Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Hotel Leon d'Oro€€
HOTEL
( 0322 91 19 91;
www.albergoleondoro.it
;
Piazza Mario Motta 42, Orta San Giulio; s €100, d €110-180, ste
€200-280; Feb-Dec; )
Any closer to the lake and you'd be in it. A centuries-old building
on Piazza Motta, this hotel is ideally located and irresistibly romantic, with its more ex-
pensive doubles looking directly across to Isola San Giulio. Sunny yellows and deep blues
dominate the decor, with heavy window curtains, timber furniture, tiled floors and, in
some rooms, jacuzzi-style baths. It also has some smallish suites.
Piccolo Hotel Olina €
( 0322 90 56 56;
www.ortainfo.com
; Via Olina 40, Orta San Giulio; s €64-75, d €90-105; )
Artistically
decorated with contemporary prints, bright colours and light-wood furniture, this eco-
friendly hotel with a touch of modern design right in Orta San Giulio's medieval heart is a
gem. It also has a fine, somewhat avant-garde restaurant downstairs, and they have other
hotel options scattered around the old town if this one is full.
HOTEL
Villa Crespi€€€
HISTORIC HOTEL
( 0322 91 19 02;
www.hotelvillacrespi.it
;
Via Giuseppe Fava 18, Orta San Giulio; s €200-300, d €240-390, ste
€350-800; Apr-Dec; )
Staying at this Moorish extravaganza, which is topped
with an aqua-coloured onion-dome spire, is to enter the madcap design dream of the fam-
ily (a rich textile clan) that built this caprice. Think velvet walls, four-poster beds in some
rooms and otherwise opulent interiors and sprawling gardens, all designed for cotton
trader Benigno Crespi in 1879.
Locarno & Around
Vecchia Locarno€
HOTEL
( 091 751 65 02;
www.vecchia-locarno.ch
; Via della Motta 10; s/d with shared bathroom from Sfr55/90, with private
bathroom Sfr120/140; )
Rooms are gathered around a sunny internal courtyard, evoking a
Mediterranean mood, and some have views over the Old Town centre and hills. The digs
are simple enough, but comfortable (heaters are provided in the colder months).
