This is a spacious 5 bedroom villa within less than a two minute walk of the lakeside in Meina. The villa is traditional in style, furnished with both elegance and taste and equipped to a high standard. Guests enjoy a large private garden with BBQ, perfect for al fresco dining.
The villa itself measures approximately 280 square metres. The main living space is all on the ground floor where there is a good sized entrance hall and large living and dining room with fireplace and TV. The TV is DTT digital terrestrial with a number of international channels. The living space is bright and airy, with doors leading from the room to a private terrace and spacious garden. Comfortable leather sofas and armchairs provide relaxed seating, whilst there is a formal dining table seating up to ten. Also on the ground floor is a fully equipped kitchen, complete with large fridge / freezer, electric oven, 5 ring gas hob, microwave, toaster, kettle and double sink. One set of doors lead from the kitchen to the terrace area whilst another leads to the dining room and a third to the hallway. Also on this floor is a master bedroom, two further bedrooms and two bathrooms. Two of the bedrooms have double beds whilst the 3rd bedroom is laid out as a twin bedroom. All bedrooms are tastefully furnished with plenty of storage space, whilst the third bedroom also has a desk area, ideal for children to colour at or for adults to enjoy some peace and quiet to get some work done! Two of the bedrooms also enjoy doors out to a terrace area. The first bathroom is adjacent to the master bedroom and has a bath with overhead shower, his and her sinks, bidet and toilet. The second bathroom has a shower, bidet, sink and toilet. Stairs lead to the first floor of the property. Here there is a second living area with large, original fireplace. A bar area provides an unusual feature. Moving through, there are two additional bedrooms on this floor. These can be arranged as either twin or double rooms. These 2 rooms each enjoy their own bathroom. The first is tiled with red and white ceramic tiles and equipped with corner bath, sink, bidet and toilet. The second bathroom on this floor has a shower, bidet, sink and toilet. Finally, there is a second kitchen area on this floor with doors leading from the kitchen to a balcony area. Whilst more basic than the downstairs kitchen area, the kitchen on this floor is also equipped with gas hob, dishwasher, fridge and freezer. There is a table seating four. A basement area houses a laundry room and additional bathroom as well as garage space. There is also plenty of secure parking on the main driveway of the villa, access to which is via a lockable gate. The property is set in a private garden of approximately 1800 square metres. Across the road from the villa, approximately 2 minutes walk away, is a small garden and beach area which leads directly on to the lake. The beach is shared with the other villas in the immediate locality.
Across the road from the villa, approximately 2 minutes walk away, is a small garden and beach area which leads directly on to the lake. The beach is shared with the other villas in the immediate locality. The lake is lovely to swim in, whilst for those who are bringing kayaks with them, it's very easy to pull the kayaks on to this area. For those coming with a boat, the harbour at Solcio is just a short distance away and visitors can moor a boat at Solcio for use during their stay. The Meina lido with outdoor pool, cafe and lakeside bar is a 10 minute walk away. There is a superb fish restaurant within a 5 minute walk as well as a pizzeria within a 10 minute walk. Meina is a lovely lakeside village and it's a good base to explore the other towns and villages on this part of the lake including Stresa, Pallanza and Arona as well as the Borromean Islands.
A note from Jo
Whilst this villa may not boast lake views, it's literally just a short stroll to the lakefront which is a great plus point. The lake is wonderful to swim in and it's wonderful to be able to go for a swim without needing to get in a car. Meina itself is lovely lakeside town, with a couple of superb restaurants and cafes / bars. Whilst you can walk to the lakefront and restaurants, we do still recommend that you do hire a car as it would be difficult to properly explore the area or do your grocery shopping without one.
Jonathan Barber
The villa is secluded in its own grounds: quite hard to find at first because it is off the main road. It is large, well designed and luxuriously furnished. My daughter, her husband and two small girls had the upstairs apartment to themselves, the rest of us (5 adults) were well accommodated on the ground floor, which also provided spacious dining and lounge areas indoors and outside on the large patio. The estate manager, Fiona, lives in a nearby town and was available to deal with any problems, the first of which was finding the villa! She is a native English speaker who is married to an Italian; she was incredibly helpful. Some of us found themselves at Meina Railway Station, which is not a good place to start from if you want to reach the villa. Fiona rescued them by driving up to the station and getting them to follow her back. Yes, there is a railway line, and it runs about a quarter of a mile from the Villa, so there is occasional train noise, including two or three times at night when goods trains run. We did not find this too much of a problem, but be aware that total night-long silence will not happen. There were no other unwanted distractions. There is a private lake-front, quite a narrow strip of land, but please be aware that it is on the other side of the main road from the villa. Our experience of staying at Jo’s villa was incredibly positive, and we would not hesitate to recommend it.