Hotel Locanda Dei Mai Intees

After being canceled by a hotel closer to Malpensa airport the day before arrival, I had to scramble to find an alternative. So glad we stayed here! As mentioned in the description and reviews, this is a 15th century building, full of charm and history, not a modern conference hotel. We stayed in the Casanova suite, which is set on 4 separate tiers with stairs connecting - very unique! We enjoyed meeting Paolo, who shared the hotel and family history, and helped us arrange car service to MXP at 5:30AM - quite a feat during Milan Fashion Week. I wish we could have stayed longer to enjoy the hotel and town.

We booked three nights at this very different and unique family owned hotel in Azzate, which is very near to Lake Varese. A 15th century family owned and run hotel, set with it's own courtyard and enclosed garden, parking too. Our room had a high wooden ceiling, lovely old pieces of furniture and the highest quality bed linen, with air conditioning too. The hotel is a cornucopia of interesting and historical items, all set to a back drop of relaxing jazz music. We decided to eat in the courtyard two nights and were served beautifully cooked Italian food by Paulo (not be missed). A very simple croissant and boiled egg breakfast in the morning. ' If you like 'Escape to the Chateau' then you will thoroughly enjoy this experience - if you prefer a corporate bland hotel, then maybe not for you.

It is a unique blend of history with a modern twist. 12 rooms, each one of them with a character and unified by a leitmotif: good taste. Each room gives you space to work, relax, unwind, rest. The location is far from any traffic and close to Varese Lake. It offers the right level of tranquillity without being too far removed from the rest of the world: Varese is not far and Malpensa Airport is easy within reach. Bathrooms are all newly renovated with modern fittings, but without losing the "classic" feeling. Beds are really comfortable and if you are in need of a sound night of sleep, well this is the place. Bed linen is of the best quality. Breakfast is intimate and it has a true "family feeling". It is served to you with a smile, rather than the copious all you can eat buffets offered by large chains. And the welcoming smile at the breakfast room makes up for anything you may be used to, but that you really don't need. Toasted bread with jams, croissants, yogurts... And all varieties of coffees . But with a heart And this place has a legacy. Family owned for generations it was an intellectual circle where topics like politics, literature, fashion were on the agenda of the intelligenza frequenting the "mai intees" club. Ah.. I was forgetting .. "Mai Intees" is the local dialect for "never agreeing". And it gives you the idea of the variety of ideologies and beliefs who met there to openly discuss, but never argue It could be the perfect place to hold a summit... Not to miss.

The hotel is very run down and in need of a lot of attention. Check-in was chaotic - we literally blocked the road outside the hotel for 5 minutes waiting for someone to open the gate. Breakfast was minimal: a piece of toast each and no fresh bread rolls or croissants - we skipped it entirely the second day. Biggest problem, since we booked this location based on favourable images of the restaurant, was to find on arrival that there was no restaurant. We were told they couldn't get the staff and there was no indication this was a temporary situation. We had to leave the property to find another place for dinner. The description should make it clear there is no longer a restaurant at this location.

You feel immediately at home once you enter this historical family house. Enjoy the beautiful collection of antiques, jazz musique and frescos. A visit very worthwhile!

Place full of charme ...out of time... we stayed 4 very days 3 nights ...the location is great to visit the lakes and Milan too. Thank you to the very sympathic owner to maintain his house as it is and for his precious cooking. We slept in the Francesca room with terrace view on the peaceful garden. Very pleasant.

Very nice place with a particular style of what to remember. We will return when we have the possibility and hope that the place still exists.

(Photos only)

Dimenticate i rumori esterni delle automobili, chiudete gli occhi e respirate la storia di questo luogo. Immaginate la nascita delle prime case di questo paese affacciato sul Lago di Varese. Come ben descritto dal loro sito web, qui ci fu la prima piazza, la farmacia e l'ufficio postale di Azzate. Ed i muri e le piante secolari raccontano la loro storia a chi la vuole “sentire”, a chi la vuole respirare e scoprire. Vi accolgono sorridenti ed amichevoli la Signora Carla ed il figlio, il Signor Paolo. Vi aprono le porte della loro casa ora diventata hotel e ristorante di charme. Chiudete gli occhi ed immergetevi nella storia della loro famiglia, raccontata con tanta passione da loro, gli eredi di questo luogo fuori dal mondo. Tutto ciò che vi circonda è stato per me quasi infotografibile perchè anche se belle e nitide le foto non sanno restituire la magicità di questa dimora. Solo camminando nelle sale, osservando gli oggetti, gli affreschi sui soffitti, i dipinti appesi alle pareti, percorrendo i corridoii e scoprendo le storiche stanze da letto sarete toccati nell'intimo dalla romanticità ed unicità delle Locanda dei Mai Antees, che vi resterà negli occhi e nel cuore.