Hotel Check: Castello del Sole, Ascona
As part of my trip to Switzerland, I was also staying at this beautifully located property on Lake Maggiore. Upon arriving by train in Locarno, I was picked up by a friendly bellman who took care of my suitcases. I didn‘t join him since I had arranged a meeting with a long-time-no-seen-friend who works in Ascona. Therefore I arrived at the property a bit after 5pm, where I was impressed by the vast grounds. A friendly and quick check-in later, the lady from the front desk showed me up to my incredible Junior Suite Deluxe. I was stunned by the fresh interior since I thought the entire property wasn‘t renovated since they redid the spa. I was actually wrong, and my suite was indeed brand new. Although Castello del Sole basically lies in the front row of the lake, the rooms have only partly lake view due to the trees on the lakeshore. While I could glimpse through the trees and see the lake, I spent most of the time enjoying the spacious layout of the suite itself.
When entering the suite, there was a guest bathroom with walk-in shower, single vanity and toilet, followed by the main living room set up of an L-shaped sofa, two chairs and a desk as well as a cosy sitting corner in the lovely tower. The main bedroom was only semi-separated from the living room and had plenty of wardrobe space next to the comfortable double bed. I found the master bathroom to be a bit small with single vanity, an electronic Japanese spa toilet as well as a bathtub. Whenever I felt like taking a proper shower, I had to move to the guest bathroom. This was also the reason why I didn‘t really use the master bathroom. Housekeeping did an excellent job, and there were always plenty of towels available as well as toiletries, which were by hotel-based brand „The Living Circle. I found the smell to be lovely and liked the packaging a lot. Overall the suite had all the amenities I was expecting, and I appreciated the welcome gifts (pralines and fruit basket) along with the handwritten letter.
Unfortunately, I was less impressed by the indoor pool. Looking very dated with the jacuzzi that didn‘t invite me at all, I just enjoyed the facilities on the next day when it was sunny and warm outside. The pool was simply too cold for a fresh fall day, so I wouldn‘t use the pool during the fall or winter season. They tried their best to make the pool area look stylish with beautiful cushions and fresh colours, which helps the environment not to look too outdated. Luckily, I found the brand new spa area that looks like out of a Hollywood movie. With a super-cool spa lobby, a beautiful sauna area as well as the uber nice hydrotherapy area - the spa was really my personal highlight in terms of facilities. I ended up spending most of the time in the hot pools whose design is really on par. Quickly after, I changed and went on for the ultimate dining experience at the Michelin-starred Barbarossa restaurant. Being welcomed in the most friendly way, the Maitre has already prepared the table for me.
I decided to go for their special menu, which focuses one hundred per cent on products grown on their own land or close surroundings. Honestly, I found this approach to be a great thing supporting a short product supply chain and not harming the environment too much. All of the courses were incredibly tasty and wonderfully done. My personal favourite dish was the risotto that is grown on the grounds of Castello del Sole. The entire wine pairing included wines only from their estate, which usually is very experimental but indeed the wines actually matched with the food and weren‘t a wrong decision. Next to the perfectly cooked meat, I was also very impressed by the soup. Congrats to the chef and his team for doing such an outstanding job. After dinner, I had the chance to meet him as well, and he explained his approach to use the local ingredients only. A very matching offer in my opinion and I would love to see more gourmet restaurants following the idea to use the best of the local products only.
During the night, I had a good rest and was ready for breakfast. While the breakfast room is vast, and there are a lot of tables in the open plan dining area, it still had a very discreet feeling. Neither one of us two missed anything from the extensive buffet. Besides an egg cooking station, there was a selection of bread, ham and cheese as well as homemade jams and honey. Some of the guests were sitting outside, though it was quite chilly, so we decided to stay in the beautiful restaurant. Before I left for my next experience in the Emilia Romagna, I joined my friend on the pool lying in the sun and listening to the sound of nature. We enjoyed the hydrotherapy pools as well as the outdoor pool and had a beautiful morning. Overall, I can highly recommend Castello del Sole as the best place to stay in Ticino. While I most probably won‘t stay there again soon (simply because there are hotels that offer a much better value for money), I would like to highlight that it‘s a fantastic hotel if you are Swiss and want to holiday within Switzerland. You are not likely to find another property of such excellent calibre with such a top location and service within Switzerland!
