Looking for charming place to stay somewhere in the Lake Maggiore/Orta areas. Do not want large towns such as Stresa. Would like recommendations for hotel or B&B in some of the smaller towns and villages on the lake. We'll have a car and hoping to spend 3 relaxing days in the area.

ttt

Buon giorno Budman, We have stayed 3 times at the Hotel Orta and love that village. It has seen better days but you will not care if you get a room with a lake view. Also, here is a hotel further up the west side of Maggiore that gets good press.
http://www.hotelcannero.com/ Whereever you stay, be sure to day trip to the other.

Budman, IMO you can't go wrong either way. The town of Orta has been magnificently untouched, was not affected by bombin during WW II, therefore did not need to be reconstructed. Make sure you visit the island (San Guiliano?) and the church on the island. Last year I stayed on Lago Maggiore and loved it! Here's where I stayed:

http://www.lidopalace.com/home.htm

It's also a nice area to explore, make sure you see the 3 islands on Maggiore, they're fantastic! Get to Lake Como, too; there's a lot to explore there. All kinds of lovely villas in that whole area are open to the public, like the Villa Carlotta.

Have a great time!

BC

Vira Gambarogno and the Ticino Riviera - google it and see.

I was a little surprised to hear back from most places that want you to book half board.

Which is actually a good deal at Hotel Orta--the only place we ever do it.

Any other ideas for the areas? I sent Hotel Orta several e-mails, including one with my CC numbers and they haven't responded, confirmed or reconfirmed as I have asked, so I am writing them off. I reached out to Hotel Cannero, but haven't heard back from them.

Hmmm ! Strange--do you want me to intercede--they know me.

Thanks for the offer, Bob. I just might. I'm going to see what Cannero has to say. It looks like I can take the ferry across the lake to/from Verbania to explore the other side of the lake. How's the area of Cannero for exploring? Verbania might be better since I will be heading back up to Zurich from there.

Hi Budman,

I just wanted to chime in here, since we just spent 8 days in Cannero. I'm not sure if you saw the link to my pix:

http://tinyurl.com/gkb7t

Cannero will offer you that charming lakeside village experience that you mention. However, shopping options are limited. Cannobio, just to the north, has neat little streets and alleys to explore and a large market on Sundays. Verbania is much more like Stresa, having a more commercial city feel to it.

Also, you should be aware that the boats from Cannero do not go to Stresa and the islands or Verbania on most days. It does go to the other side of the lake to Luino and other smaller (and not very interesting, according to our friends who summer in Cannero) villages. The schedule is confusing, and we were given incorrect information more than once. To reach Stresa and the Islands on the day we wanted to go, we had to catch the boat from Pallanza. I believe the car ferry leaves from Intra.

I hope you hear back from the Hotel Cannero. It looked like a really lovely place. We had gelato and granita at the little place next door nearly every day.

Good luck!

lvk, thanks for your informative input. I see you stayed in a villa. How was that experience?

The Hotel Cannero is in Verbania, and from looking at mapquest, we would be able to take the ferry across the lake (Laveno-Intra ferry. Is it a car ferry?) to explore the other side of the lake.

I am looking more at driving around the lake instead of taking the ferries. What small towns besides Cannobio do you recommend we stop and see. We will have 3 days in the area.

wallykringen, you made my day! I visit the hotel panorama terrace website almost daily. Ahhhh, such lovely peaceful memories. J.

I heard back from Hotel Cannero and booked 3 nights at 160 Euro for Half Board.

Amazingly, I also heard back from Hotel Orta responding to my original e-mail request for reservations back in mid-August. I had since sent 6 e-mails reserving, requesting confirmation, and now cancelling. Maybe something was wrong with their reservation server.

Based on some of the reviews, I think I'll be happy with Hotel Cannero. They did mention that they had A/C if anyone else out there is looking for a place next summer with A/C.

BTW, thanks Bob for the tip. If it is anything like the one you gave me in 2004 (Locanda Rosati outside of Orvieto), I'll be a happy camper.

Have fun Budman !
Read about the CENTOVALLI train trip that leaves from Locarno, and do not miss the Val Verzasca just north of Locarno--hard to explain but unique.
Also suggest the Villa Taranto if you like flowers and the Sacro Monte at Orta--so much to see !

I'm glad you heard back from the Hotel Cannero. As I said, it looked like a great place and it does indeed get good reviews on Tripadvisor.

The villa we stayed in is owned by DH's best friend from Munich. He and his wife own the villa next door for their use, and they rent the other. They made us very comfortable and showed us the lay of the land.

We had terrible weather most days, so we didn't do as much exploring as we would have liked. When the sun made a brief appearance, the kids wanted to head straight for the beach . As you can see from our pictures, we explored the Borromean Islands and Stresa, Verbania, Cannobio and Locarno.

The ferry from Intra-Laveno is the car ferry. More info on the boat schedules can be found on: www.navigazionelaghi.it/

We had a nice meal at Europa, right there on the waterfront in front of Hotel Cannero.

For many meals, we headed up into the hills above Cannero, along the road to Trarego-Viaggiona. The very narrow, winding road is not for the faint of heart, but these were neat, family-owned and operated restaurants. Ristorante Luna was great for pizzas and calzones, and Ristorante Usignolo had a wonderful weekend antipasti buffet. Prices were very reasonable too.

I'm sure you'll have a great time. I'm looking forward to reading your trip report.