Paradis Relais With Pool

The villa is a miracle of design and construction, cleverly built into a steep hillside, nestled amongst lush vegetation, its cantilevered pool deck offering the most spectacular views of Lake Maggiore. Everything about the house speaks quality - the beautiful stonework and French oak flooring, the quirky interior fittings and objets d'art, even the copper guttering and downpipes. It is modern, but respectful of tradition. No TV's or Nespresso machines here, and no air conditioning, but we found it easy to keep the house cool in moderately hot weather. A friendly and helpful local agent meets you for check in and check out, and is on hand during your stay. A footpath runs up the the hill from the front of the property and will eventually take you to Stresa (2 hours) or you can walk down into the village of Belgirate, or Lesa in 10 to 15 minutes (but you need to be reasonably fit as its a steep climb back up!).

The only downside to this property, and it is a big one, is the difficult access. It is, I guess, the price you have to pay for the amazing location and privacy. We managed to return our hire car, a Mercedes GLA, unscathed, but the drive up the very narrow walled road between the old church and the villa gates was a nerve-jangling cacophony of proximity sensors screeching on all sides. Being front-wheel drive, our car struggled to find traction on parts of the very steep track leading back out of the property, too. It would probably be easy in a small 4x4 or a compact rear wheel drive car (e.g. BMW 1 series) but if you are driving anything large, especially front-wheel drive, it is challenging.