Ambri Piotta - Quito

When we go to Italy, this is a kind of tradition to stop here first. It is right after the Gotthard Tunnel and it is good for a quick break. Be it because you are tired that the reservoir leads south, or be it to celebrate the...fact that you did not get traffic (we belonged to the last group). In addition to the petrol station and the self-service restaurant, there is a shop/kiosk and of course the bathroom (most visitors use). The restaurant is good for a coffee or something, the food is your standard car fare. The bathroom costs. One dollar a person. But you can use the ticket as a discount for the shop above (and you can combine more than 1 ticket which is beautiful). For us it is just the first stop on the way to our holiday destination, a welcome quick break to stretch you legs and our dog for a quick walk after the long, dark tunnel. But in the end it is just another service area on the highway, but with a beautiful architecture.

We had set off from Lake Garda (North Italy) and drove to Lucerne to spend a few days. Our GPS lady gave us instructions to turn off the E35 motorway, a detour, apparently the Gotthard Strassentunnel was closed because of an accident. We had not thought to stop in the city of Quinto, but our route led us through Piotta, so we stopped to get some alternative directions, plus, it was time for a break anyway. This is a full service stop, you can fill with gasoline, buy something (dates or souvenirs) or eat in the restaurant for something. You can have a quick meal, they serve buffet style, or as in our case have a coffee and a treat. We found the servers a bit sullen and the food a little expensive. They say it is affordable, which may be according to Swiss standards. My question is why people whose jobs are only due to customer participation need to worry about the people they serve. Luckily, this is not the case in most places, and to be fair, it was not everyone in this service center! This is a center that offers a number of your needs, there are washing rooms available. There is a small fee to use them, this is a common practice in many places. We didn't know Switzerland was charging a toll to drive on some of their roads, we should have been, duh. We were suspicious enough to ask in the info center. They told us that we could do it and that we could buy a Vignetta car pass there for 40 CHF to put on our windshield and it was good on all roads for the whole year. This is particularly sensible when you see the great road tunnel system found in Switzerland. The City Quinto Service Center is located on the west side no. 2 (E35), 5 km south of the tunnel. The tunnel was shut down, and who knows how long? When we drove to Lucerne for the night, we wanted to know if there were alternative routes available for us, fortunately we were told that there was one. The tunnel leads you through the mountain, but you can drive the old Route No. 2 which leads you over the mountain. It is longer, but if you want to take the scenic road, then this will go the route! It would have been our first choice, and it would have been very disappointing not to take it. As it turns out, the delay. was at least for us, luck! So if you drive from south to Lucerne and are not in a big hurry, take the picturesque route. The views are quite spectacular as you climb and up. Switzerland is a great country.

High price-performance restaurant with terrible food quality, really terrible... This is probably why the place is empty. Never again, better to stop elsewhere.

Great place for a stop on your trip towards the Italy. About one hour drive from the Swiss/Italian border. If you travel south exit at Airolo and take the road towards Piotta. Follow for about 6 km. Clean rooms. Friendly staff. For whom it concerns...DOGS ALLOWED. Breakfast is decent and offers a big variety. Evening meal is the only thing that should be ameliorated.

We thought it was coffee and sandwiches and were satisfied with the food. The Italian waitress was nice and efficient and understood that as an Indian we were not too familiar with the names and needed a little help. Extra points for customer service.