Walk straight off the shore path and into a lobby where warm wood, muted stone and the shimmer of Lake Orta through floor-to-ceiling windows stop you in your tracks. This boutique hotel in Pettenasco sits right on the water’s edge, part of the world of multi-Michelin-starred chef Antonino Cannavacciuolo and his wife Cinzia and that family feeling is present in every detail. Rooms range from comfort rooms and lake-view suites with a private kitchen to two panoramic penthouses on the upper floors, each with a wide terrace and that view stretching endlessly across the water. The standout is Darsena 19, a freestanding boathouse suite positioned right on the lake shore, slightly apart from the main hotel; your own private living room, a breakfast nook, and the sound of the water just below. Wooden furnishings in warm tones reflect the Piedmontese landscape outside, and small thoughtful details like a private kitchen garden supplying the restaurant each morning, e-bikes to explore the surrounding hills and electric car charging points, give the place a grounded, unhurried quality that larger hotels rarely manage.

Food

Cannavacciuolo’s lakeside bistrot is intimate and refined without being stiff, with tasting menus that draw directly from the surrounding Piedmontese landscape and the hotel’s own kitchen garden. The show cooking approach brings the kitchen into the dining room, you watch, you wait, and what arrives on the plate is so worth it. The wide windows make sure Lake Orta stays in view throughout. For a lighter option, the beach club handles drinks and simpler pleasures at the water’s edge.

Spa

The spa at LAQUA by the Lake was conceived by Cinzia Primatesta, and it shows, this is wellness with a clear point of view rather than a generic hotel add-on. Two complementary paths structure the experience: warmth and breath on one side, regenerating cold on the other. Treatment rooms, a relaxation pool, sauna and steam facilities make up the practical offering, but the atmosphere is what sets it apart; genuinely quiet, genuinely considered, the kind of place where an hour becomes two without you noticing.

Environment

Lake Orta is Italy’s least-visited major lake, which is precisely its appeal; no cruise ships, no crowds, just a medieval island in the middle of the water and villages that feel entirely themselves. The hotel provides e-bikes for exploring the hillside paths and shoreline roads. Lake Maggiore is close enough for a day trip, and the wider Piedmont region (truffles, wine country, the Langhe hills) opens up easily from here. Milan is roughly an hour and a half by car, making the journey in both manageable and scenic.

Average review score

Exceptionally well-rated across booking platforms, with scores between 9.4 and 9.6 out of 10 hightlighting the location, the personal quality of the service and the food as consistent standouts. The Darsena 19 boathouse suite receives particular attention from couples looking for something genuinely romantic.