Hotel Garden

We enjoyed our stay so much that we’ve already booked for next year. The room was very clean and housekeeping was good. The hotel is beautiful, in a beautiful location, and the staff were exceptionally friendly and helpful, offering ideas about places to visit.

It was nearly perfect for us, and the staff were kind and welcoming. The hotel is friendly, clean and attractive, though I wouldn’t call it a luxury place. If you need a big gym, a powerful shower or a spa, you may want to look elsewhere. Ours was a quiet stay. We mainly heard thunder from the mountains and the odd ambulance or overly enthusiastic motorcyclist, with no music in the common areas. WiFi was fast enough for the kids to watch Netflix on a laptop. All rooms have balconies. The front rooms overlook the pool and lake, while the back views are nothing special but fine. Our room had a safe, mini fridge and cupboards. We had a really nice time. The staff were very friendly and helpful, the view beautiful, and the pool a lovely place to spend hours or even days. The hotel is about two minutes from the old part of Garda town, where there are plenty of places to eat. Breakfast is a buffet with cereal, croissants, cake, fruit, bread and cheese, plus eggs or an omelette made to order. It’s decent but not amazing, and meat lovers or Eggs Benedict fans may find it limited. Lunch is served by the pool, with reasonably priced mains around €9-12, mostly pasta and salads. There’s no dinner service, but restaurants in town are only minutes away. The clean, attractive pool is about 20m long, by my guess. One half is 0.8m deep, then it drops to 2.2m, so it works for swimmers and non-swimmers, but isn’t ideal for either. It’s not great for swimming lengths, and you need to be in the water with young children. They lend simple city bikes for free, and they seemed well maintained. The basic gym has lots of weight machines but no cardio or Pilates-type equipment. There are four tennis courts, but we didn’t use them. In summer, you’d want to be sure you’re up for playing in direct heat and sun. The rooms could use a kettle, and a pump and puncture repair kit for the bikes would be useful. We didn’t need one, but I’d always carry them on my own bike at home.

It was lovely to sit out on the terrace with a drink in the evening, and lunch under the grape vines was good too. We had a fantastic stay at the charming Hotel Garden. The staff were friendly and helpful, and made us feel very welcome. Breakfast was lovely as well. We’ll definitely be back next summer. Colette/Søren Frederik/Christopher

The staff work hard to make this a happy, comfortable and friendly stay. It’s a wonderful family hotel, though it isn’t five-star. There are no evening meals, but plenty of good options are within a five-minute walk.