Professional reception. Underground parking for cars and bikes. Clean suites and bathrooms with enough space and spacious balcony with lake view. Swimming pool and fitness possibilities included. Professional and friendly roomservice and, a grand breakfast buffet with relaxing atmosphere on the sunny terrace. And everything a few minutes walk to heart of Locarno.

We chose the Ramada Arcadia because we wanted a lake view balcony, and we couldn't have been happier; a massive terrace on the 5th (top) floor with a stunning view over the lake, the mountains and the town.

The lake view rooms are booked as a special booking category, 40 francs more expensive than normal rooms at the back. Actually they are not "rooms" but one bedroom timeshare apartments that are rented as hotel rooms when the normal guests are not there. So they are huge, with a large bedroom & a large kitchen/living room area, and glass doors from both out to the large balcony/terrace (with a table and chairs).

The décor is as others have mentioned quite dated. Our bed was comfortable and the room was clean, but both the bathroom and the living room furniture looked very 70's/80's.

The kitchen area had cupboards with plates and glasses etc, but I understood from the receptionist that the actual cooking stove can only be used by the permanent time share owners (not by hotel guests), so ask about this if you want to cook.

The hotel location is fantastic in the town center and right on the water front (but with a road in between). There is a small swimming pool and a play area for kids in the hotel garden and it does look perfect for families with kids. We didn't try the swimming pool but enjoyed our lake view from the 5th floor (even on the 2nd/3rd floor the views would be pretty nice).

Breakfast is expensive; it's CHF 25 for the full buffet and the same price if you prefer continental breakfast in the room. We opted for the latter and enjoyed breakfast in the sun with a spectacular lake view. Room service brought a second pot of coffee for free so overall it was a nice experience!

The hotel is one of the few in Switzerland offering apartment like rooms for families and does not follow the general thinking that children sleep best in the parent's room. Unfortunately, the 2 room apartment we had was quite dated, and the 20 century type air conditioning was only available in the master bedroom, not very comfortable for the children sleeping in the other room in a south facing room. The equipment of the rooms was, although not modern, fine and the rooms were large. The plus is the big terrace, facing Laggio Magiore. Very nice!

Otherwise the hotel faces on all sides towards roads that are well used. So, even if it cooler outside, leaving the windows open is not an option.

The pool is rather small, and becomes soon crowded.

Breakfast is charged at an outrageous extra (25 CHF/person) compared to a full 3-course lunch including water and coffee served at 19 CHF/person. There is a minimal option consisting of coffee and crossaint&bread for 9 CHF which nobody except we took.

The hotel is well placed in the city (in walking distance to all attractions (including Moon&Stars). However, we would recommend to avoid the hotel in hot summer days, because simply sleeping is not possible on warm nights. Also beware that the parking situation in the garage is very peculiar and requires experienced drivers (small slots and lifts to accommodate 2 cars per lot)

Talk about kid freindly, this hotel caters on every angle. They have a dedicated kinder centre on level 1 for Children with two large rooms dedicated to fun.

We stayed with our 2.5 yr old and 8 week old baby, and stayed in a 80sm apartment style room with a small kitchette. A spacious living room and dining table and huge balcony (Accessable from the bedroom and living area) overlooking Lake Maggiorre.

The restaurant offered a half board option that was value for money with Breakfast and dinner, and enable the hasle free aspect of not having to find a restaurant to eat in that allowed chilren to be themselves. The staff were friendly from the reception, to the wait staff in the restaurant and the housekeeper was always greeting us with a smile.

The only downside is the decor, which is a throwback from the 70s in mustard yellow lounge and brown 70s dining table and chairs, but very comfortable for its age without any sag. I understand that this is due for a makeover this year, so this should lift it to the 2010 era.

At 350 chf a night, its a bit on the high side, but given the room size, meals and location, it is good value, and we would definately stay there again.