July 6, 2023
Villa Orselina in Switzerland Review
Pam
Remember when we planned a trip around a flight? Crazy, but true. Our hotel ended up being the Villa Orselina in Orselina, Switzerland. We were looking for a Hyatt stay and found a Small Luxury Hotel we could get to easily from Milan. Here is our Villa Orselina Switzerland review.
Location
From Malpensa Airport in Milan, Italy, we arranged a taxi shuttle to the hotel. The driver told us it would be about a 75-minute drive. We arrived at our hotel almost two hours later (we think he underestimated the drive time). It overlooks the beautiful Lake Maggiore and is quite reminiscent of being on Lake Como.
Cost in Points
Villa Orselina is a Category 8 hotel and part of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World brand. Almost all of these hotels that I’ve stayed in have been phenomenal. Currently, you can book this hotel through Hyatt for 40K points/night (standard rate) or 35K points/night (off-peak).
We got a room upgrade to a large room with beautiful views of the lake and free breakfast each morning. The breakfast included a made-to-order section and a nice buffet. We really enjoyed eating outside with views of the lake.
Our spacious hotel room had fresh fruit in it when we arrived.
Service
We knew the service at this hotel would be outstanding when we got a call from the hotel about an hour before we arrived. They wanted to ensure we wanted dinner because it was almost nine, and the restaurant closed at ten. When we arrived, a waiter was in the lobby to take our order and was so hospitable despite our late arrival.
After dinner, we were given a tour of the spa, fitness center, and indoor/outdoor pools, then were taken to our room. They offered to make massage appointments for the next day for us and were genuinely helpful and friendly. Honestly, the entire hotel went out of its way to acknowledge our presence and be kind throughout our stay. In our room, there was fresh fruit and a note welcoming us.
The hotel lobby was welcoming, and the service was amazing!
We could eat from the breakfast buffet each morning as well as order eggs or pancakes off an a la carte menu.
I never got tired of the views from Villa Orselina!
Activities in Orselina
Orselina is just a tiny village, and Locarno, the nearest village to it, was not large either. Serene was the word I kept saying throughout our stay. I felt completely relaxed and enjoyed unwinding.
On the first day, we had the very best massages by Filomena—truly incredible. We then went to the funicular and rode a gondola up to the Cardada and Cimetta. The views from these locations were amazing, and there were many hiking trails available there, a children’s playground, and a few restaurants. We also spent a little time sitting by the outdoor pool and enjoying the lake views.
The views from the gondola were gorgeous!
On the second day, we went to the local church, the Madonna del Sasso, walked around Locarno, rode the funicular back, and had another massage! Filomena was just too good to pass up!
The ceiling of the Madonna del Sasso was gorgeous!
Bottom Line
Although the main purpose of our trip was the flight home on Emirates first-class, we enjoyed our stay at Villa Orselina in Switzerland immensely. If a serene and gorgeous getaway to a quiet location is just what you need, consider visiting there instead of the busier Lake Como.
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Thank you for this review. I’m seriously looking into this stay summmer 2025. I have a question though. I wanting to combine this stay with a lake como and possibly Florence, Italy. Do you feel that’s doable?
I absolutely do! Lake Como and Villa Orselina are not that far from each other. From Italy, you can take the train from Florence into Milan and on to Lake Como. Then I would go to Villa Orselina via train (if available) or hire a shuttle like we did.
We are spending 2 nights here in Aug 2024. Is there a train from the airport or Milan central? How did you arrange the taxi shuttle (through hotel)? We just want to relax and wander the town but the gondola ride sounds nice (self-arranged?). Would you suggest a boat ride on the lake?
We arranged a shuttle by googling one from the airport to Villa Orselina. We didn’t do a boat ride but I’ve done one in Como before. The gondola was easy to do, you just walk to it and the hotel can help you know where to walk to.