The hotel - Situated just beyond (from Malcesine) the peak of the hill, the hotel is well place for vistas of the lake and the mountains. An open plan reception, bar and breakfast room lead to the lift and stairs to the bedrooms.

The Rooms - The rooms are well equipped and very spacious, with desk sofa and double/triple wardrobes. The rooms are equipped with air-conditioning, this does keep the room cool but could be more effective (do not choose this hotel for its aircon, but guest at the Astoria have complained it is to hot without it, and to noisy to open the doors). All rooms have a balcony or terrace with seating for two. The bathrooms are large but do only have a shower. The rooms, including the bathroom, are equipped with an audio system used to listen to a selection of radio stations. The room has a TV but only one English channel (CNN).

The Walking! - the sister hotel the Astoria is a 10-15 minute walk down a fairly steep hill, there is a small shortcut but this is trivial (at the sharp left bend continue straight on and the rear entrance to the hotel is on the left) this is where the swimming pool and lake front are situated and where evening meals are taken if the half board option is selected.

The walk to Malcesine is approx 600 meters uphill and then 2.5km downhill there are pavements for only the last 500 meters or so. It takes 30 - 40 mins. You pass the cable car on the way about 200 meters from the town.

The walking can be a little to much at times (and in 30 C heat), what we took to doing was walking into town (3km) and then catching the bus to the Astoria (use the ticket machine at the bus station to buy tickets as they are only 1€) we would then walk back to the hotel (15-20 mins) get changed and go back to the Astoria for dinner.

Breakfast - continental breakfast is served in the open plan reception it consisted of a good selection of cereal, croissants, fresh fruit , toast and rolls with a wide selection of preserves, cheeses and meats.

Dinner (At the Astoria) - this takes a little getting used to! Dinner is served at 7pm (they will save a plate of cold food if you ask them) the menu is ala carte chosen the night before. Every other day a salad bar is available. The three courses then follow. They have a slightly unusual tradition (apparently Austrian in origin) an envelope is provided for your linen napkin to be reused for a couple of days. We had two vegetarians in our party and the hotel were very accommodating, in many cases cooking a separate meal when an option was not available.

The Staff - The Orchidea and the Astoria are family run hotels and the staff at both are very friendly and helpful. Unlike other hotel we have stayed in you get to know them well.

Thomas Cook - we booked this holiday through Thomas Cook, the rep was excellent and very attentive. We booked three trips to Verona, Venice and Bolzano/Rennon.

This is a very nice hotel and as long as you are happy with the walking/taxis (8€ for 4, 12 € for 6) then you will have a very enjoyable stay. The hotel is modern yet spacious and the surroundings are breathtaking. Having visited some of the other towns on the lake we all agreed Malcesine was our favourite.