Hotel San Rocco

Unfortunately our stay in the Hotel San Rocco on Lake Orta was not a good experience. My husband and I were there with my parents in the first week of Sept 2026 to celebrate their 65th wedding anniversary. The fabric of the hotel was tired, dark and not very clean. The food was mostly terrible and extremely slow to arrive. We visit Italy frequently and have never had such a poor experience. That being said, the setting and views of Lake Orta are beautiful. Going into a little more detail on the food. We were there on a half board basis. The breakfast was OK. Nothing special, but no major complaint. Bar service was OK too. Our evening meal on the first night was brilliant, but it was if the chef disappeared afterwards, never to be seen again. Our second night was my parents’ special evening. We ordered a good wine and then waited, and waited. Our starter was a poached egg with what turned out to be a spray of truffle oil, which took an hour to arrive. This was followed by sliced turkey, which was dry, overcooked and without even a dashing of olive oil for moisture. We saw very few side vegetables or salad all week and there were no condiments on the table. The hotel knew it was a special evening for us, but there was not so much as a “Happy Anniversary!”. This is just one of numerous examples of poor food. The waiters and waitresses were apologetic and embarrassed. We don’t know what was going on behind the scenes, but it was pretty clear all was not well. I have attached some pictures of the tired hotel. The pool water smelt of algae, the shower curtain was disgusting, the dark rooms weren’t helped by a lack of lightbulbs. I asked for the 3 dead ones in our room to be changed, but they weren’t; and the room floors were dirty. Such a shame.

Great location, interesting building and good parking. But those are the only positives. Very hard to communicate with the hotel prior to arrival. The whole inside needs completely refurbishing. Rooms tiny, poorly furnished and lit uncomfortable bed. No soundproofing so can hear everything going on in other rooms. No privacy on the terrace. Bathroom like a small corridor. Breakfast very poor quality and part of the breakfast room is in a long corridor with only room for one way traffic. Even the coffee was terrible , which is crazy for Italy. Just to cap the experience, with no forewarning, there was a very loud wedding party in the hotel on a Saturday night making it impossible to sleep. Luckily a very short walk to the town square to get a decent coffee and proper service.

We visited Hotel San Rocco as we were considering it for our wedding in September 2027, and unfortunately the experience with the events team was extremely disappointing. The hotel itself and the location are absolutely beautiful, and we genuinely fell in love with Lake Orta and could really picture our wedding here. We also want to give special mention to Paolo, who showed us around and was absolutely fantastic. He was warm, helpful and made us feel very welcome. Unfortunately, everything changed when dealing with the events coordinator. There appears to be only one person handling the wedding/events enquiries, and the communication was extremely poor and frustrating throughout the process. We had travelled around Europe specifically to visit our shortlisted wedding venues. While at Hotel San Rocco, we were told that our preferred dates in September 2027 were available and that our names would be put down. We left believing we were moving forward with the venue and were waiting for the contract and next steps. Despite providing the information requested, we never received a contract. We were then informed that the dates had been given to someone else. For such a significant decision, and after travelling a long way to visit the property, we expected much better communication and professionalism. If the dates could not actually be held, this should have been made completely clear to us from the beginning. We are absolutely devastated because we genuinely loved the hotel and the area and thought we had finally found our wedding venue. Instead, due to the poor communication and handling of our enquiry, we are now having to start looking at venues all over again. It is such a shame because the hotel itself is beautiful and Paolo was brilliant, but the experience with the events coordination completely let it down for us. I would strongly recommend anyone considering Hotel San Rocco for a wedding to make sure they receive everything in writing and do not assume that dates are secured until they have a signed contract and confirmation.

Terrible experience the room was dirty and damp, floor by door rotten. The whole hotel was dismal they said it was an eighties vibe but obviously nothing has been updated since then . The bar was soulless no soft furnishings or plants cold tiles. Poor night sleep due to room being damp. The restaurant staff unhelpful unwelcoming when we asked to take a look at the restaurant with view to see if we wanted to eat there. We didn't. We did ask to move rooms which they did accomadate it was slightly better. It was supposed to be a special holiday. We were so disappointed. Breakfast basic, and again the lady that was serving was in welcoming and chewing gum! The whole place needs a make over, staff moral and standards need much improvement. I wrote an email to the manager with my concerns , they haven't bothered to reply. I think they rely on the location

The room we were given was small. The bed took most of the space. No space to move around. No hooks for the coats, no place to store the suitcase, the hangers in the small wardrobe were so high, you had ro use a metal rod with a hook at the end to reach them. The shower cubicle was also small. Price for this room 218 euro per night! A trolley with used towels was left in the corridor for a few days. And this is a 4* hotel!. I complained and they offered an upgrade, the night before we left! We were there for 3 nights. On the positive, the staff was very friendly, the bistro by the lake very pleasant offering good stuff for lunch and the position of the hotel excellent. The balcony and the view from the room very pleasant. We would nt go back though