Hotel Villa Maria

Whilst all the staff were friendly and helpful, this hotel lacked any soul or atmosphere and our room was so tired and dated. It was however clean and the bar and pool area was nice enough but the rooms definitely need some money spent on them. Breakfast was okay with a continental selection. It’s worth bearing in mind this hotel is approximately a 25 mins walk to the centre of Desenzano, a good 30 mins walk to the train station and a 15 mins walk to the lake shores. Whilst we are keen walkers this was not a problem for us, but we did find it tricky to easily get around to other places relying on any ferries or buses. It was also not easy to pre-book a taxi. For example, we went to Venice for the day and caught a very early train from Desenzano. When we asked to pre-book a taxi to get us to the train station early the next morning we were advised you can’t book a taxi for a local destination until the same day. We then had to get up extra early to ask reception to book us a taxi (this was at 5:30am) to be told the taxi can be booked now but will turn up at any time and be on a metre. A taxi did turn up, which was good, but we were sat at the train station an hour before the train departed, so an even earlier start to our day than was needed and a bit of an aggravation to be honest. It’s obviously a local ‘rule’ that the taxi firms won’t take local bookings until on the day regardless - never known anything so ridiculous. in summary, I would say Lake Garda is beautiful, especially further up north of the lake, but it just didn’t seem geared up to help the tourists get around very easily. We couldn’t always catch a ferry back, unless we caught one at 3:30pm in the afternoon and on a couple of occasions we were standing at a bus stop for at least an hour wondering if the bus was going to turn up. A lovely place to see, but sadly probably wouldn’t go back and definitely wouldn’t stay at Hotel Villa Maria.

We had a lovely room on third floor with balcony and great view of the lake but the hotel offered little else - had to take our own kettle, mugs and cutlery to make a drink in our room. Only one glass to have cold drinks. Had a few days of wet weather but had to venture out as no food available after lunchtime. Buses and taxis were not available in the evenings! Lovely scenery but unimpressed with Italy and the Italians we came into contact with.

Nice but definitely not a four star hotel. The grounds are lovely. Gardens are really pretty and lots of places to sit. The pool area is really nice and wasn’t too busy so always easy to get a sunbed and very clean. The pool bar also nice. All staff really helpful and couldn’t do enough for you. The downsides… the rooms are massively in need of some TLC. We weren’t allocated the right room, a much smaller room with a bed chucked in the corner for two adults and a 7 year old. It was way too small for three people, when I questioned it (the bigger room is what was advertised and on my jet2 booking) we were advised that room was not available. There is no coffee or tea facilities in the room. The air conditioning seems like it is very old and on the floor of the room rather then above so didn’t really do much. Everything has a charge against it, towels for the pool for example and car parking in the garage. Felt like charging for things that should be complimentary and what you would expect from a four star hotel. One thing to bear in mind.. it is pretty remote. About 10 mins walk to Rivoltella which has about 4-5 restaurants but 20-30 minute walk to Desenzano. Buses, taxis or a car are a must really. Also taxis really difficult to get hold of.

A really nice hotel with great surroundings, garden and pool area. Also a nice pool bar with a lot of different beverages and food for lunch. Nice, big and clean rooms with air conditioning. Really friendly and smiling staff. Nice breakfast with the basics. Free parking unless you want to use the underground parking area. You can relax close to the pool or the adjacent garden. Not far from the hotel you can buy your own groceries in the supermarket. The beach area is close by and there’s a nice selection of restaurants nearby.

Nice hotel, but not worthy of four stars or the expensive price of the rooms. Check the star rating in Italy before booking. Breakfast was boring. For the first 3 days there was no fresh bread and the scrambled eggs were a disappointment. Not many options and not many local products. Rooms average at best, but quite clean. They have a weird system with paying at the bar, they give you some credit cards to use during the stay, but it's not very nice that you must use them and you can't pay with your own card if you wish. Most of the staff was very kind. Garage very expensive, but there are a few spots for free parking outside. 10minute walk from the lake.

The hotel appeared very authentic and was nice giving a traditional feel to to it. The grounds and gardens were very well maintained. The reception area was of contemporary style and looked modern and the staff in reception were very helpful. There's an outdoor pool, which was a bit cold at first but perfect for cooling down on hot sunny days. The bedroom was large and looked just as it was in the brochure/website. Although the décor was dark with navy bedcovers and curtains, the curtains kept the room cool along with air conditioning. The room was very clean and well maintained and facilities such as the TV, fridge and safe were great to have. We used the fridge for storing bottles of water and snacks. The housekeeping staff were so helpful and flexible. Three of us were sharing a room and the room was a good size for us. The twin beds were really comfortable. The sofa bed was smaller and less comfortable but it didn’t spoil our stay. The only thing missing for us was an iron, but our clothes were fine in the end. Although the hotel is not on the lakeside (it’s a 5 min walk away from the lake), we enjoyed having breakfast on the terrace looking over to the lake and mountains in the distance. You could also have breakfast indoors either in the dining room or the conservatory but the terrace was perfect for us with a great view. Breakfast itself was really good. For those who like hot food, there was bacon, scrambled or boiled eggs and sausage (a bit like mini hot dogs). Given that we were eating on the continent, breakfast was what I had expected with fresh fruit melon and pineapple, fresh cured meats and cheese, cereals, yogurts, croissants, pastries, jams, chocolate spread, fresh fruit juices and cakes. There was sliced bread and a toaster as well as a coffee machine. The staff were very friendly and helpful and there was no pressure at all regarding how many times you went to choose items for your breakfast. They were very good at clearing and setting up tables, particularly on the terrace and the staff were certainly friendly, helpful, and put us at ease, with no rush for us to leave. There was also an outdoor bar and restaurant available which gave a nice social atmosphere, again the staff were very friendly and helpful. In terms of location, it’s a 30 min walk to town from the hotel but it’s a nice walk along the lakeside. There is also a bus stop outside the hotel, and you can catch the bus. While we were there it cost a Euro to go on the bus and it ran every half hour up to the early evening. It was great for getting to the train station (in 5-10 minutes) or to the centre of town (in 10-15 minutes). The only downside was the bus service stopped after 8pm but we would just take the bus into town for dinner and then walk back to the hotel along the lakeside which was busy with people walking and had lighting. We also went to a few local restaurants which were a 5-10 min walk from the hotel, which was good if we didn’t want to go into