Esplanade Hotel Resort & Spa - Minusio, Locarno

I've stayed in many top hotels, and the Esplanade is right up there with the best of them in terms of facilities, service standards, cuisine and cleanliness. It might look expensive, but we thought it was fantastic value overall. Firstly, the hotel interior, rooms, leisure facilities, gym, etc. are all spacious, well designed and carefully maintained. The Fitness Centre includes a small, well-equipped gym, 6 treatment rooms, 2 saunas, steam room, Jacuzzi, large outdoor pool and poolside bar. Then the cuisine is excellent, with a 5 course meal an absolute bargain at 55Sfr, excellent winelist, professional attentive staff, live music every alternate night. Then the position of the hotel above the town means that it is cooler in summer evenings and has superb views of the lake and mountains around, so that we could sit on our balcony in the evening and enjoy the whole experience. Finally, the owners are very proud of their hotel, have a very good team of staff and manage them well. So top class - and no, we're linked to the hotel or owners in any way and yes - we are going back!

This hotel is absolutely incredible. I needed a category beyond excellent in every area. Every traveler should be so lucky as to stay at such a perfect hotel. Thank you for guiding us there! Peggy Bourke