A 140-hectare property with private beach in Switzerland’s Mediterranean like south: 

If I had to make a list of my favorite luxury hotels in Switzerland, then Castello del Sole Ascona in the canton of Ticino would rank in the top positions! There is no other lodging in my home country offering so much seclusion and room to breathe! It is wonderfully set on a beautiful piece of land directly on Lake Maggiore. Also the facilities are immaculate complete with a Michelin starred restaurant. And the staff knows its stuff, too. No wonder, my husband and I chose this fabulous place for our early summer vacation! And imagine it has just been named Hotel of the Year 2022 by Gault Millau Switzerland!

Before coming to the Castello del Sole Ascona itself, a few remarks to the Ticino, where to go for high-end accommodation here and some more details about two stops we did on the way to the Ticino.

Ticino & two overnight stops on the way

When living in Switzerland’s northwest, there is actually no need to do an overnight stop on your way to the “Swiss south”. My home country is small and you can reach every other spot in a few hours’ drive. Notwithstanding that, we felt like spicing it up a bit. After all, we had already been to the Ticino in last November and September – thanks to Corona, so “Swisscations” only!

Hence, we used the opportunity to try out two hotels that were new to us. On the one hand, we spent two nights at the ultra-luxury The Chedi Hotel Andermatt (my post) in the Alps just by the Gotthard Pass.

On the other hand, we made a detour to the northeastern part of Switzerland to stay one night at a gourmet retreat, the stylish boutique hotel Mammertsberg, (my post), close to Saint Gallen.

Ticino, Italianità made in Switzerland

My husband and I like going to the Ticino, as many other Swiss Germans and Germans. It is the place in my home country where you feel like you are in the Mediterranean.

Here you have the choice between Lugano

or Locarno

resp. Ascona

to spend some time in the subtropical landscape. While Lugano on Lake Lugano is the largest town in this Swiss canton featuring a nice old town and numerous mountains with splendid viewpoints, Locarno is smaller (and more touristy). The same is true for Ascona, a neighboring village. And both are located on Lake Maggiore. Ascona is a truly idyllic spot, boasting an enchanting historic core and a picturesque lakeside piazza.

Luxury hotels in Ticino

When deciding not to leave Switzerland for summer vacations, the Ticino usually is top of the list for my husband and me. So, we have stayed at many of the luxury hotels in the area. And of course I have written several blogposts about this subject, too. For an overview of accommodations here, have a look at “A guide to luxury hotels in Switzerland, part two“. If you look for more specific information about Lugano’s high end lodging, please refer to “Where to stay & dine in style in Lugano, Switzerland“. In case you want to go to Ascona, check out “Hotel Eden Roc, one of three top luxury hotels in Ascona, Switzerland“.

While the latter focuses on Hotel Eden Roc Ascona – where we were last year – ,

I will now go into Hotel Castello del Sole Ascona. This is the accommodation in the Ticino where we have stayed most. I have counted, we have been here for the seventh time! However, our last visit here was in 2014. So, I was excited to see what has changed since then.

Staying in style at Hotel Castello Del Sole Ascona 

Location

As pointed out already, the setting is spectacular. The site includes 140 hectares! And this in the small country of Switzerland where many things are close together! So, if you like lots of personal space and privacy, as I do, this is the place to go. The 11-hectare-park with artfully scattered lounge chairs, hammocks and quiet corners is one of the biggest attractions at the sun castle (the translation of Castello del Sole).

And you are directly by Lake Maggiore. There is a beautiful private beach with – you know by now – lots of room to breathe.

The hotel is only one part of the whole property. In addition, there is a farm – Terreni alla Maggia – where they produce wine and rice, amongst other things.

And there is a bird sanctuary as well, given the location right by the fertile Maggia river delta. To reach Ascona’s center you can use either the hotel shuttle, borrow one of the many hotel’s own bicycles or go by foot. It is a lovely forty-minute walk along the lakeshores.

History/Memberships

The property’s history goes back to 1540, when it was built as a traditional Lombardian manor house. Emil Georg Buehrle bought it in 1942 and nowadays it is owned by the Anda and Franz-Buehrle families. There have been severals expanses of buildings since the first one’s construction.

Over recent years, more than 30 million SFR/US$ has been spent on modernizations. And there seems to be a “Castello del Sole 2025” innovation plan in order to safeguard the site’s unique qualities. We will see what the future brings in this respect!

As the membership to hotel groups is concerned, the Castello del Sole Ascona is part of The Living Circle. It stands for four hotels, two farms and two other restaurants (not at a hotel). And the farms’ produce goes to the associated houses. Following hotels belong to this hotel group, all of them are luxury ones. Apart from the Castello del Sole Ascona there are three hotels in Zurich, Hotel Alex Lake, Hotel Widder and Hotel Storchen. If you want to know more about them, check out my blogpost about staying at the Alex Lake

and dining at the Storchen.

