Lake Garda was wonderful and the weekend would have been truly pleasant, if it hadn't been for the decidedly disappointing experience at this hotel.
As soon as we entered the room, the first impression was that of having gone back a few decades: extremely dated furnishings, a structure that would need a serious renovation, and a bathroom that seems to belong to another era. It's not about demanding luxury, but at least finding a properly maintained and comfortable room.
The problem, however, did not stop at the aesthetics.
The provided hairdryer stopped working after just a few seconds. We therefore turned to the reception and, to remedy this, we were given a second hairdryer. Too bad that this one was also malfunctioning and, even more seriously, it reached our hands without anyone having evidently verified that it worked. After a few moments, we had to return it because the malfunction was such that it even became worrying to use.
At that point, we would have expected at least an apology and professional handling of the inconvenience. Instead, the response we received was, verbatim, something like: "Maybe we'll give you ten euros back from what you paid."
A frankly baffling response, especially considering that we weren't asking for a refund for an insignificant detail, but reporting two consecutively non-functioning appliances, the second of which wasn't even checked before being handed over.
As if that weren't enough, we then noticed that the safe's locking system was coming off the structure, making it effectively unconvincing for the very function it should be used for.
Ultimately, the problem is not simply that the hotel is "dated." A property can even be not modern and still be welcoming, clean, and well-managed. Here, however, we encountered an obvious lack of maintenance accompanied by absolutely inadequate handling of inconveniences.
It's a shame, because the location on Lake Garda and the setting could have made the stay a completely different experience.
