Balconata
A south room with the original deep balcony, big enough for a table, two chairs and the argument about where to eat.
Lugano · Ticino · on the lake
For fifty years a sanatorium, now twenty-six rooms with the same cedar in the garden.
The villa was built to take in the lake air, and it treated that air as medicine. Hence the wide balconies and tall shutters, and the terrazzo laid in green and grey chips that has outlived every owner. We kept all of it and added a lift and decent beds, and the kitchen now opens before the first boat leaves.
Step out of the gate and you are in Lugano: the water is four minutes downhill, the old town a flight of steps above us, and most of what you came for can be walked before lunch.
The hotel has a small casino of its own inside the building, one floor above the lobby.
- 26 rooms, no two laid out the same way
- 1902 the year the villa went up, above the shore road
- 18+ age for the gaming floor, ID shown every visit
Stay
Three ways the villa was carved up
A sanatorium makes an odd hotel. The corridors are wide enough for two trolleys to pass, the ceilings are high, and nearly every room was designed to be aired out in a hurry. Scroll the row sideways to see the three types.
Terrazzo
On the ground floor at garden level, with the floor the room is named after and a door that opens straight onto the gravel.
Loggia del Cedro
On the top floor under the eaves, looking down into the branches of the cedar that was already old when the villa was new.
Rooms are held by email: send us your dates and how many of you are coming, and we will write back the same day.
Eat & drink
Four rooms, four different hours
Mostly Ticino cooking: fish from the lake when the boats bring it, polenta when the weather turns. Coffee is on all day, because this is still Switzerland.
Sala Verde
Dinner, Tue–Sun
This was the old dining hall, and the green tiles still run to shoulder height. The menu is short and written in the afternoon; ask, and someone will read it to you.
Caffè del Molo
07:00 – 11:00
Breakfast on the front terrace, brought to your table, with bread from the bakery on the corner, apricot jam made in the kitchen and strong coffee.
Bar Settanta
Evenings
Six stools at a marble counter rescued from the old pharmacy wing. They pour vermouth and local reds, and the bowl of olives will be empty before you leave.
La Pergola
Lunch, summer only
It sits under the vine at the far end of the garden. The menu is cold plates and one hot dish, and the shade is thick enough to carry you through the middle of the afternoon.
Inside the building
18+
Birkenhof Court Casino, our casino on the first floor
Birkenhof Court Casino is one flight above the lobby of Birkenhof Court. Take the terrazzo stairs by reception or, if you prefer, the lift, and you are there in under a minute without leaving the building. The casino is a modest room with a few tables, a bar along the back and the same lake windows as the rest of the villa.
It opens in the evening and closes when the last table does. The dress code in the casino is smart but relaxed: beachwear and sportswear are out, and shoes are required. Entry is for guests aged 18 and over, and staff check photo ID at the door on every visit, including for people who sat at a table the night before. Limits are agreed with staff on the floor, so it is worth asking before you settle in.
To exclude yourself from the casino, ask at reception. It is arranged in person, at the desk, at any time, and none of it is handled online.
- Reached from the lobby by stairs or lift, with no entrance from the street.
- The gaming floor is a single room with tables and a bar.
- Photo ID is checked at the door on every visit, returning guests included.
- Limits are set with staff on the floor.
This is a land-based casino inside the hotel. The website offers no online casino games and takes no bets, deposits or payments; the gaming happens upstairs, in person.
Getting around
Lugano is small and steep
- Lugano station sits above the town The funicular runs from the station forecourt down to Piazza Cioccaro in about a minute. Walking down takes ten minutes; walking up takes longer than you would expect.
- Trains north and south Zurich is a little over two hours away on the fast service, and Milan is around an hour once you are through the border stops. Trains on both routes run often enough that you needn't book ahead.
- Boats from Giardino quay Lake steamers to Gandria, Morcote and Campione leave through the day, from a quay that is a flat eight-minute walk from our gate along the shore road.
- Parking and the car The villa has no garage. The public car park two streets up charges by the day or the month, and we will write out the way in before you arrive.
Find us
Write, call, or knock
Birkenhof Court
Via dei Gelsi 14
6903 Lugano
Switzerland
Reception: +41 91 574 38 20
Email: [email protected]
The desk is staffed from 07:00 until late, and after midnight you can ring the bell, because someone is always on the ground floor.
Reception has the casino hours and house rules posted, and will hand you a copy if you ask.