Hotel Elena

Spent our first 2 nights in Italy at the Hotel Elena. It was exactly what I thought Italy would be like. The staff was friendly and helpful, the room was clean and adequate. Like others have stated, I am not sure why it is only a one star hotel. It is nothing fancy, but we loved it. The breakfast was wonderful. We had a great view from our balcony and the location is convenient to everything in Stresa. My only complaint was the bed. Not the most comfortable, but it was like every other bed that we stayed in in Italy.

Very enjoyable stay in great value for money hotel. Very pleasant staff who were attentive without being overbearing. Wonderful breakfast. Would definitely stay again.

The hotel is very well posistioned in the heart of Stresa, easy distance from the ferry terminal. Our room was large with a balcony overlooking the square, but this was a family room so cant say about the size of other rooms. Clean, lovely breakfast and delicious pastries.

The Elena is situated in the centre of town allowing easy access to ferries, train station, many eating place, shops and activities. The staff were friendly and helpful, and breakfast was plentiful and varied. Our room was spacious with room for cases. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay.

Good value, great location, clean

This one star hotel charges three star prices and gives four star value. It is right on the square and we had a small balcony overlooking it with a table and chairs. Spacious room, nice bathroom and really homely breakfast area for the continental breakfast. Beautiful decor, the owner obviously takes great pride in it. Rooms may not be air conditioned, although the bar and breakfast area is. We stayed in October and the central heating was great.

The room was very nice, clean, and cheerful with a lovely tiny balcony. The bathroom was spotless. The towels were almost like linen dish towels rather than terrycloth, but they were absorbent enough. Breakfast was included and there was a fairly good assortment of meat, cheese, yogurt, juice,and rolls. Coffee was good. We liked the location on the main square. We visited in the fall and the temperature of the room was comfortable. (There was a ceiling fan, but I don't know if air conditioning is needed in the summer. ) In fact, our only complaint was the quality of the mattress. If you are the sort of person who can easily fall asleep on the floor, you will like the bed; otherwise, you will have difficulty sleeping...the mattress is beyond firm...more like hard as a board, and neither of us slept well.

Very clean and comfortable, location central. Breakfast good. Great staff

This was our third visit to Stresa. In the past we've stayed at Hotel du Parc and Hotel Astoria. We found Elena to be better than these hotels due to the location. It is PERFECT! We travelled with two young children and it was great that at night to go to dinner we never had to walk far, to get to the ferry or tourist train as well was a short distance. If we were to go in warm weather, I would consider going to a hotel along the waterfront that has a pool. The hotel staff were excellent, very helpful in recommending excellent restaurants and calling on our behalf to make reservations. The breakfast was great (for Italy) with plenty of fresh fruit, yogurt, cereal, breads, etc., but the highlight was the amazing coffee. Many people come to the cafe run by the hotel for their coffee and we got unlimited cups of it for free in the morning. We stayed in a quad room overlooking the square. Our only complaint of the room was the lack of 'storage' space (there were countless hangers and space to hang everything, but with little children's clothes, we would prefer a shelf or drawer somewhere). This is a very minor point and did not take away from our visit.

I don't have a bad word to say about Hotel Elena. The staff are wonderful and the lady who runs the hotel is very friendly. She also speaks several languages. We felt like part of the family. I have no idea why this hotel only has 1 star. The hotel is very centrally located in Stresa main square. Unusually for Italy, the breakfasts were ample and included muesli and fruit juice as well as cakes and croissants. Good coffee too! There is free wifi, which doesn't work in the bedrooms, but you can sit for hours in the cafe downstairs without anyone bothering you. The rooms were clean and the shower had great power and plenty of hot water. My mattress was a little lumpy (you could feel some of the springs) but that was my only discomfort. We would love to return to Hotel Elena and heartily recommend it.