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Villa Feltrenelli

One of the main aims of this holiday was to finally stay at Villa Feltrenelli. After a failed attempt last year due to lack of availability, I booked in August last year. Once again, however, my preferred suite was no longer available on the dates I had chosen. In the end it was 4 days in the One Bedroom Suite "Gelsomino" in the Casa dei Fiori, the Park Cottage. I chose this suite because it has a separate living room and bedroom. The description also sounded good:
"80 square metres/861 square feet, Accommodates up to two persons, King size bed
Living room, Private covered patio
This luxurious One Bedroom suite, ideal for a quiet and cosy retreat, has its own private covered patio of 50 sqm overlooking the Villa's beautiful gardens and lake beyond. A large living room leads to a superb master bedroom with a small private patio. A generous wardrobe area lies adjacent to the luminous bathroom adorned with flower tiles, a deep soaking porcelain bathtub and separate large shower."
However, booking Villa Feltrenelli is quite special. As far as I can see, it is impossible to book it online. It is not a member of Virtuoso. The only option is to enquire at the hotel's own reservation desk, where you can get more information about the room categories, availability and prices.
I actually wanted to book through Harper because they offer at least a few perks, essentially a $100 credit. In the end, however, I booked direct for the sake of simplicity, as the $100 doesn't make much difference. Here are the rates and prices for 2023:
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I ended up paying €2,000.00 plus a €200.00 service charge.
Our navigation system took us down a crazy route to the villa, it said it would be a great idea to simply drive through the beautifully narrow Gargnano and then recommend driving the wrong way round through a one-way street. My car seems to like adventure, me less so. So I had to ignore the constant requests to turn round and find my own way. When I arrived at my destination, I first drove past the entrance, which is easy to miss. Eventually, however, I found myself in front of the not exactly generously sized gate.
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I have one small point of criticism here. In wind and weather (it sometimes rains at Lake Garda) you have to get out of the car and ring the bell. Here it would be much better to have a request contact, see if you know the car and simply open it.
We then took a narrow path to the really pretty villa.
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The reception there was exemplary. GF was greeted with a bouquet of flowers
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and everything else went very well. We were given a tour of the villa and then took a golf cart to Casa Dei Fiori. I could have walked (and always did afterwards), but that's what they like to insist on.

Villa Feltrenelli

Let's go to the suite then. It covers the entire ground floor of Casa Dei Fiori.
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In addition to a small terrace with 2 sun loungers, the suite also has a large, covered terrace with a seating area and dining table.
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But then come on in.
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After passing through a double door, you find yourself in the living room. Sufficiently large and individually furnished. OK, it's not really modern and the furniture probably wouldn't last too long in my flat at home, but it's absolutely perfect for a hotel.
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The bedroom was also a good size with a very comfortable bed and a good sized make-up corner.
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The cupboard area was also good.
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I'm slightly ambivalent about the bathroom. Undoubtedly big enough with a large shower and bathtub. But unfortunately the toilet was not separate (there was no guest toilet anyway) and there was only one washbasin. Even if the "built-in" soap dish isn't really my cup of tea, the tiles were undoubtedly high quality and we thought they looked nice.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...8ac6806402.jpg
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Overall I liked the suite, we were very satisfied.
By the way, the turndown was also interesting. There was a rose on the bed, a lit candle and the toilet was prepared - a very high standard.
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And finally: The Casa by night.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...69f4ad56e7.jpg

Villa Feltrenelli

There was no kettle with tea bags in the room. But as GF loves tea, we asked for one. When we got back to the room, what was on offer far exceeded our expectations. In addition to a kettle, we were given 2 silver teapots, tea water and 3 types of high-quality loose tea.
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Once again exemplary!

Villa Feltrenelli

Lake Garda is lemon country, and lemons have always been grown in Limonaias. I saw in a report that there was only one working limonaia left on Lake Garda. I think that's nonsense, there are still quite a few, even if a large number no longer seem to be used for agricultural purposes. But what does that have to do with Villa Feltrenelli? Quite simply, Villa Feltrenelli also has its own Limonaia.
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Incidentally, it is interesting that the fitness area has been built into the Limonaia. A cool idea.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...7e5c7c9a55.jpg

Villa Feltrenelli Dinner

Villa Feltrenelli has a restaurant that has been awarded 2 Michelin stars. Whilst I think this is a good thing, for some it may have the disadvantage that there is no "casual" dining option in the hotel. You can basically eat anywhere in the villa, but it's essentially centred around the dining room and terrace.
The nice thing is that you don't have to make a reservation here, hotel guests are always welcome. We opted for a table in the main restaurant on the first evening.
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For the meal, we opted for the tasting menu, which costs €250.00 per person. Even without wine, but with the 10 % service charge, this quickly adds up to € 600.00. Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos of the menu and I can't remember what everything was in detail.
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The dishes were all good, but not totally exceptional. Personally, I wouldn't have been bothered if the restaurant had been awarded a star.
Afterwards we had one last dessert, which I particularly remember. It was some kind of cream with a slightly salty biscuit and dehydrated capers.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...8bce75079d.jpg
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Does that taste good? Clear answer: no. To be honest, it was inedible for us, a complete disaster.
Overall, with the exception of the last dessert, the food was good, but I wouldn't go to Villa Feltrenelli just for the food.

Villa Feltrenelli

250 sounds a bit too much, but I suppose it's a Garda surcharge? Does the restaurant offer views?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fabo.sk (Post 35728158)

250 sounds a bit too much, but I suppose it's a Garda surcharge? Does the restaurant offer views?

Above all, it is a Villa Feltrenelli surcharge, Lake Garda is on top of that. From the terrace you have the same views as at breakfast, from inside the view is limited. It didn't matter to us, in the evening you can see more or less mainly darkness anyway.

P.S. I mentioned I didn´t post pictures of the Villa so far. Have to do it later today.

Villa Feltrenelli

The photos are nice, thanks for sharing, have you visited any museums? the reviews say they are quite interesting

Quote:

Originally Posted by LuciaSemon (Post 35740563)

The photos are nice, thanks for sharing, have you visited any museums? the reviews say they are quite interesting

In Saló? Yes, the MuSa, will report about it later.