Golf Des Iles Borromees
One of the best-kept golfing secrets in the Lake Maggiore region
Golf Des Iles Borromees is one of the best-kept golfing secrets in the Lake Maggiore region. Set high in the hills with broad views over the pre-Alpine landscape and nearby lakes, it offers a sense of space and breathing room that many more celebrated clubs have long since lost. The course moves naturally across the terrain, mixing uphill and downhill holes, generous-looking lines that still require interpretation and greens that become distinctly selective as the round progresses. This is scenic golf, but not postcard golf: the beauty does not soften the test, it simply makes it more memorable. The club is ideal within a slower itinerary through Piedmont and the lakes, away from the pressure of the best-known tourist hubs. That is exactly why experienced golfers value it so highly: it still carries the feeling of discovery. It is the kind of address you recommend quietly, almost as a privilege.
Se ami i club panoramici, qui il timing conta molto: scegli una giornata limpida e una partenza non troppo presto, così il paesaggio si apre davvero davanti a te.
Vista eccezionale e forte senso di scoperta
Layout collinare interessante e mai monotono
Meno famoso, quindi meno immediato nei grandi itinerari internazionali
Le pendenze possono stancare chi arriva senza ritmo
Exclusive Experiences
Secrets found in no guidebook, curated by our concierge.
Isola Bella: gli Appartamenti dei Borromeo
Isola Bella has belonged to the Borromeo family since 1632 and the public section reveals only a fraction of it. Via the family's request through a few select lake hotels' concierges, access is possible to the private first-floor apartments: rooms inhabited by Napoleon, Elisabeth of Austria, and Churchill with furniture and personal objects still in use.
“Napoleon's bedroom still has his original bed with the imperial monogram. The family caretaker shows the handwritten letter Napoleon wrote to Josephine from this room the night before Marengo.”
Villa Aminta: la Spa del Lago
Villa Aminta is hidden among terraced gardens overlooking Lake Maggiore, two kilometres from Stresa. The private spa draws on the oligomineral spring water that has supplied the hotel since 1918. The Acque del Verbano circuit includes a heated infinity pool overlooking the lake with underwater granite stone hydromassage.
“The Pietra e Luce treatment uses granite stones gathered from the lake bottom by local fishermen: stone temperature is calibrated to the lunar cycle following a protocol passed down from the hotel's founder.”
Luigi Ferrando: Erbaluce di Caluso Verticale
Luigi Ferrando's Erbaluce di Caluso passito is Piedmont's great forgotten white wine. The grapes are dried for four months on racks before vinification: the result is an amber wine with cutting acidity and mineral sweetness that can age fifty years. The private vertical from 1988 is a journey through forgotten Italian winemaking.
“Ask about the 1997 Vigna Cariola: Ferrando's son considers it his personal masterpiece and only opens it for guests who understand Erbaluce's history before Gavi eclipsed it.”