Hotel Villa Maria Au Lac - Estella Hotels Italia

The staff really made this stay special. Sandra, Mohammad, Samuel, Diana, and everyone else were exceptionally friendly and helpful. The views are spectacular, and the whole place feels calm and homely. Villa Maria isn’t trying to be ultra-luxurious, but it’s clean, looked after, and absolutely lovely. There’s a private entrance to the lake, and the gardens are beautifully kept. Breakfast is generous with excellent pastries, and the marble-finished dining room adds a nice touch. Our room was clean and comfortable, just as expected. The villa is near town, supermarkets, and restaurants, with a great pizzeria right across the road. There’s also an outdoor gym next to the grounds, which is handy.

The view is astonishing, the food is great, and everyone is super friendly. The rooms are a little dated, but they’ve got charm. I wish getting down to the water were easier. Also, the beach is seriously stony, the kind that makes you go “ouch, ouch, ouch!” Bring water shoes.

We stayed for about a week. The lobby staff were friendly, the garden was lovely, and there was access to the lake. Our two-story room was clean, though some of the upstairs furniture was dirty or old. The bathroom was awful: old and full of mold, with a disgusting shower and a door that was hard to open and close. Water came up through the floor whenever you stepped on it. I’ve never had mold in my own bathroom, and I had to pay for this filthy one. For a four-star hotel, they need to renovate the bathrooms and think about guests’ health. The old, dirty carpet at the room entrances was horrible too. Breakfast was another problem. Guests with dogs had to eat on the terrace, but on the first day some waiters said they wouldn’t serve me because it was private property and I shouldn’t be there. We were following the reception staff’s instructions and were guests, but they spoke rudely in front of the whole dining room and literally told me to leave the hotel. It was eventually clarified, yet they still had trouble serving us on the terrace each day, and the woman at the bar was very rude. There’s parking during the week, but at weekends the restaurant is open to the public, so there may be no space if you arrive after 7 pm. You can’t take a dog into the restaurant for dinner, and they won’t serve you in your room either. We went on excursions every day, but it wasn’t pleasant to rest in a room that smelled of mold and was full of mosquitoes. I don’t consider this a four-star hotel, and I don’t think we’ll return. It might be okay for a couple of nights. What a shame.

We came back for our third stay, this time with our two daughters. The visit before this was ten years ago, and the first was our honeymoon. Apart from the staff, everything’s stayed the same, and that’s a good thing. Say no more.