Special feature: Parkhotel Delta, Ascona, Switzerland

During the summer we spent 9 enjoyable days at the five-star Parkhotel Delta in the Ticino region of Switzerland. Owned by Barbara Ambrosoli, the hotel is managed by Thomas Steiner who is no stranger to the luxury hotel industry, with previous experience at Austria’s Grand Park Hotel Bad Hofgastein and Hotel Gasthof Post Lech, Hotel Königshof in Munich and The Lanesborough in London.

The hotel is on the outskirts of the town (almost midway between Ascona and Locarno) so there are no views of Lake Maggiore from here, but there is a free shuttle service that a member of staff will provide you with, at the drop of a hat. The hotel is also set in ample grounds with mini-golf, children’s playing facilities, a golf driving range and even a small children’s ”zoo” so it’s easy to pass the time here.

Considering that the Parkhotel Delta is the smallest five-star hotel in Ascona, it’s certainly not lacking in amenities. The accommodation is generously proportioned: we stayed in a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment in the Villa Delta (pictured on the right here, but slightly obscured by trees), just next to the main hotel. There is both an indoor and outdoor swimming pool, with sun loungers positioned all around, as well as scattered in a variety of tranquil corners of the grounds for those seeking a little more solitude.

The gardens are exceptionally well-looked after and the lawns so well-tended that you can arrive directly by helicopter if you wish. (Instead, we had travelled by private hire car which took us directly back to Malpensa Airport at the end of our stay.) Finally, with reference to the grounds, there is a small, well-equipped gym interesting positioned in the center, overlooking a fountain and small pond.

This leads me nicely on to the spa which is sited within the main hotel building, and offers everything from regenerating facial care treatments to cosmetic pedicures to lymph drainage and much more besides. There’s also a relaxation room (pictured), solarium, Jacuzzi, sauna and steam bath. As is the case with many spas in top hotels, you do need to book well in advance.

For me one of the highlights of the stay was the food; the Parkhotel Delta is a 15-point Gault Millau restaurant (equivalent to about one Michelin star). With a daily-changing a la carte menu, and food that was meticulously well-presented, we thoroughly enjoyed our dinner each night, without exception. Anyway, I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves – suffice to say, it tasted as good as it looks!

Although the hotel’s brochure and website are in Italian, German and English, the majority of staff are mostly versed in just Italian and German as you might expect from this part of Switzerland. This wasn’t too limiting but is perhaps a point worth mentioning to anyone considering a stay, as it could prove useful to ‘brush up’ on those two languages in advance – it will help you outside the confines of the hotel if nothing else.

All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed the stay. Our children were made to feel exceptionally welcome (this is a particularly family friendly hotel) and it was nice to have the option of using the hotel’s supervised kindergarten for the occasional break from our ever-active 2 year old son!