Reviews of Property: La Darsena at Lake Orta for an incomparable relaxing vacation

My second visit to La Darsena. For me it is the perfect place to be.Peace and quiet.
Sit on the balcony and relax. The view is awesome. In August it is warm but not over hot. As the property does face East and has shelter at the back.The villa is clean and well maintained. With new bed this time. Though needs a new mattress !!
The lake is also great for swimming. Swam with an Otter a few times.
The town is so relaxing too. Plenty of choice for food and there was a very good singer when we were there. As passionate as the Italians are.
Most nights we ate out. During the day we would have a light lunch in peace on the balcony.
The town is very historical and a pleasure to see.
For me the perfect holiday and would recommend to anyone who needs to relax and enjoy ,sun,people,views and good food.

Supertof uniek huisje voor wie graag volledig in de natuur en vlak aan het Ortameer wil zitten. Je kan rechtstreeks vanuit het huis het meer in zwemmen of erin met je bootje.
Er is ook veel buitenruimte bij het huis. Doordat het afgelegen is moet je zeker over een wagen beschikken en voor boodschappen en wandelingen moet je wat verder. Het keukentje is klein maar praktisch. Het keukenmateriaal is beperkt.
Het balkonterras is prachtig. Zeer geschikt voor natuur- en rustliefhebbers, ook voor bergwandelingen en stadsbezoeken in de buurt.
De verhuurders gaven veel informatie, alles op de site klopt, supergoede service, ook ter plaatse.

We stayed in La Darsena for a total of 2 weeks and the first week we shared the accomodation with a friendly couple of ours. And altough four people is possible I would not recommend it since the second sleeping opportunity is an old sofa extendable to a bed, which is not really comfortable. But as I said for 1 week it was okay though still we really appreciated to be able to conquer the bed finally in the second week.

The location really is loveyl located, with a terrazza directly located over the lake with a most lovely view to the piemontese hills and the great Lago d'orta.
The interior is well suited for experienced holiday house travellers with a small kitchen, a bathroom with shower and toilet, a living room with TV and a bedroom with cupboard and 2 person bed. Since the terrazza is right infront of the bedroom and the living room you get fresh air all day long and at night it can be left open enjoying the view on the hills.

Whereas most other tourist only can enter the lake by the crowded lidos or from the stone stairs of the lake promenade you have your exclusive entrance with LaDarsena, given the fact it is a "boat house". So in the cellar you can open the gates to the lake and swim from inside the house perferctly comfortable to the lake. This also gives you the possibility to have some nice swims at night without going out of the house first, if you the weather allows that.

And for the relaxation you just have either the terrazza (north/east) or the garden back of the house (south/west).
Although the garden is not fenced properly, so the dog still needs to be tied to avoid it from attacking joggers passing by. But with a nice long rope also the dog will have a great stay though.

And last but not least Orta itself is really the most lovely village I ever came through Italy at least. I really can recommend eating out there once a while or at least enjoying some of the great gelato artigianale for an evening walk.

So in all, if you do not expect a luxury villa stay, but still can enjoy the basics I only can recommend la darsena.
Not to speak from Lago di Orta, which was quite a suprise because of its loveliness.

We have been to beautiful Lake Orta before, but not "Darsena" We had planned to eat out lots, and maybe take car trips in the area, as we did perviously. But in fact the location of "Darsena", its lovely afternoon-shaded terrace and the lake views meant that we had our laziest holiday ever! Wake up - a swim in the lake, a quick breakfast, read and relax, another swim... the days streched into blissful relaxation.

Simply furnished with a basic kitchen there is all you should need if you want to do as we did. Of course you might to choose to tour more of this wonderful part of Italy, then "Darsena" would be a geat base. Many places to visit, many great restaurants (or the super pizzas at Pettanasco).

Thanks Iliara - we hope to be back some time.

Derek & Sue

We holidayed here in mid June 09. The house is perfect for two people who want a relaxing place to stay. It is nicely furnished, well equipped for preparing simple meals and the terrace and view of the lake is exactly as in the pictures. The owners are friendly, helpful and speak good English.

The private road to the house means there are no cars other than yours. A few people walk around the lake and pass by the back of the house; a few boats pass gently by at the front. Otherwise the place is yours alone with the sunshine, the lake, the ducks, the fish! Perfect!

The idyllic walk on the paved path to the village along the lakeside takes 10 to 15 minutes, where you will find a delightful square with life gently passing by. Quiet in the week; a little busier at the weekends as the locals come for the weekend. There are a few shops for your daily needs, several restaurants, a couple of wine bars, the boat across to the island and the steamer aroung Lake Orta. Most of the village shops and bars are very resonably priced. And the Enoteca in the main square has friendly faces, excellent wines and little snacks to enjoy included in the price of the wines or beers.

It's easy to move around if you have a hire car (or your own) and the bigger busier Lake Maggiore is ½ hours drive around the lakeside. Bigger busier resorts are to be found here. Be sure to find out about the Lake Maggiore Express and take the train and boat to an from Locarno. There's lots to do, but it is best suited to those who want to unwind in a perfect setting and enjoy the peace, tranquilty and recharge your batteries.

For us it was sunny and warm, with the occasional mountain thunderstorm. Excellent weather.

We can fully reccomend it to those people who want a tranquil setting.

Wir haben Ende Oktober dieses Ferien- und Bootshaus gemietet und uns dort sehr wohl gefühlt, mit herrlichem Blick auf den See von beiden Zimmern aus. Da es kühl war, heizte die Zentralheizung sehr gut. Allerdings liegt das Haus am Nordhang der Halbinsel, so dass man schätzungsweise von Oktober bis April nur sehr wenig Sonne hat, gar keine auf dem überm Wasser gelegenen Balkon, der genau nach Norden geht, morgens etwas Sonne (bis 12 Uhr) auf der großen Wiese hinterm Haus mit Sitzplatz. Entsprechend feucht war es auch ums Haus. Schön ist die Uferpromenade, die ums Haus herumführt, auf der man bis in den malerischen Ort Orta gehen kann. Also diese sehr gut ausgestattete , gepflegte und komfortable Ferienwohnung (allerdings für anspruchsvolle Köche ist die kaum 2qm große Küche nicht geeignet) ist für Mesnchen die den Rückzug suchen und nicht unbedingt Wärme und Sonne auch im Frühjahr und Herbst geeignet.