Alma - Near Lake in Sal

We found the staff friendly, communicative, and flexible. The receptionist waived the €15 parking fee for our first night and suggested a free alternative, which felt very hospitable. Breakfast was varied and good, and our spacious room had a lovely view of the pool and lake, though tall trees blocked part of it. The main drawback is the busy road beside the hotel. You hear the traffic constantly, and by the pool you can smell the cars as well. If that doesn’t bother you, it’s a nice place for a relaxing stay.

I wouldn’t recommend this hotel. Four days before we were due to arrive, war in my country closed the airspace and stopped all flights. I asked to reschedule, but didn’t yet know the new date. They told us to cancel on the booking website so they could reschedule it, then changed the reservation to a date when I had no flight and wanted me to pay extra. Despite a long back-and-forth, they wouldn’t move it to the date I could fly, and I received no voucher or credit. The money is gone. There was no consideration for our situation, and I’ll avoid the hotel on future trips to Italy and make sure my friends and acquaintances know about this experience.

The pool is nice, with plenty of loungers, though it sits close to the road. This is a friendly family-run hotel on the main lakeside road, and it was very clean, with decent facilities and a good breakfast. Rooms are a good size, but the shower cubicles are tiny. The lift is quirky. There are lots of good restaurants nearby, since the hotel doesn’t serve lunch or dinner.

Sara at reception was the one bright spot. The service overall was below zero for what we paid, and we didn’t enjoy our stay. When we arrived, no one helped with our suitcases, which we didn’t mind at first. But half an hour later, staff brought a trolley and helped a couple unload their bags from a Porsche. Arriving in a “normal Audi” shouldn’t mean getting worse treatment. The night guard was usually nowhere to be found and didn’t speak English. At breakfast, none of the three staff members I asked could tell me what the spreads contained for allergy purposes. Our deluxe room was supposed to include a bubble bath, described as standard, but the first room had a shower less than a square meter in size. After I complained that it didn’t meet the standard, we were moved the next day. The new room had the bubble bath, but for a quick shower we had to hold the shower head so it wouldn’t fall on our heads. The rooms are much smaller than they look in the pictures, and unless you’re on the top floor, trees block most of the view, so paying extra for it isn’t worth it.