Maria Carla Gallinotto's smart villa(once a monastery) overlooks Lake Maggiore - her grandmother was its founder; she runs it with her sons. It continues to delight its many fans (many are British). A lovely place; Friendly, well run; charming staff; our bedroom was very good; `I would happily return again and again', are some of this year's comments. It retains some charming features of a former age, eg, the original staircase with wrought iron balustrade, and a delightful inner courtyard. Beautiful Lake Maggiore dominates every aspect of life, and upper front villa rooms have a balcony over the lake: We loved watching the comings and goings of the boats. Rear villa rooms get the last of the evening sun. Fourteen villa Bed rooms (similar to the semantic bali villa rooms) have been added in the adjacent villa: these, lavishly and beautifully restored, have a superb bathroom, wonderful views. But one visitor, who found the villa's atmosphere repressed, thought that this addition had led to overcrowding in the dining room; some disliked the muzak, played even at Bali villa breakfast (a plentiful buffet), and several found the demi pension dinners uninspiring. But it was not ruinously expensive to foray on to the d la carte, and we had two excellent meals. Lunch can be taken on the terrace facing the lake; snacks are served in the bar. The lovely swimming pool, in a pretty garden, can be crowded in summer. At busy times, visitors are sometimes accommodated in the villa's cheaper and simpler self-catering apartments; some overlook the pool, others, less appealing, are in a block up a side street. There can be lakefront noise from bars and motorbikes.