Malcesine

Hotel located in an excellent position and with a definitely good restaurant, but the overall experience was heavily penalized by disorganized management and serious shortcomings in service. The problems started before arrival: the number provided by the agency to contact the reception turned out to be non-existent, and I had to do numerous online searches to find a correct contact number. When I finally managed to speak with them on the phone to ask for information about a possible lake tour, I was told that they did not offer this service and that I had to arrange it myself. Once I arrived at the property, however, the reality was quite different: on the counter, there were flyers on display that advertised the very lake tours. The reception staff showed a clear lack of training and professionalism, with the staff members tending to remain "hidden" behind the PC. The management of logistics and parking was also terrible. We were given confusing directions to reach the private parking lot (located in a steep area), forcing us to drive around in circles. As if that were not enough, the receptionist forgot to give us the gate key, forcing us to return to the hotel on foot, even though she knew the property is located right in the center and in a ZTL zone. The restaurant service, although good in terms of food quality, is severely lacking in service and staff manners. One waiter does not speak Italian at all and, with excessive and annoying haste, takes away plates and glasses before one has even finished eating. Furthermore, on the first evening, with dinner scheduled from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM, the staff started turning off the lights and clearing the buffet before the closing time, even though we had arrived at 7:30 PM. On the morning of the third day, we found our table (assigned by room number) occupied by another couple. They had been told that the assignment was only for dinner; we had not been informed of anything. Consequently, we had to look for another table and set it ourselves, retrieving cutlery and napkins from nearby tables. As for the room, the property is dated (which would not be a problem in itself), but the layout of the space is decidedly inconvenient. The room is spread over two floors: on the lower floor are the bathroom, sofa, closet, desk, and TV, while in the attic loft, reachable via a steep, creaky, chicken-coop-style wooden staircase, there are two single beds simply pushed together and not attached. A mirrored layout would have been decidedly more comfortable, especially for going to the bathroom at night. A sore point regarding cleanliness and amenities: the room lacked a minibar (now standard everywhere, especially in summer tourist locations) and, although the rest of the room was clean, in the corners where the baseboard was missing, there were obvious clumps of accumulated dust. Overall, the property's potential is severely penalized by service that is absolutely not up to par.

We arrive and ask to be seated for 4; the first 2 waiters look at the time and sigh—not a good start at 9:40 in mid-July. Pizza average, fried lake fish good, spaghetti with tomato sauce and spaghetti with clams not good. In the end, the service honestly improved, but the cuisine needs to be reviewed.

The location of the hotel is excellent. And the fact that it has access to the lake, as well as the terrace, is great. This was a significant advantage during this heatwave in June. But then it is unfortunately already finished. The hotel is quite dated. The rooms are very small and the bathrooms even smaller; the shower is very small. Since the breakfast buffet is also rather average, it is okay for a few nights, but not for a week of vacation.