had no suggestions when we asked about renting a boat, despite the hotel being right on the water. Breakfast was extremely basic for this price. At checkout, nobody came even after we waited and rang the bell. We had somewhere we needed to be, so we left without checking out. Later they emailed asking for 6 euros in tax. Seriously? There are many lovely places around here with better service and value.

The room was a little dated, though otherwise an acceptable standard, except for poor air conditioning and a shower that wouldn't drain well. We were at Hotel Leon D’Oro for a wedding, as were most of the guests. During our stay a second wedding party arrived, and their noise prompted several complaints from other guests. The rest of our trip had been enjoyable, but the checkout incident put a serious damper on it. At checkout, the receptionist said we owed the remaining room balance, city tax, and money for a damaged shelf. We asked what damage she meant. She said cleaning staff had found plaster damage on the wall and showed a photo with debris on the floor. We hadn't caused it and asked to see it. In the room she pointed to two pieces of plaster missing above and below the window, partly hidden by the curtain. It looked like damage that would take a chisel. We'd only left light bags on the shelf and a suitcase in front of the curtain during the trip. We denied responsibility. The receptionist then wrongly said there had been several problems with our wedding party, accused us of being drunk and sitting on the shelf, and blamed us for the damage. I objected to the accusation, said she had mixed us up with the other wedding party, and asked her to call the police if she believed we'd done it. She offered to get the manager, who was in the kitchen. I asked to speak at reception, which he took issue with. There he repeated that we caused the damage and that he'd had several problems with our party. I again asked for the police. The manager immediately started shouting and verbally abusing us, ordered us to leave, then went back to the kitchen shouting personal insults. By the time the police arrived, we'd paid the room balance. The receptionist had taken us aside and apologized for the manager's outburst. His behavior was completely unacceptable for someone in his position. It felt as if we'd been targeted because we were confused with the other wedding party. It genuinely seemed like an attempt to extort money, and once we mentioned police, the whole matter was dropped. I'd strongly recommend staying elsewhere at Lake Orta.