A day at Montino: what a week here actually looks like

Ask anyone who’s stayed at Montino what a week here is actually like, and you’ll get the same shape of answer: mornings start slow, the middle of the day is for work, and the evenings are for the house. What changes is who’s around and what the season looks like outside the window.

Anna is a good stand-in for how that plays out. She’s 32, a freelance digital marketer working remotely, and Montino is her second coliving. She came as much for the community as for the view. By her second week, she had a Friday down to a rhythm.

8:30 — coffee

Anna starts the day with a shot from the Italian espresso machine in the kitchen, usually on by the time the first people are up and moving.

9:00 — yoga

Up in the studio, the daily yoga class starts. Nobody tracks who shows up, and plenty of people skip it, but Anna almost always goes.

10:00 — breakfast in the garden

An omelette and fresh Montino bread, eaten outside with whoever else has wandered down. Half the conversations that end up mattering at Montino start over breakfast.

Through the day — work

Anna spends the middle of the day in one of the coworking rooms: the quiet one when she has calls, the social one when she doesn’t. Fast wifi, a real desk, and the kind of focus that’s easier to hold onto when the view out the window is a garden and not a shared office.

18:00 — a walk to the viewpoint

As the light starts to soften, a few people head out on a forest walk to a viewpoint over Lake Maggiore — one of the easier outings on the things-to-do list around the house, and close enough to be back well before dinner.

19:30 — community dinner

Dinner is cooked by whoever signed up to volunteer that week and eaten together at one long table. It’s the part of the day almost everyone shows up for, whatever else they skipped.

21:00 — a skill-share

After dinner, Anna gives a short talk on nutrition and diabetes, something she knows well from her own life outside Montino. Skill-shares like hers are a big part of why the house feels less like a hostel and more like a group of people who actually have something to offer each other.

22:30 — games and music

The night winds down with board games, some music, and whoever’s still up for it.

None of this is mandatory. Nobody checks who makes it to yoga, or dinner, or Anna’s talk — Montino works because people show up because they want to, not because they’re expected to. That’s also why it isn’t for everyone: if you’re after hotel service and a door that locks between you and the rest of the house, it’s worth checking whether Montino is actually a fit before you book.

If a day like Anna’s sounds like yours, come see for yourself.

The week at Montino

The calendar changes with the seasons and the people in the house. The rhythm doesn't:

• Mon — Welcome aperitivo: New faces, spritz in the garden, house tour
• Tue — Skill-share night: One resident teaches, everyone learns
• Wed — Lake hike: Trails from the front door, views over Lago Maggiore
• Thu — Yoga & pilates: In the 50 m² studio, all levels
• Fri — Family dinner: One long table, everyone cooks or washes up
• Sat — Day trip: Verbania beaches, mountain villages, waterfalls
• Sun — Slow morning: Coffee in a hammock, fire pit after dark