Furthermore, the Castello del Sole Ascona also is part of the renown Relais & Châteaux hotel group.

Ambiance/Staff

The Castello del Sole Ascona is one of the largest hotel estates in the Ticino, amidst a huge park and right by the lake. Already arriving here is an experience. When your car sets off down the long driveway, you cannot help but be impressed. After a curve, a gem of a building comes into view, a southern manor house.

There is not only the splendid park but also delightful inner courtyards.

It is an oasis of tranquility that lets your soul feel happy and content. And, what I very much appreciate, the hotel exudes an understated sense of luxury! 

Staff is friendly and professional. It is present when needed, otherwise it is careful to be unobtrusive. In my opinion, service has even become better since my last stay. In the past, there were some headwaiters who were rather on the dominant side. They have retired in the meantime and I like their successors better. There is one more thing to mention in this context. The hosts used to say goodbye in person upon departure. This seems no longer to be the case. But times changed, also because of Corona of course.

Facilities

Onsite you find a range of four restaurants and two bars. Find more details in the separate chapter about dining in style at the Castello del Sole Ascona.

As to wellness, there is a 2,500 sqm spa with everything you can think of in this respect: two saunas, steam bath, hydropool, swimming pool, Kneipp trail, solarium, treatment rooms, hairdresser’s. Furthermore, there is an indoor/outdoor pool plus a jacuzzi.

In terms of other activities, there is more to do: jogging trail, outdoor and indoor tennis courts, free bicycles, beach, water sports/stand-up paddleboarding/motorboat/pedalos (all water activities are chargeable, swimming of course not). For children there is a kids club, a new playground and some animals onsite.

And let me make one more remark as to (sun)bathing. You can either be by the pool, which is adjacent to the hotel building,

or by the beach, which is a five-minute-walk through the park.

And there is much of space available in both areas. If you insist on laying on the sand beach, the space can be a bit tight at certain times. But if you do not, then I can assure you that there is more room than you need on the grass (on sun loungers of course).

78 rooms in three buildings

There are guest accommodations in the main building, where you find 57 rooms, mostly junior suites and double/single rooms (from 438 SFR/US$). This is also where we stayed on our recent visit. We had booked a gorgeous newly renovated Deluxe Junior Suite

in the hotel’s historic part (50 – 57 sqm, from 918 SFR/US$).

Our corner room came with three mini balconies and – unfortunately – a not so good air-conditioner. Go for one that is not located at the end of the building, if you want to avoid this. But otherwise, we enjoyed it here with lots of natural light. However, be prepared that the bathroom might not be overly spacious. After all, it is the most ancient part of the property.

My favorite place to stay at the Castello del Solo Ascona is the Retreat Pavilion (from 1,118 SFR/US$).

Though, be advised, the rooms here will need to be updated in the years to come. Notwithstanding that, they are still a great choice! Situated a bit away from the reception and the restaurants, they are an oasis of calm. The 11 junior suites  (78 sqm) and the two luxury suites (145 sqm) are housed in a Lombardic country estate complete with a lovely courtyard rose garden and a splendid cloister like colonnade!

Lying on your terrace’s sun lounger and contemplating the farm land in front of you is such a relaxing thing to do!

The Well-being Suite Pavilion is the hotel’s newest building (from 1,258 SFR/US$). It is home of not only the spa but also of 8 junior suites (108 sqm), two luxury suites (158 sqm) and two duplex suites (201 sqm).

My husband and I have never stayed here, but friends of ours had. While they liked the generous layout with lots of space, they found the views (of the tennis facilities) not overly appealing.

Generally, in whatever direction your vista is, there are much better ones on site. This is due to the building’s location behind the whole hotel complex.

Dining at Hotel Castello Del Sole Ascona

Mattias Roock, a young chef, has been in charge for the hotel’s gastronomy since 2017.

In high season, when the Castello del Sole Ascona is fully booked, he and his team are responsible for 150 guests! And of course, it is a “farm to fork” concept here given the fact there is the Terreni alla Maggia farm on site.

You find here four restaurants to choose from, but some are usually only open for lunch (Ristorante Al Parco)

resp. for an early dinner in the high season (Ristorante La Spiaggia).

As to Ristorante Al Parco, it is the place to go for a leisurely lunch. If you care for it, I recommend opting for the full board option. In this case you get it for a fair additional charge of 40 SFR/US$ per person. And it includes a fabulous antipasti and salad buffet, a choice of meat, fish, pasta or pizza as main course plus a great dessert buffet.

Ristorante La Spiaggia, which is the beach restaurant, is open if the weather permits it. You get here small bites in a relaxed atmosphere. If I am not mistaken, it is open until 8pm in high season only. This is a new addition to the hotel’s culinary offer. On our last visit, there was only a small beach shack.

