We booked this hotel via a website which has subsequently updated its information on the hotel location. We had spent a wonderful 2 nights in Venice and then caught a train to Desenzano del Garda - €7 single on a brand new train was very impressive. The hotel booking was made on the basis that it was in Sirmione....it ain't!!!!!

We discovered that as we had got the bus from the train station in to Sirmione, only to find it was a €10 taxi back along the road we had travelled in on! It is in the middle of a residential area and was very difficult to find on our way back on the first evening after having had to go out for dinner (as there is no food option in the hotel!)

On arrival....not a very friendly welcome from the male receptionist, although he did lighten up slightly towards the end of our holiday.
Our booking was for 9 nights, so expectations were high.

The good things :-

Bicycles are available for hire @ €1 per hour
Swimming pool was grand and had plenty of sunloungers
Room was spacious, but basic

Things to consider :-

Distance from Sirmione made a bicycle essential to visit.
Air conditioning was switched off every day between c11am-4pm (it was 36-38 degrees when we were there).
There was no drinks (soft or otherwise) service at the pool - you had to go up a floor to reception and even then you routinely had to wait on someone from reception to serve.
Breakfast could be good if they refilled the plates of rolls, ham,eggs, cheese etc before they ran out!
There was absolutely no entertainment of any description, at any time, during our stay.
The bathroom was very dark and the shower overflowed within seconds.

The area:-

Enjoyable walk in to Colombare every evening ensured good food and wine. At the weekends there is an opportunity to buy some local produce of varying sorts e.g. art, pottery, jewellery

You must go and visit Sirmione, it is beautiful and very quaint - the history buffs will enjoy it!

We hired bikes for several days and would also recommend visiting Desenzano del Garda (great designer shopping) as well as Peschiera del Garda

Overall -

Don't avoid the area because of this hotel - we had a fantastic time in Italy (2nd year in a row) and will be back many times in the future. The area around the southern tip of the lake is beautiful. Either hire a car or hire a bike as we did, to enjoy the coast line.

We stayed at this hotel for 7 nights in September/October 2006. We were working to a budget, so at £230 for seven nights for the 2 of us, it represented excellent value for money!

This is an appartment based hotel, so there are no maids to clean the room every morning. The room is only cleaned on the day you check out. This suited us fine, as we dont like to be woken every morning by maids knocking on your door wanting to change the bed linen!

The rooms, although basic, were very large and clean. Each room also has air-conditioning. The complex also has a fantastic swimming pool & loads of sun loungers if you like that sort of thing.

Now for the problems!

Be aware that this hotel is based in Colombare which is a 10-15 minute bus journey away from the centre of Sirmione. Also, the nearest bus stop is another 15 minute walk away from the hotel.

The hotel is situated in a residential area and there are virtually no bars/cafes etc without a 15 minute walk through very dark, deserted streets to the 'centre' of Colombare. When you do get
to the town centre, it is very small and quiet with a very limited choice of bars and restaurants.

We only really used Colombare as a base for catching the bus to Sirmione and surrounding areas. The buses finish at about 21:00 hours, so the only way back from Sirmione after this time is either a 90 minute walk or a taxi for about 10 euros!

The other problem we encountered was that the hotel was FULL with 5 coach loads of German school children who were allowed to run riot all through the night. There was no hotel security to control them. One night they were in the pool until 5:00am, shouting, screaming and playing music. When the noise finally subsided, we were awoken again by some guy playing a gutair and singing at 7:00 in the morning!

We and another guest complained the next morning but the hotel were not really interested. The response form the guy on the desk was that 'he didn't hear any noise during the night' so couldnt see what the problem was!

We were also told that if we checked out early then we would still have to pay for the full week, so we were stuck there!!

Luckily for us, the Germans checked out after 2 nights, and to be fair, the place was then very, very quiet for the remainder of the week.

The other point I need to mention is that the design of the air conditioning is poor. The extractor fan units for each room are located right outside the french windows on the balcony as opposed to being mounted on the roof of the building. This results in a lot of noise as the fan unit is only feet away from where you are trying to sleep!! Imagine the noise when all 40+ rooms turn on the air conditioning!!

So there you have it!

I would only recommend this place as a last resort. There are lots of hotels for similar money which are within easy walking distance of Sirmione centre and of better quality. Just read the reviews on Trip Advisor before you make your booking!!

I spent 2 nights in this hotel. The first think that should be put into consideration is de position. If you are an antique lover and you like spending time in city centers, this would not be a very good choice for you. If you have a car though, you can get into the city centre in 5- 10 minutes. It is not that this hotel has a bad position, it even is in a residential area of the city. You can get to the lake in 5 minutes of walking.
Reguarding the room(the room was a triple in my case), you will find big rooms. Be careful!Book a lake view room, beacuse not all the rooms have lake view.
Do not worry about the breakfast. You will get enough food.
Overall, the grade i would give a 9 to this hotel.