The Grand Hotel Bristol, Stresa is a confused 4 or 5 * hotel. The front of the hotel and entrance foyer is beautifully appointed with welcoming reception staff. I booked a very last minute 4 night break for my wife and I in late August. The hotel is split between 2 buildings. The first/main building is lavishly decorated in the public areas. The 2nd building is accessed via an underground walkway decorated with plush carpet's and display cases showing off local souvenirs or via a horizontal elevator. Yes, such a thing exists. The noise it makes does not inspire confidence. Arriving in the 2nd building, the ground floor public space is just the same as the main building. But our room on the 4th/top floor was anything but 5*. It would have been acceptable in a 2* star hotel. My disappointment is that a room of such low quality shouldn't exist in a 5* hotel and be charged over €200 per night to stay in it. Our room and I assume all of the rooms in the 2nd building are in dire need of modernising. The bathroom was old with a shower enclosure which was extremely small and leaked water through the door seals. The hotel does not provide slippers or gowns in the 2* rooms. No kettle or tea & coffee facilities are available in the room. An empty old mini fridge was hidden away in a cupboard.The room was very clean despite it's poor standard of decorating. €25 each for buffet breakfast is also disappointing..the hot food is left in open servers which means its barely warm. Do better!
The Grand Hotel Bristol, Stresa is a confused 4 or 5 * hotel. The front of the hotel and entrance foyer is beautifully appointed with welcoming reception staff. I booked a very last minute 4 night break for my wife and I in late August. The hotel is split between 2 buildings. The first/main building is lavishly decorated in the public areas. The 2nd building is accessed via an underground walkway decorated with plush carpet's and display cases showing off local souvenirs or via a horizontal elevator. Yes, such a thing exists. The noise it makes does not inspire confidence. Arriving in the 2nd building, the ground floor public space is just the same as the main building. But our room on the 4th/top floor was anything but 5*. It would have been acceptable in a 2* star hotel. My disappointment is that a room of such low quality shouldn't exist in a 5* hotel and be charged over €200 per night to stay in it. Our room and I assume all of the rooms in the 2nd building are in dire need of modernising. The bathroom was old with a shower enclosure which was extremely small and leaked water through the door seals. The hotel does not provide slippers or gowns in the 2* rooms. No kettle or tea & coffee facilities are available in the room. An empty old mini fridge was hidden away in a cupboard.The room was very clean despite it's poor standard of decorating. €25 each for buffet breakfast is also disappointing..the hot food is left in open servers which means its barely warm. Do better!