Hotel Splendide Royal

Review Mixed feelings I stayed on a weekend solo trip whilst working elsewhere in Switzerland, and have mixed feelings about this hotel. I booked this on the basis of the rave reviews on here, which I don’t really now understand - it’s fine but not great in my view. What’s good: - Beautiful public areas in the main building - Spa, pool & sun terrace have great furnishings, very comfortable and a stunning view of the lake - Breakfast buffet is excellent quality & included in room rate. Probably the nicest croissant ever. The staff kindly opened the terrace for me (it was 18 degrees & very sunny) - Some of the staff were kind and helpful, particularly at the reception & the spa desk - Very comfortable beds, lovely linen & towels - good night’s sleep! - Nice location, a little out of the main town (15 mins walk around the lake) so peaceful & quiet - Free shuttle to Lugano train station is a nice extra, although the public bus is very convenient Less good - My room was in an ugly 1970s building with a view of the carpark. I didn’t expect a lake view (it was an additional 200 CHF per night) but this was not exactly a “garden view” as described - The room & bathroom was cluttered with random stuff- promotional booklets, mini bar snacks, bottles of toiletries - there was no space to stand even a wash bag in the bathroom. There were 4 bottles of products balanced on the edge of the bath. Please wall mount the bottles & tidy up! - I asked to borrow an iron - the one they bought had a European plug & all the in-room plugs are Swiss, so it was unusable. I don’t expect everyone to speak perfect English but even google translate could not get me a working iron! I fail to understand why you’d not have the right iron plug for the hotel sockets… - At breakfast I was asked 3 times if they should open a parasol, I politely said “no” so the staff waited for me to go to the buffet & opened it anyway! I was cold in the shade so I just left my food, which was a disappointment - I had to ask for my free tourist card for transport & museum discounts. This should be provided to all guests, had I not been aware of it then I’d have missed out On balance, for me it was overpriced, for 450 CHF per night I will likely try somewhere else next time I come to town. Not a disaster but I feel there’s likely better choices. The Best Western next door is 1/3 of the cost…

Amazing view and service