Cannobio or Cannero Riviera on Lake Maggiore?
 

We will be spending a few nights on Lake Maggiore in July and are considering staying either in Cannobio (Hotel Villa Belvedere www.villabelvederhotel.it ) or Cannero Riviera (Hotel Cannero http://www.hotelcannero.com).

We want to stay "mid lake" as we want to take a day trip up to Bellinzona and another day down to the Borromean Islands via public transportation.

I have searched the boards and found very little....heard some good things about the Cannero hotel but nothing to be found on the one in Cannobio.

Has anyone stayed in either of these towns or specifically these hotels? Would you choose one town over the other?

Thanks in advance!

topping for shona

Between the two I would choose....Locarno, which is just a few kilometres away from Cannobio and Cannero. I have been in these two small villages and they are not that interesting. Ok Cannero has the beautiful castles in the lake and Cannobio is a small village on the edges of Lake Maggiore. Locarno though is livelier IMO and you can go visit Cannobio and Cannero while there. Locarno is only 40 kilometres from Stresa, Baveno, Verbania, Intra and Pallanza, it is an hour drive from Locarno. I know that because I have spent so many summers at my relatives who live in Baveno (near Stresa) and we would often drive to Locarno (mostly for a walk, some shopping and chocolate!).
If, on the other hand you want to use Cannobio or Cannero just as a starting point to visit Bellinzona and Stresa, it might be ok, but really, there is anything particularly striking in these two tiny villages.

Thanks for the info BATUFFOLINA. We had looked into Locarno but thought staying in a smaller town would be more charming. We'll be sure to spend some time in Locarno for some shopping though.

We have stayed in Cannobio twice at the same hotel but for the life of me I can't remember the name. Cannobio is a small village right on Lake Maggiore, its plesant enough for a few days, a few shops to wander around and plenty of dining options. Its easy to ferry to other villages/towns on the lake, i.e. Luino even down to Stresa for a daytrip. Hope this helps.