Hotel La Palma

I???d been told that La Palma was a great hotel, but my experience far excelled the speculation! The staff were attentive, the amenities were amazing and the food was fabulous (although a little pricey to be honest). The beach club was by far the biggest surprise to me. Being able to sit just above the lake was amazing. The cost to stay may well be more expensive than other places in Stresa - but no one else has a facility like that. A nearby bar give me daily access to their ???private??? area, but it???s 60 Euro a day and no where near the luxury you get from La Palma, so when you add it up, La Palma is well worth the investment. If you???re after a little bit of something special, and a place to truly relax, La Palma is the place to go.

The most important thing to say is if you have booked La Palma Hotel you are in for an amazing holiday. There are building works happening on the west side of the building, but you needn???t worry as this won???t affect your stay. Our room was on the 4th floor directly opposite the building works and we hardly heard a peep from them. The room is big and spacious, there are plenty of hangers in the wardrobe and plenty of plug sockets located around the room. The bed is a good size, however the pillows are very hard and we found them to be quite uncomfortable. I would hope they upgrade these in the future. The shower is fantastic too. The food at the hotel is also lovely. Breakfast has a choice of scrambled eggs bacon and sausage, toast, yoghurts and cereals, pancakes, pastries, (try the pistachio, yum!) and even cheese and meats if you fancy it at that time of the morning. They also serve tea and coffee and juice. I think the addition of eggs made to order would be a nice touch, as well as some more variety throughout the week. We were half board so were lucky enough to also experience the Dinner menu. It is an a la carte menu and you???re able to choose 3 courses from a selection of 4. This again was great (i recommend the steak with peppercorn sauce) however I would like to see a bit more variety with the menu as it can get very repetitive. The staff are all super welcoming and friendly. Please bear in mind that they work very long shifts often starting before breakfast and working all the way up until after dinner. They work hard and they are very attentive, I did feel that they were understaffed and a bit flustered during busy periods. Perhaps management could afford to bring on a couple of extra staff members. The pool area is very relaxing with a great selection of sunbeds, some shaded with parasols and some without, so something for everyone. The bar at the pool is overpriced (???15 for an aperol spritz, ???10 for house wine). I understand that you are paying for the view and the pool but staff should not be surprised if guests want to bring their own drink in. The music by the pool is okay but they often repeat the same playlist which is only a couple of hours long, so it can get slightly annoying after the third time in a row! Maybe bring your headphones. The Sky Bar is a sought after location open to the public however there are sunbeds available and a pool area too if you???d rather relax up there. Expensive drinks up here too which again I understand due to the view, however a nice gesture would be to offer hotel guests a discount at the Sky Bar rather than having to pay the same as regular attendees. I would recommend walking up the road to the City of Stresa as there are so many fantastic restaurants, bars and gelato shops to try. We liked Mamma Mia ristorante, Osteria Di Amici, and Bar Moka Stresa. The food and drink in this area is much cheaper too and just as amazing. Overall I would absolutely return to Stresa and to La Palma Hotel. 5/5.

My family has been coming to this hotel for years and I always look forward to staying here when we visit Stresa. My husband and I recently had our wedding at La Palma and it was so beautiful! Leading up to the wedding the staff were very responsive, which was greatly appreciated. The ceremony was in the hotel garden, which is so beautiful this time of year. The Sky Bar is always a great time, and having our aperitif there provided a lovely view. The reception was in the building by the garden, and the windows/tile floors made for a very beautiful space. The Beach Bar was the site of the dancing/cake - which the guests enjoyed. I can???t thank the staff enough for their grace with our big group of guests, their help with the wedding planning, and for making our wedding day (really wedding week!) so wonderful! I can???t wait to come back to Hotel La Palma. (disclaimer regarding wedding: not much is included for free, even if using multiple spaces and staying at the hotel; this is maybe typical for a hotel since spaces/some staff are not accessible to other guests during the wedding, but just wanted to share for those curious about cost).