Albergo Losone

Set beside the Maggia River, Albergo Losone opens onto a garden thick with palm trees, and every room looks out over that greenery rather than a car park or street. It began in 1954 as the first motel in Europe, a fact the hotel still trades on with a certain dry pride. The mix of styles inside has been called unconventional by at least one Swiss critic, and the hotel does not disagree. Rooms come in a range of sizes and layouts, from doubles with garden access to a three-storey suite with its own terrace and whirlpool. A family suite includes a small wooden house with children's beds; another room opens straight onto the garden and a natural pond. Grounds include a nine-hole golf practice range built right in front of the rooms, on 16,000 m² of land, along with tennis courts, a heated pool and a wellness centre. Children have their own patch: a playground with a steam locomotive, go-kart track and a small farm of ponies and goats. You can walk from the hotel along the river to the public swimming spot, a short stroll rather than an outing. Bikes are free to borrow. Sunday brunch runs long, and the hotel doubles, oddly enough, as a consulate.