Hotel Simplon

I would have liked to have given a higher rating as the hotel itself and its grounds are quite deligIihtful. The pool area is stunning. The staff - mostly - are attentive and polite BUT and it is a a big one..................the dining room experience was not even average. The room itself is lovely so is the view from every window but starting with breakfast nothing was up to what I expected. The hot food was really not hot at all and not worth bothering with - much of it was stone cold; the bacon was fatty and undercooked and although at first fried eggs were available on request, it was then decided that a charge of 9 euros would be made if anyone did not want the cold, hard boiled eggs or luke warm scrambled variety. Never on a buffet with eggs have I ever been asked to pay for a fried egg. Our group were on a half board basis. Let us just say that the average motorway cafe has a better selection and better chef. One evening our entire table of ten people and, I believe this was a duplicated reaction on other tables, barely touched the 'sea bream' - it was served unappetisingly, was overcooked and did not even smell enticingly - quite the reverse. Did the maitre d' - if you could call him that - check with his guests to see what the problem was or offer an alternative ?? Absolutely not - his disinterest was apparent in other ways too. We were told that there was always an alternative to the table d' hote offering but when asked for it on more than occasion we were told it was all gone. No apology nor an offer of even a salad was forthcoming. As far as this individual was concerned the subject was closed even though his guests' stomachs were empty. There was also a pasta option or soup for one of the courses. This was either very dry or slopping around in a watery sauce. The mains consisted of potatoes that were mostly overcooked and dry. There was an insufficiency of fresh vegetables and salad items. One fish dish said to contain asparagus contained no more than one stringy head and the baby tomatoes had been cut into tiny pieces - I think one baby tomato served two or three people. One night the pudding course was the same fruit salad on the breakfast buffet with one or additions such as a slither or two of strawberry. I do accept we were on a very reasonable package but this one definitely left a poor taste. One other minor ****** - on a table of ten people we were told we could only have one salt and pepper pot. Given that most dishes were too salty there were others that needed more so people were constantly passing one salt pot round the table. It is such a shame that the dining experience was so bad - everything else might have received five stars!

Stayed here for a conference. Service was rather poor. No minibar in rooms, no kettles to make some tea. You will have to order hot water from a bar downstairs. Waiters take your plates even before you finish your food. Dinner is served quite slowly so you’ll finish around 10 pm. Air conditioning was useless and did not adjust up to your manipulation with control. Not enough electrical sockets. Location and beautiful nature saves the place.

I was in the same group as a previous reviewer. The incident involving one of our party should never have happened. Artificial grass covering a large deep hole (deep enough to swallow an adult) is an accident just waiting to happen and one that quite easily could have proved fatal. Perhaps this incident typifies the character of this hotel? It’s facade of grandeur is as artificial as the extensive use of plastic grass and plastic plants in it’s garden. It looks very rich but one only has to scratch the surface to find little more than a passable B&B underneath. Rooms vary in size and content. Mine (136) was a double on the ground floor overlooking the lake. First impression was one of opulence. However, in mid May it is somewhat mean of the hotel not to switch on the air conditioning so my nights were very uncomfortable even sleeping on top of the duvet. No kettle. No anti-slip mat in bath when using shower. And quite an antiquated shower with no safety feature to stop one scalding oneself . Which I did when I accidentally nudged the mixer tap. The hose on my shower also needed replacing as there were several holes in it spurting out mini jets. No cushions on the metal sun loungers and chairs provided on the patio outside the room. No full length mirror. My assumption before paying £250/week for a lake view was that the basics would be in place such as the A/C. Ambient temperatures during our stay exceeded 24C. So I am somewhat disappointed in terms of value for money. Food was a bit hit and miss. Evening meal: Not much choice. Three options for starter and main and two options for dessert. Obviously mass catering and not as good in some cases as a Marks and Spencer Italian ready meal. Some dishes I really enjoyed others returned to the kitchen untouched. N.B there is small print on the menu to explain that some items on the menu may not be fresh but frozen. I suspect that frozen is actually the default. Often served barely warm. Drinks: from the bar are very expensive more so than bars in the same locality. Recommend using supermarket over the road and stock up your mini bar. Remember to bring a cork screw as Italians mainly use cork and not screw top bottles for their wine. And a kettle if you like hot drinks in your room. Breakfast: Good selection of continental style breakfast. But it’s completely self service the staff standing around do not even serve hot drinks. There are no trays so it’s whatever one can carry in 2 hands to the table d meaning multiple trips. And lengthy ones at that as our group were allocated tables some distance from the buffet table. Would I stay again? Yes. Probably because the hotel is in a good location. And if I were not part of a group perhaps I would be permitted to sit closer to the buffet breakfast? Despite what I said about the artificial grass and plants the gardens overall are relaxing and full of bird song. All of the staff are friendly and keen to please. I certainly would not pay for

Beautiful hotel, the buffet breakfast was ok but the evening meal was poor. Nice tunnel to sister hotel Dino with indoor pool. Situation good in Baena , near to ferry for boat trips. Would go again but only B & B.

This is a magnificent old style hotel with wood panelled walls, massive grounds and a superb ambience. The food was delicious, the staff very efficient and the rooms comfortable and a good size. The only slight bugbear was the windows, which were full length single windows which opened outward and were hard to keep open at night, but this was a small irritation. Lovely pool, great terrace and good beer!

This is a beautiful hotel. The interior design reminds the early 1900s and this fits the hotel very well. Space is usually at premium around Lago Maggiore but this hotel has plenty of space everywhere: lobby, pool, restaurant, car park. The guests can use the facilities of nearby Hotel Dino which makes a total of three pools. Even the corridors linking the two hotels are very nice. The front desk staff are very friendly and I heard them speaking Italian, English, French and German fluently. The hotel is perfectly clean both in the rooms and the common areas. The rooms are large. The room is quite nice and is up to the standards of a four star hotel but with a few changes such as top quality mattress and sheets and also better quality shower gel and shampoo it could be a good five star hotel room.

Very nice hotel in the pretty town of Baveno. Lovely pool area . Rooms very nicely appointed. If you go for a lake view go high up as was on the first floor and whilst you get a large sitting area view is not as good as higher up . Food was ok but some less appetising evenings. Breakfast was also ok but the fresh fruit didn’t come out first thing and the fresh squeezed juice was not always available, The option to walk to sister hotel Dino through an unusual connecting tunnel and use the facilities was very good. All the staff were very friendly and helpful Easy to walk into the town and there is a supermarket opposite.ideal base from which to explore lake maggiore

An amazingly beautiful and ornate hotel. Beautiful decor and artwork. Extremely clean and polished. Staff very friendly and helpful. Fantastic grounds and pool. Breakfast choice excellent. Cannot recommend highly enough.