Equirelais

“Wonderful Stay In this Beautiful Lodge”

We were looking for a place close to the Milan Malpensa airport to stay at the beginning and end of a two-week trip to the Ligurian coast (in celebration of our 35th wedding anniversary) and happened upon Equirelais. What a wonderful find! We prefer to book directly instead of through third-party p… more

We were looking for a place close to the Milan Malpensa airport to stay at the beginning and end of a two-week trip to the Ligurian coast (in celebration of our 35th wedding anniversary) and happened upon Equirelais. What a wonderful find! We prefer to book directly instead of through third-party platforms, and although Equirelais does not have direct booking online through their website, Debora, who manages the front desk, was extremely responsive via email and provided all the information we needed to book our room. For the first two nights, we stayed in the Suite, with its wonderful deck and view of Lake Varese. We enjoyed sitting out on the deck, reading and snacking, while enjoying the lovely weather, beautiful view, and sounds of horses nearby. It was a fantastic way to recover from our jet lag and get ready for our Italian adventure. Debora was a wonderful hostess, and the complimentary breakfast was well-made and delicious. On the first morning, we unfortunately slept through breakfast (the shutters make the room deliciously dark!) and when my husband went down to possibly purchase coffee from the bar, he was told that someone would bring it up to our room. It arrived with assorted pastries, and we enjoyed it on the deck. This was a really nice touch and great customer service. Upon our return, we stayed in Room 6, as the Suite was not available. But this room is also very lovely and comfortable with a beautiful view to the lake. It was perfect for the last night of our trip prior to flying out the next day. As we checked in, we had the opportunity to chat with Stefano, the owner, and my husband mentioned that he was craving a simple bowl of pasta carbonara after a week of Ligurian food. Debora made us a reservation at the wonderful restaurant on-site, and Stefano made a special request with the chef. We had a fantastic meal and Stefano came by to say hello and pour us a glass of prosecco. What a fantastic way to end our trip. The lodge is a large house in a smaller town (Bodia), that is quiet and surrounded by nature. Even so, many locals were on the beautiful patio each night to enjoy aperitivo while watching the sun set. There is complimentary parking right across the small road, and there is an elevator inside, so you don’t have to lug your bags up the stairs. A very lucky dog and cat roam the property, and we enjoyed making friends with Cordino, the orange cat named after a popular orange Italian beverage! We will definitely stay at Equirelais again, especially as our next trip to Italy will be to further explore the lovely lake areas in the north of the country.

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“tranquil oasis with lake view”

we chose this location for a 1 night stopover on our way to the south of France. We selected it because of the beautiful location and the promise of a great restaurant on site - we were not disappointed! The room was spacious, beds comfortable and the bathroom also large and clean. I always partic… more

we chose this location for a 1 night stopover on our way to the south of France. We selected it because of the beautiful location and the promise of a great restaurant on site - we were not disappointed! The room was spacious, beds comfortable and the bathroom also large and clean. I always particularly enjoy the window shutters which ensure that the room is dark enough at night. Dinner was absolutely delicious, having enjoyed an aperitif beforehand on the lovely terrace with a view of the lake. Breakfast was absolutely fine, and we carried on with our journey to France well rested and fed ;-).

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“Nice rooms and Lake view!”

We just stayed one night in this hotel, but I will keep it in mind for a longer stay. The rooms are nice and clean and we had a balcony with lake view. In the morning they serve a good breakfast. The hotel does not have a restaurant, but there is plenty of choice in the surrounding area.

“Lovely place, but needs some attention to be perfect”

We stayed in this beautiful renovated farmhouse for two nights in October. It is situated by the Lake Varese, and we had beautiful views to the lake from both, our bedroom terrace and from the breakfast room. As we were 10 people (5 adults, 4 children and a baby), we had reserved 3 rooms, two famil… more

We stayed in this beautiful renovated farmhouse for two nights in October. It is situated by the Lake Varese, and we had beautiful views to the lake from both, our bedroom terrace and from the breakfast room. As we were 10 people (5 adults, 4 children and a baby), we had reserved 3 rooms, two family rooms and a double. The house is very tastefully decorated, has several lounge areas and beautiful decoration details throughout the whole place. It needs to be cleaned with a little bit of more attention though, as there was a lot of dust and dead insects in both, the bedrooms and public areas. There were also problems with electricity, it came and went quite a few times on our first night of our stay. The bedrooms are very spacious and have amazing views, but the sofa bed offered for the children to sleep on, is too small to fit two children comfortably (aged 10 and 7). There is no restaurant on site, but we found several very nice restaurants nearby, visited two and could recommend both of them highly. Both restaurants were about 5 minutes drive from the hotel. Breakfast was very basic, several items finished (we were 9 people to eat!) and were not replaced, the same bowl of fruit was on the table for both days, some fruit had gone mouldy, but was not taken out or replaced, we actually had to ask them to take the mouldy ones out. It also seemed that there was a lack of communication between the staff. When I called them to reserve the three rooms, we were told it was a low season (mid week end of October) and given a lower price than stated on their website. When we were paying for our rooms while checking out though, the price on the bill was nearly 200 euros higher than we were told before. We said that this was not the price we had agreed while booking, but the girl in the reception knew nothing about it. Finally she gave us some discount, but it really left a bitter feeling. We were the only people staying there that time. I would probably not return or recommend this place. The location is amazing and it is easy to visit all the lakes and sights nearby, it is also beautifully decorated inside, but they really have to work on improving the cleanliness, breakfast and overall customer service.

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