My personal highlight: Getting to know the Val del Maggia in Ticino where among other delicacies risotto rice LOTO is cultivated. Be woken up by birds twittering facing rice paddies and feeling in a natural paradise not fare from home.
Hotel Castello del Sole is a place where you get rendezvous with happiness! It is located in the beautiful Ticino close to the village of Ascona at the Lago Maggiore. It’s part of the recently launched brand “The Living Circle“. Find more on the values and philosophy of the Living Circle in my recently published article here. Want to get inspired about other accommodation spots in Switzerland? Find more on my blog here.
Castello del Sole is a piece of history built back to the year 1532 from Francesco Orelli. It served as a hiding place for the followers of the new Protestant teachings. Around 1900 it was run as a simple Osteria offering rooms for guests. Today it has been transformed into an exclusive 5 star hotel property within an immense beautiful park reaching 100 hectares, the biggest hotel park in Switzerland.
The ideal home for couples or families looking for peace, genuine local mediterranean food or special wellness treatments as for example the VinoAqua-Therapie® containing grapes from their own land Terreni alla Maggia.
The high class service and a dedicated staff lead by Simon V. Jenny and his wife Gabriela Jenny make Hotel Castello be part of „Relais & Châteaux“ and the „Swiss Deluxe Hotels” awards.
Accommodation
Gourmet food and Merlot grapes
Chef Mattias Roock is the Chef of the kitchen at Castello del Sole. He focusses on the use of fresh and local products and maintains a strong and close relationship to local farmers. The actual menu of the gourmet restaurant „Locanda Barbarossa“ is called “i sapori del nostro orto”. Which means, flavors of our gardens.
The ingredients and products used are cultivated exclusively from Ticino and the Terreni alla Maggia. This includes the Loto risotto rice for example or the exclusive rare black polenta and herbs from their hotel permaculture garden.
Additional hotel restaurants as the “Cortile Leone“, the „Tre Stagioni“ or the „Parco Saleggi“ follow this mediterranean farm to table philosophy of Chef Roock. During summer a barbecue outside or a Streetfood van at the beach restaurant are absolutely recommended, too.
The Terreni alla Maggia offer an ideal soil for wine and other distillates. Ticino is the home of Merlot wine. The Merlot is paired perfectly with a nice beef ragu and polenta! Get a tour through the Terreni alla Maggia and explore all of their delicacies in the wine shop!
Yoga, retreats, kids entertaining program
Get a Yoga and nutrition coach, enjoy their outdoor/indoor pool or subscribe your kids to an entertainment program. The Piccolo Circo Castello del Sole featuring Aline Del Torre who trained at the famous Scuola Dimitri is the highlight for your kids learning juggling or acrobatics. Water lover must do a boat ride with the hotel owned Frauscher boat.
Experience an unforgettable helicopter ride to the close by Ristorante Rustico del Sole up on 1000 m. A breathtaking moment overlooking Lago Maggiore and the alps. The ideal surrounding to enjoy best homemade dishes from the Hotel Castello staff.
My personal highlights
The hotel is surrounded by an incredible green park and garden. All flowers found in my room are some of the most beautiful ever seen. An in-house garden center makes this possible. It’s the love they put in the decoration of the whole house making it a shiny jewel.
Waking up in the morning by singing birds, spending a moment on the terrace admiring rice fields cultivated in Switzerland, is something I never thought to experience in my life. The ample untouched fields are pure peace and joy for heart and soul.