Bella Vista Suites

The noon checkout was great, and I’d definitely stay again. Our room had a beautiful lake view. I’ve stayed at plenty of hotels where the indoor pool felt too cold, but this one was warm and just right.

The pool water was green, like algae soup, and it was shocking to think guests were expected to swim in it. It didn’t seem therapeutic, mineral, or anything special, just dirty and disgusting. The rooms felt neglected too. They were dirty and poorly cleaned, with a bad smell of dampness mixed with chemicals. The furniture was worn, hygiene seemed questionable, and the place felt gross as soon as we walked in. It didn’t look properly maintained for a long time. The price made all of this even harder to accept. They charge luxury level rates for what felt like budget hostel conditions, and I felt scammed. Everything seemed chaotic and careless, with no standards or quality control. This is unacceptable for a hotel charging so much. Highest price, lowest quality. Avoid it unless you want to spend a lot and be disappointed at every turn.

We booked three nights at Bella Vista for three people, with a king bed and a hide-a-bed in the suite, but only managed to sleep there for two nights. The hide-a-bed frame was broken, there was no mattress support, and the sleeper’s feet were on the floor while their backside sank into the middle. The mattress had an old plastic bag taped over it instead of a proper cover. When we told management the next day, they seemed indifferent and offered no compensation for the inconvenience or lost sleep on the first day of our trip. They said the reservation was nonrefundable, so we couldn’t switch to a better hotel. For another $227 on top of what we’d already paid, we could have had a suite with two comfortable beds. We moved instead to another room with a less decrepit hide-a-bed. Its frame was intact, but the mattress was so thin we could feel the metal springs through the padding. We bought two memory foam mattress pads at Walmart for $60 and stacked them on top to make it almost adequate. It was like The Princess and the Pea. It would have cost them nothing to give us a room with two decent beds instead of saying they’d had two adults sleeping on that wreck. It was mid-January and the hotel was almost empty. The place felt like a creepy ghost town.

We spent our mornings on the balcony with coffee, watching fishermen launch their boats, and caught the sunset there in the evening too. The lake view was wonderful. Our suite at Bella Vista Suites looked recently renovated, was clean and comfortable, and had everything we needed. The staff were friendly and courteous from check-in through checkout. Bella Vista can host large events, including conferences and receptions. Its location is convenient for walking through downtown Lake Geneva, and it’s across the street from the lakefront boat tours and Riviera shops. We stayed from 10/8 to 10/11 and most definitely recommend it if you’re looking for something special.