Relais Forte Benedek Wine & Spa - Adults Only

Currently staying at the Relais Forte Benedek with my partner to celebrate his birthday. There is nothing really that could be at fault. The staff are very polite and always doing everything they can to make sure you have a great experience. Especially the receptionist called Martina. She went above and beyond from the moment we arrived. We were met by them and given a glass of wine and homemade focaccia as a welcome. The forte is an amazing piece of history, built in the 1800s and you can do a wine tasting experience which I strongly suggest. The guy who led the wine tasting experience (I can’t remember his name, sorry) gave us a tour of the forte and background information about the history of it. We will return for sure.

The hotel is absolutely amazing. Everything is perfect, from the Staff at the Reception to the Rooms and Services. The reception helped me organize a birthday 1 night stay for my partner birthday in the most friendly and professional way ever. They answered all my questions and supported me with all my requests. The hotel is absolutely fantastic! It’s a small structure with 3 floors. We were staying the the room with private jacuzzi on the balcony, and all the amenities of the hotel were new, in perfect functional order, and of a great quality as well! The goody bag with flip flop and towels for the pool is just the icing on the cake. Highly recommended. We will be back here for sure!

Hotel is lovely and the rooms are really beautiful. Breakfast was nice however a little bland which really surprised me given how lovely the evening food is. Staff at the hotel were very friendly, one lady was even texting her friends to find out where we could watch the Rugby. We did the wine tasting which was superb, we left wanting to buy all the wines and chutneys. I would highly recommend this. The lady that did this was lovely, The only thing I found disappointing was that I had paid for a romantic package on arrival and it seemed to have got missed. I had to vacate the room for them to set it up, which took the whole surprise element away. So I’d recommend emailing them before to ensure it doesn’t get missed if you are planning to do the same. There isn’t much local to the hotel, so if you want to get out and explore lake Garda you are looking at €40 each way in a taxi. Verona was around the same price and the airport was €70. We did really enjoy our stay however I wouldn’t recommend coming here if you are planning to explore lake Garda. It was the perfect restful retreat.

We booked this hotel as it was a small (14 room) adults only hotel, as per the website ‘we would like to give to our Guest an oasis of relaxation, wellness and romanticism’. In terms of the hotel and grounds, they are really picturesque. The staff are all really friendly and helpful. The hotel is very clean, with its own car park. The breakfast was good for us, you can order as much or little as you like. It is in a fairly residential location, but there are a few eateries within walking distance (buba’s, La Madonna, miralago) that are very good and authentic. For a more buzzing town feel though, you would need a car to get around, as there aren’t any taxis. In terms of our experience, overall this isn’t a hotel we would revisit or recommend, for a few reasons; - there is no real bar or restaurant within the hotel to use at night time - There is no staff on site after 8/9pm until 7/8am - The main issue for us, is because the sunbeds by the pool are rented out for day guests. This completely loses the small boutique feel and our reason for booking…. If you went out during the day it would be difficult to come back and get a parking spot, I would have thought hotel guests would have reserved parking spots. The weekends are extremely busy and everyone is just sitting around the edges of the pool, which make it difficult to use the steps to get in and out. On one particular day there was a large group of days guests celebrating. They were very loud, jumping in the pool right next to people, glass bottles were being left right by the edge and being left on top of the water fountains within the pool. A DJ was also on from late afternoon until early evening on this particular day, the guests stayed until sunset, drinking and dancing, while the hotel guests were having dinner. It was always a battle with the umbrellas too, everyone has their own umbrella that they can move to cover their bed only, however most days people wouldn’t do this and you’d be left in the sun or shade when you didn’t want to be. Day guests should be advised how to use them when checking in. Hotel guests were mostly outnumbered by day guests during our stay and it felt like they believed they were far superior. Also, it was constant posing and pictures for their socials, which was really tiresome when you were trying to walk around etc. They sell this aspect of the hotel as ‘the most attractive and chic beach club’. This is the complete opposite atmosphere of the experience the hotel is selling. Had we known this, we would never have ever booked to stay at Relais.

Spacious room, great setting and surroundings, comfortable bed, immaculate level of detail all round. Greeted with a very friendly reception and a lovely welcoming drink. A great place to relax, even in your room, which includes a Turkish shower, which helped during a rainy day! Would highly recommend staying here and would definitely come back

Lovely setting, stunning historic fort and views of lake Garda from the pool and panoramic walk; especially at sunset. The staff are polite and attentive. The massage was great (staff hoovered outside during but even that noise couldn’t interrupt the relaxing vibes). Only negative is the chef and menu. They aim for a high level and dinner is instagrammable, however the chef is not able to keep up with the advertised quality. The food for breakfast and dinner do not meet expectations compared to the menu. I would return for warmer months, but would eat elsewhere. Keep in mind it is within the grounds of an old fort, and is not overly spacious (nor private)