Al Borducan Romantic Hotel

Al Borducan is at Via Beata Caterina Moriggi 43, in the heart of the village of Santa Maria del Monte, the hamlet that crowns the Sacro Monte of Varese, a UNESCO site. It is an art nouveau villa opened in 1924 as a café, and since then the house has produced the Elixir del Borducan, the orange and herb liqueur whose recipe has been going for over a hundred and fifty years. The hotel is small, nine rooms in all, created above the historic café and the restaurant. The village is pedestrian, in a restricted traffic zone reserved for residents and guests, and the property is close to the stop of the funicular that climbs from the First Chapel.

There are four room types. The two Comfort rooms, of 15 square metres, have a wrought-iron or wooden double bed and look over the Campo dei Fiori park or the village and the seventeenth-century sanctuary. The two Romantic and four Superior rooms, between 15 and 20 square metres, have a small private balcony and a view down over Varese, its lake and the lake of Comabbio, or over the valley. The Suite Bregonzio is the only one of its kind and is the room that gave the house its romantic reputation: it is circular, over 30 square metres, with a king-size bed and a whirlpool tub for two, with the panorama over the Varese plain. All the rooms have a minibar with complimentary water, free wi-fi, a safe and central heating; the bathrooms have showers, except of course in the suite.

On the wellness area it should be said plainly that there is none. The Borducan has no spa: the property explicitly states that there is no steam room, and the website mentions no sauna, pool, relaxation area or treatment department. The only element of water is the whirlpool tub of the Suite Bregonzio, which belongs to that room and is not a hotel facility: anyone booking a Comfort, a Romantic or a Superior does not have one. The house also states, and it is as well to know before booking in summer, that there is no air conditioning; the heating is central and the altitude, over eight hundred metres above sea level, helps but does not replace air conditioning on the hottest days.

What there is, and what is the real reason to climb up here, is the table. The restaurant has an oval room lit by eighty-seven candles and a panoramic terrace looking over the landscape described by Stendhal, with the lakes, the Campo dei Fiori and, on clear days, the Alpine arc. Breakfast is served from 8:30 to 10:30 in the circular room, with sweet and savoury courses, and is also available as a breakfast box at no extra charge for anyone setting off early to walk. Check-in runs from 15:00 to 22:00, check-out by 11:30, with a late departure available for a fee.

Small and medium-sized dogs and cats are allowed, in the room and also in the restaurant, at a cost of 15 euros for the whole stay. The car park reserved for guests is a private area one hundred metres from the property, on via Sommaruga, unlit and unattended at night, with no charging points; a shuttle service is available by arrangement, and for unloading luggage or for guests with mobility difficulties it is permitted to drive up the narrow one-way Via Moriggi. The centre of Varese is twenty minutes away by car, Malpensa forty-five, Lake Maggiore fifty, Como an hour.

On the admission of minors the sources do not agree, and it is right to say so. The booking portals classify the Borducan as an adults-only property, with a minimum age of eighteen, and the full name under which the house long presented itself, Romantic Hotel and Love Restaurant for couples only, points the same way. The official website, however, never declares itself adults only, gives no minimum age and among the room features offers an extra bed or separate beds. Until the property answers in writing this listing keeps the portals' figure, but anyone travelling with a child, or as a party of three, should ask for direct confirmation before booking.

It suits two adults looking for a dinner and a night in a historic village closed to traffic, with a view over the lakes from the window. It suits less anyone expecting a spa, air conditioning or a hotel easy to reach by car right up to the door.