The Castello Belverdere is a great place for many reasons. First of all the host Mauro is phantastic. Very polite and almost always available, listening and solving whatever challenges that comes up immediately.

The garden at Belvedere is secure and locked up during the night having also a portier. The garden is absolutely phantastic with a beutiaful yard and a amazing pool area due to the breathtaking view.

The apartments are ok. Most importantly - do take the ones with a balkony. Do not save that extra money - they are worth every penny. Ensure that the all have a view. Ours did not have a full view of the sea, but it was still ok. Otherwise they could be more origianal to the Italien castello and surroundings, but I guess that is a matter of taste.

Three things should have been better to have scored it excellent. Paying almost Euro 200/ night it is expected that

- the cleaning is daily (it is actually weekly)
- that garbige is removed (you have to carry it down town yourselved to containers)
- that the beds are much better
- that there is proper owen (only a microwave)

Furthermore there is a restaurant next door. AVOID it. We ate there and it was far from impressive and the service was way below what you could expect. Having said this everyone were nice, excepting the owner who denied to serve a light dish on our last day despite having us eating there the day before, because the meal was not costly enough also being extremely unpolite. Don´t waste ou time going there. There are many better andmore impressive reastaurants down town.

Would we come back. Yes defintely!!!

The apartments and grounds are truly stunning. Really clean with breathtaking views. The only problem i had was the amount of flies - you couldn't eat outside. But I guess this will happen if you are on a lake.
We took the boat a couple of times to Sirmione. Which is somewhere i would definitely love to stay. I don't think i will be returning to Desenzano. I didn't like the area, food was very expensive and Taxis stopped after midnight. So you really had to be home by then if you weren't staying local. It will be a while before i return to the lakes though. It isn't my favourite part of Italy.

Castello Belevedere is located in Desenzano in Lake Garda and is situated just off the Centro area on a high hill. It overlooks the trees, hills and farmside with clear views of Lake Garda and Sirmione just ahead.

The rooms are either studio, one bedroom, 2 bedroom, etc...a great location for couples traveling together or for families. All rooms have lovely large verandas where you can relax, sip a glass of wine or enjoy morning coffee. The Villas are well stocked with plates, pans, utensils and dishes for preparing light meals or foods. There is a refrigerator and stove in the galley kitchen.

We stopped at the local market and picked up fruit, cheese, sausages, meat, bread, eggs and coffee and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast on our veranda.

The grounds are incredible and there is a pool which we enjoyed after walking and seeing the sights.

Mauro, the owner is most helpful and accomodating and Castello Belvedere has a private parking lot and is secured at night with gate entry and guest access.

There is a farmhouse next door which serves delicious meals and is a five minute walk for convenience if your're enjoying some wine. Excellent food- excellent service at Montecorno (closed on Mondays). Many locals eat here and its easy to see why. The restaurant was reasonably priced and on average for dinner we spent about ($30 -$40) which included with bottles of wine and drinks for the two of us.

Do not confuse Castello Belvedere with Hotel Belvedere they are two different properties and also in two different locations.

We (I, my husband, sister and brother-in-law) stayed at Castello Belvedere for 3 nights during September 2004, and had a lovely time. The grounds, view, and pool are beautiful. The apartment - ours was 2 bedrooms, 2 large bathrooms - was quite adequate. Our unit had a wonderful patio with an incredible view of the lake and countryside - a great for wine and cheese in the evenings. Mauro, the host, is very kind and helpful. We really liked the location of the property - within walking distance to town, but away from the crowds. Took the ferry to Sermione one day and drove up to Riva another. We highly recommend this place - a great value.