We found Hotel Cadro Panoramica online as a last minute booking option the night before arriving in Lugano. The views from rooms and the restaurant facing down the mountain toward Lugano are fantastic. Even though there are homes and buildings leading all the way down, each of them seem to fit quite naturally into the landscape and nothing looks out of place or artificial.

The restaurant was nice and accommodated us well after a very late arrival. Our waiter was charming and kept our very daughter amused and happy despite being tired from our long drive coming in. The hotel is situated among loads of tennis courts and other sport facilities, and it clearly has a history as a destination for avid tennis players and families. Our waiter did note that the relative change in popularity of golf (increasing) versus tennis (decreasing) did affect how busy the hotel is currently versus prior years.

The hotel is built into the mountain and the balconies have nice views. Some might find the decorum a little dated with it's lodge-like motif, but we were comfortable and happy. Given the fact that we only had a one day visit, maybe it isn't surprising that the "highlight" was that last hour we spent basking in the sun on the terrace next to the restaurant. With the mountain breeze and fantastic view, we were content to rest our heads on the nice outdoor furniture and relax.

Our room did not have air conditioning, which might not be unexpected due to the hotel's mountainside location. However, the room did get a little stuffy because the breeze stopped at the balcony and didn't really give circulation within the room itself.

The hotel can honestly advertise that it is minutes from Lugano, since the distance and proximity make it feel very close. However, being up the mountain at one end of Lugano, it does take some time to wind up to Cadro by car. Even though we had GPS, it took a bit of driving back and forth to find the right route to the hotel (maybe our GPS wasn't precisely finding the destination), but the hotel staff guided us in via a few successive calls as we inched our way closer. I would also add that locals in Lugano quickly recognized the area when we mentioned Cadro and a few people pointed us in the right direction quite readily. That's just to give some additional context that Cadro is indeed close and accessible to Lugano. Just make sure you have good directions/maps, because the few minutes it takes to get there when you know the destination can turn into half an hour of more very quickly if you keep missing the right turns. No knock on the hotel, just a suggestion to prevent frustration for any future visitors.

For better or worse, Swiss hotels will often strike visitors as being expensive for foreign visitors, which I attribute mainly to the value of the franc and probably a bit to the fact that Swiss hotels tend to be independently owned and less oriented to the whole discounting phenomenon that large and small chains use to attract visitors.

This place is expensive. Without proper furniture (the furniture is the room is what I have in my garden). Certainly not worth it. Not worth a 4 star rating. Average breakfast. Separated single mattresses on a double bed.

We stayed one night whilst visiting friends. On arrival what stands out is a huge window which has been broken and has been taped up all over. It looks like it has been that way for quite a long time. It looks really dangerous and does not give a good first impression of the property. The property is old and run down, it is in need of renovation throughout. The first room we were given was dark and smelt musty with extremely old carpet that did not fit the floor correctly and buckled in places which was a tripping hazard. The furniture was old and out dated and the kichenette was questionable. I asked to look at another room and found a much better one in the new renovated area. The bathrooom was not renovated and was very basic but it was an improvement on the original room alloted to us. Another downside was that there was no cooling system or air conditioning, we requested a fan and was given a tiny one that would cool a mouse only. The room was 37 degrees up until the early hours in the morning where the outside temp was about 32 degrees. Not the best when you have young children.

The pool area was large but there were no shaded areas near the pool so one has to go about 100 meters away under the palm trees to get shade. The outside pool was average and the indoor pool had cloudy white water which was questionable.
The service was average but not bad on any terms. The poolside resturant served quality items and the service was acceptable. The breakfast was pleasant and served out on the terrace but the selection was very limited.

The value for price ratio was not at all balanced and I would not really recommend this hotel to anyone.

What a wonderful experience! The view from my balcony was outstanding. The food from the restaurant was delicious and the presentation was beautiful. Best of all - the SERVICE! These folks really know what the word "service" means! Hats off to the management! Everything was wonderful!