Now to the two main restaurants, the Ristorante Tre Stagioni, the “half board restaurant”, and the signature dining-spot, the Locanda Barbarossa.

Dinner at Ristorante Tre Stagioni

If you book half board – 55 SFR/US$ per person and day – , then you have breakfast and dinner at Ristorante Tre Stagioni. And this either on the wonderful terrace (whether permitting)

or in the indoor area.

As to the former, it has been enlarged since our last stay. This definitely is a plus because there is more room now for the individual tables and for external guests.

Breakfast takes place here, too. While the offer for the morning meal used to be quite limited at the time, there is now a broad selection of everything you possibly might need to start the day.

As to the dinner, the chef (Mattias Roock) puts together a daily changing menu with four cold starters, two soups, two hot starters, four main courses, cheese and four desserts. The cuisine is Italian with a twist. Some dishes are rather traditional, other are more refined. The restaurant has 15 Gault Millau points. Special here is that the main course is still served from platters. This allows you to make amendments to the quantities served. While it is a nice custom, I find it a bit meaningless as there is no second service (servers immediately clear the plates). In addition, it stresses the staff at certain times and most guests do not wish any changes.

When being on half board, you can order as many courses as you wish. External guests make their selection from the daily offer. My husband and I usually order four courses, a cold starter or a soup, followed by pasta or risotto, then a main course and finally a dessert. Here you find a sample menu.

Typical menu at Ristorante Tre Stagioni

Our first dinner here on our recent stay started with yellow fin tuna tataki with zucchini salad and pepperoni emulsion.

Next were conchiglie riagate (pasta) with mussels and wild fennel.

The main course was meagre fish with lemongrass sauce and vegetables in juliennes strips.

To end the meal, we went for the apricot and almond variation with amaretti ice-cream. And petit fours were also part of the meal.

Overall, it proved to be a deeply satisfying meal, served in a busy atmosphere by amiable staff. The new restaurant manager – Daniele Sardella – does a good job. He is hospitable, efficient and does not push too much into the foreground.

Next follows our dinner’s experience at the resort’s leading culinary spot, the Locanda Barbarossa. To my knowledge, it is not possible to get credit for the half board expenses when deciding to dine here instead at the Ristorante Tre Stagioni. Instead, check out the hotel’s packages, which usually include a 5- or 6-course dinner at the gourmet restaurant. My husband and I had booked the “Castello Experience” that allowed us – amongst other benefits – to have a 5-course dinner at the Locanda Barbarossa on our arrival day.

Dinner at Locanda Barbarossa

Here the “farm to fork” concept is not a marketing tactic, but one delivers on that promise. They harvest what is available on the grounds: yuzu, 20 berry and 22 tomato variations, their own pepper and saffron, risotto rice and much more.

The chef, Mattias Roock, and his restaurant manager, Sergio Bassi, know their stuff. Not only is the cuisine exceptional and truly noteworthy, but everything is perfectly orchestrated. And on our evening, the weather was perfect for dining in the courtyard, the beautiful Cortile Leone.

Yet the indoor area would have been nice, too.

The restaurant has one Michelin star and 18 Gault Millau points. As to the cuisine, it is grounded in the classic French tradition yet heavily influenced by the Mediterranean one. This fact contributes to a pleasant lightness and freshness. And due to the chef’s former workplaces, there is an added Asian and oriental touch. We loved it! And we liked it much better than the dinner we had here years ago at his predecessor.

Here is what we had …

5-course Menu Degustazione at Locanda Barbarossa

After a seafood amuse bouche

duck foie gras was the star of the first course.

It was paired with apple, black walnuts, apple balsamic vinegar and a brioche with nuts. We proceeded with filled pasta, fagottini with fior di latte ricotta, in unison with Périgord truffle and young vegetables.

Next was lobster blended with Kashmir curry, peas, fruit chutney and coriander.

The main course featured summer deer with celery, bitter orange and bio arabica coffee.

Before it was time for dessert, a refreshing pre-dessert, was served.

The sweet dish, yellow peach, was superb as everything we had here. It was a divine creation made of this stone fruit, verbena, hibiscus and blossom sorbet.

And – of course – the feast was rounded up with some petit fours.

Overall

Do you fancy a Lombardian manor house with expansive green areas in Mediterranean environment by the lake, then I might have a hotel tip for staying in style. If you care for understated luxury, lots of privacy and gourmet dining as well, all the better. You find this and more at the fabulous Castello del Sole Ascona near Locarno in Switzerland’s south, in the canton of Ticino.

I have stayed here a couple of times, the first time some 25 years ago, and just lately. And imagine, the “sun castle” becomes better and better.

Although it was already on a high level. I think for example of the new beach restaurant, the freshly renovated rooms in the hotel’s historic part or the exquisite food at the Michelin starred Locanda Barbarossa. And from what I read, they still have a lot of plans how to beware the property’s unique qualities.

Last date of stay: July 2021

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